B-side "The West Side" Format 7"
CD Length 5:03 | Released February 1983 (USA) Recorded 1982 | |
Genre Progressive rock
Hard rock | ||
"I Don't Care Anymore" is a song written, performed, and produced by English singer-songwriter Phil Collins (with co-production by Hugh Padgham). It is the third single from Collins' second solo album, Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982). It is one of the artist's most recognisable signature songs, and a favourite of many Collins fans worldwide.
Contents
- Music video
- 7 Atlantic 7 89877 US
- 7 wea 259938 7 Holland
- 12 wea 25 9935 Holland
- Personnel
- Cover versions
- References
"I Don't Care Anymore" is considered 'dark' in tone, and is comparable to Collins' earlier hit single "In the Air Tonight", as both contain powerful drums along with simplistic keyboard chords and guitar riffs, coupled with angry lyrics directed at Collins' first failed marriage. The drums also illustrate the gated reverb recording technique that defined Collins' sound throughout the 1980s. During "I Don't Care Anymore", the drum track switches several times between "standard" studio sound and a gated reverb overlay. The song earned Collins his first Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance in 1984, but lost to Michael Jackson's "Beat It".
Music video
In addition to Chester Thompson, touring band members Daryl Stuermer (guitar), Peter Robinson (keyboards), and Mo Foster (bass) also appear. Aside from Stuermer, the rest of the band does not appear on the actual recording and are instead miming Collins's parts.
The video is staged entirely in a dark room, with spotlights appearing over each band member as they begin to play. Foster is clearly visible in Robinson's spotlight for about a minute before he begins to play, hands in pockets, shuffling his feet occasionally, and looking more like a loiterer than a band member. When he begins to play (at the beginning of the first chorus), he plays the song's synthesised bassline on Moog Taurus bass pedals. Instead of playing them with his feet as intended by the manufacturer, he strikes them somewhat dramatically with the sides of his closed fists. He plays considerably more notes than what is actually heard, and frequently manipulates the Taurus's filter controls with one hand while striking with the other.
Live concert footage from the same year shows that he did, in fact, play the Taurus with his hands (whereas future touring bassist Leland Sklar played the Taurus with his feet while simultaneously playing electric bass). He did not strike the pedals with his fist, however, instead simply depressing each pedal with the flat of his hand. He did frequently manipulate the Taurus's filters to great effect, but the bassline he performed was the simplified version heard on the recording rather than the overzealous part he mimed in the video.
7": Atlantic / 7-89877 (US)
- "I Don't Care Anymore"
- "The West Side"
7": wea / 25.9938-7 (Holland)
- "I Don't Care Anymore"
- "Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away"
12": wea / 25-9935 (Holland)
- "I Don't Care Anymore"
- "Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away"
- "And So to F [Live]" (6:34)
Personnel
Cover versions
A cover version by Metal Supergroup Hellyeah released on 1 June 2016 and has also been covered by Alternative Supergroup Saint Asonia, lead by former Three Days Grace vocalist, Adam Gontier.