Like China
"Like China" | ||||
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Promotional single by Phil Collins | ||||
from the album Hello, I Must Be Going! | ||||
B-side | "I Cannot Believe It's True" | |||
Released | 1982 | |||
Recorded | 1982 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock | |||
Length | 5:05 | |||
Label | Virgin Records (UK) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Phil Collins | |||
Producer(s) | Phil Collins, Hugh Padgham | |||
Phil Collins singles chronology | ||||
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"Like China" is a song written and performed by the English singer and drummer Phil Collins from his second solo album Hello, I Must Be Going!. It was produced by Collins and Hugh Padgham.
Song background
The song, the third track on the album, takes a cheerful rock music tone. It opens with Collins singing with a British Cockney accent. The song takes an upbeat tempo and features a discordant guitar introduction, as well as a guitar solo by Daryl Stuermer midway through the song.
The title is a traditional English expression meaning "gently and with great care". The lyrics portray an infatuated teenager attempting to convince a girl to date him despite their different social backgrounds — as emphasized by the singer's affected Cockney accent and his reference to being from "the other side of town".[citation needed] In doing this, the narrator says he will treat her as gently as china.
Single release
The song was released as a US promo single from Hello, I Must Be Going! in 12" format. It entered the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in December 1982, reaching #17.
"Like China" was also released as the B-side for the UK single "Why Can't It Wait 'Til Morning?" in 1983.
Track listing
U.S. 12" Promotional single (Atlantic)
- "Like China"
- "I Cannot Believe It's True"
Charts
Chart (1982) | Peak position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 17 |
Personnel
- Phil Collins – keyboards, drums, vocals, handclaps
- Daryl Stuermer – guitars
- John Giblin – bass
References
- v
- t
- e
- "Sussudio"
- "One More Night"
- "Don't Lose My Number"
- "Take Me Home"
- "A Groovy Kind of Love"
- "Two Hearts"
- "Another Day in Paradise"
- "I Wish It Would Rain Down"
- "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven"
- "That's Just the Way It Is"
- "Do You Remember?"
- "Hang in Long Enough"
- "Do You Remember?" (live)
- "Who Said I Would" (live)
- "Both Sides of the Story"
- "Everyday"
- "We Wait and We Wonder"
- "Dance into the Light"
- "It's in Your Eyes"
- "No Matter Who"
- "Wear My Hat"
- "The Same Moon"
- "True Colors"
- "You'll Be in My Heart"
- "Two Worlds"
- "Strangers Like Me"
- "Son of Man"
- "Can't Stop Loving You"
- "Come with Me"
- "Wake Up Call"/"The Least You Can Do"
- "Look Through My Eyes"
- "No Way Out"
- "(Love Is Like A) Heatwave"
- "Going Back"
- "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
- "Easy Lover"
- "Hero"
- "In the Air Tonite"
- "Home"
- "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"
- "Separate Lives"
- "Somewhere"
- "The Man with the Horn"
- "You Ought to Know..."
- Category