Music Video
The 8:30 minute-long black-and-white music video, directed by James Yukich, contains 2:30 minutes of acting prior to the start of the music. The setting is a theatre in the 1930s or 1940s. Actor Jeffrey Tambor plays a hyper-critical, unhappy theatre director. He is rehearsing some dancers (who are dancing to the guitar/bass guitar riff from the song "Sunshine of Your Love" by the band Cream, in which Eric Clapton played guitar.) The director complains that the girls can neither dance nor sing, and then discovers that his star has appendicitis. Eric Clapton, seated on a stool, says that "Billy" used to be the drummer in a good band (an in-joke reference to Collins' tenure with the band Genesis, in which he played drums) and is a good singer. Members of Collins' backing band play various non-speaking parts (such as the janitor "Chester," who is played by Chester Thompson, and the Bassist, played by Leland Sklar). Collins is forced to act with the play's star. The director deems Collins' acting "terrible". To which Collins replies, "I never said I could act, he said I could sing," (pointing to Clapton) and the director says, "alright, play the song." As Collins sings, his character fantasizes about becoming a famous stage actor, singer, and movie star. "Billy" is shown receiving an Academy Award from Clark Gable (impersonated by actor Ralph Chelli).
The "Billy" character's name is inserted onto fake covers of major industry publications such as Variety and Billboard, and newspapers such as the Denver Post. Collins' face is inserted into still photographs from the television program You Bet Your Life (where he appears next to Groucho Marx) and films such as White Heat (where his image is inserted alongside that of James Cagney). "Billy" is depicted imitating the character of Davy Crockett (as played by Fess Parker on the television series of the same name), standing next to Marilyn Monroe, and acting out a scene from the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon (with Humphrey Bogart impersonator Robert Sacchi appearing in the scene). (Music video director James Yukich's name appears on the clapperboard.)
During the montage, the published sheet music for the song is shown, prominently featuring Collins' photo. This is followed by a shot of the sheet music for "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven", which would be the next single from the same album.
After the music ends, Tambor's character decides to cut the musical number, as he feels it was not any good compared to the dancing girls. The character says the guitarist is good, but his assistant says that "Eric gave a week's notice." Collins sits behind the drums, disbelieving.
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Famous quotes containing the words music and/or video:
“But the dark changed to red, and torches shone,
And deafening music shook the leaves; a troop
Shouldered a litter with a wounded man,
Or smote upon the string and to the sound
Sang of the beast that gave the fatal wound.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“It is among the ranks of school-age children, those six- to twelve-year-olds who once avidly filled their free moments with childhood play, that the greatest change is evident. In the place of traditional, sometimes ancient childhood games that were still popular a generation ago, in the place of fantasy and make- believe play . . . today’s children have substituted television viewing and, most recently, video games.”
—Marie Winn (20th century)