- Wed Feb 15, 2017 11:12 am
#91719
@mateo -
Well, there's a bit of back story there...
At the time of the album release for NO JACKET REQUIRED, Mr Phil Collins was embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with the previous owner of a rather snazzy 'whistle' (that's 'whistle and flute', ie. 'suit') which he purchased in an Oxfam charity shop on Bromford High Street in the early 80s. The aforementioned pants n' jacket were sold to Mr C in good faith, for the agreeable sum of £11.50 (and including, free of charge in the inside pocket, an expired membership for Paul Raymond's Revue Bar in Soho) and Paul was informed that the previous owner had recently passed away - the grieving widow had donated her late hubby's clobber to the charitable boutique in question. In an unforseeable twist however, it transpired that the so-called decedent was in fact very much alive and well, and his much put-upon missus had simply snapped one afternoon and, whilst the scoundrel slept off yet another night of debauch in the spare room, gathered the entirety of his attire and marched down to the aforementioned store.
Herr Collins and the de-stiffed, de-pants'ed rogue then entered into a long and bloody legal battle over true ownership of the suit, leading to his penning of the album as a form of catharsis - but in a surprising turn of events, the two eventually became good pals, Phil even renewing his Paul Raymond membership for the chap as a token of no-ill-will.
They decided to split the suit forthwith, with PC obviously winning the coin toss for the top half. What you are seeing in this celebrated image is a tongue-in-cheek spoof of the whole affair, which features the actual grasping arm of the undead fellow in a mock-assailing of the beloved popster.
As an amusing aside, Sussudio is the nickname which El Collins bestowed upon his new-found mucker. It means "topless" in Portugese.
*Taken from "Phil Collins : No, That Jacket IS Required" published in the Dec 1989 edition of Playboy.