22 January 1983
Two of the negatives of an ’80s pop childhood in one track: Phil Collins, and encountering a song as an inferior cover version without knowing the original.
Phil Collins’ modus operandi was to use his cheeky-chappie persona to gain media attention for himself and his bland, middle-aged passive aggressive tracks. Here, he tells us “you can’t hurry love” with the same exasperated air of Jeremy Clarkson telling us “you can’t say anything these days”. I presume they shared a similar fanbase to account for their mystifying, depressing popularity.
Only much later in life did I finally hear The Supremes’ original, which Diana Ross delivers as a playful shrug at the realpolitik of the singles market. While it’s not one of their best, I’d still listen to theirs on sleep-deprived round-the-clock rotation rather than even one more playing of Phil Collins’ version.
Irish Number Ones 