Phil Collins was never considering a career as a pop star when starting out as a drummer.
Throughout his time in Genesis, Collins was more than happy to fill out the role of the percussionist, usually hiding behind his drum kit before coming up to contribute the odd vocal to a song. Once Peter Gabriel left the band, the wheels began turning for Collins to find his voice from behind the kit.
Gabriel’s decision would prove to be a pivotal moment in the career of Phil Collins. It would propel out for behind the drum kit and turn him into a pop star. Though he wouldn’t become many people’s first choice performer, Collins had a string of successful hits, which are often beleaguered by a certain cheese factor that often emanates from jealousy.
After leaving during the tour for The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the band underwent various auditions to find a new singer, each one not being the right fit. After relentless auditions, Collins lost his temper to the point that he just figured he would sing, fitting like a glove when working on the new material for what would become A Trick of the Tail.
Once the former percussionist had more responsibilities, he found that his home life was slowly falling apart. While he may have been making new songs like ‘Follow You Follow Me’ and seeing the first mainstream successes of the band’s career, Collins’ wife would file for divorce and take the kids with her to Vancouver.
In an attempt to save his marriage, Collins decided to put Genesis on hold so that he could work on his relationship. Having a lot of time to think about his place in the world, Collins also turned in the first of several tunes that would turn up on his album Face Value. Not liking the idea of being a songwriter, Collins felt that his tracks would be the best way to communicate with his wife, using every effort as a letter to stay in contact with her.
Throughout the recording, one can hear pieces of Collins’s heartbreak, from the anger and spite in ‘In the Air Tonight’ to the heartache of tracks like ‘I Missed Again’. Even though Collins was willing to strip himself bare for the sake of his art, one of the most emotional songs on the record never actually made it to the final track listing.
When talking about the recording of the album, Collins would single out ‘Please Don’t Ask’ as one of the most personal on the record. Discussing the track on Classic Albums, Collins thought the tune was a landmark for his songwriting, saying, “The most personal song of all was a song called ‘Please Don’t Ask’. It was all about, without mentioning names, what was happening, my problems, my situation. I’ve never really written anything like that since”.
Looking at the tune lyrics, Collins is wearing his heart on his sleeve throughout the number. As opposed to drafting the situation in metaphors, there is no separating the artist from the art throughout this song, structured like a domestic conversation between an estranged husband to his wife.
Although the track would be shelved, it would see an eventual release in the special editions of Face Value, included as a bonus track amongst a collection of assorted demos before being included on the album Duke. Even though Collins has been known as a consummate entertainer, the raw feeling of this track is something that an artist only harnesses when they are at their true low point.
