Phil Collins to "TESTIFY" On November 12th; ``Can't Stop Loving You'' Single Fills Airwaves; TV Dates, City of Hope Gala Set for Release Weekr Nice Guy's return
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 2002
"TESTIFY," the eagerly awaited new album from Atlantic recording artist Phil Collins, arrives in stores on November 12th. Collins's first all-new solo album in six years, the collection features the new hit single, "Can't Stop Loving You," which is already a chart-topping smash at radio outlets nationwide.
Coinciding with the album's release, Collins will be arriving in New York for a string of television appearances, special events, and media interviews. A highlight of the week will be back-to-back live appearances on NBC-TV's Today show - beginning with an outdoor performance by Phil and his band in Rockefeller Plaza on Friday, November 15th, as part of the "Today Show Concert Series," followed the next morning (Saturday) by a live performance on Weekend Today. Other major network television performances by Collins surrounding the album's release will include ABC-TV's The View, CBS-TV's The Early Show, NBC-TV's Last Call with Carson Daly, and The Caroline Rhea Show. Collins will also be featured on a special Comcast Cable special on Sunday, November 17th.
On the album's release date, Tuesday, November 12th, Phil will perform live for a one-hour, exclusive radio concert, which will be syndicated to 150 stations nationwide via Premiere Radio Networks. Contests winners from around the country are being flown to New York for this special event. In advance of the broadcast, Premiere aired a special one-hour Phil Collins interview/music show during the weekend of November 1st, which was heard on over 100 Clear Channel stations.
An array of online activities are being launched in support of "TESTIFY," highlighted by a special exclusive Collins live performance and interview for AOL Music's acclaimed Sessions@AOL series.
On Wednesday, November 13th, Collins and Conde Nast Publications President and CEO Steve Florio will be jointly presented with the Spirit of Life award from the world-renowned City of Hope Medical Center. The highlight of the event, which will take place at Cipriani on 42nd Street, will be a rare private concert by Phil Collins and his band.
The release of "TESTIFY" is being heralded by the chart-topping success of its first single, "Can't Stop Loving You." In a history-making debut at radio, the song was added by over 200 stations in its first week of release, becoming the highest-debuting record of the year on the Mainstream AC charts. Making the fastest jump into the Top Ten in AC radio history (according to BDS), the song has been a bulleted Top Five smash for the past four weeks. "Can't Stop Loving You" is also currently being featured in a major national television and radio advertising campaign for the Toyota Avalon.
Produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls, Alanis Morissette), "TESTIFY" was recorded in Europe and the U.S. It marks Collins's first new music since the 1999 release of his hugely successful soundtrack for the Walt Disney animated feature film, Tarzan. The latter - which featured the top-charting hit single "You'll Be In My Heart" - earned Collins the triumphant triple crown of an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy in 2000.
Inspired by his new marriage in 1999 and his new fatherhood in 2001, "TESTIFY" is a captivating, wide-ranging collection of powerful, moving songs - all defined by Collins's signature voice and unmistakable musical imprint. Collins penned all but one of the songs on the album, highlighted by such tracks as "Don't Get Me Started," "Testify," "Driving Me Crazy," and "Least You Can Do" (co-written by Daryl Stuermer). The collection's sole cover is "Can't Stop Loving You," written by Billy Nicholls and originally recorded by Leo Sayer in 1978.
"The songs for this album were written over the last two years," says Collins. "Working with new toys and new tools, they pretty much wrote themselves, and only occasionally needed nudging along. Though I used 90% of my demos, I was lucky to have a fantastic team to help me finish the record, particularly Rob Cavallo, engineer Allen Sides, guitarist Tim Pierce, and programmer James Sanger. There are some songs here that are amongst the best I have ever written; I hope you agree."
Since releasing his first solo album just over twenty years ago, Collins has sold 100 million records around the world (not counting his work with Genesis), earned seven Grammy Awards, and scored an enviable string of hit singles. It is a career which has really been many careers - drummer, singer, composer, producer... from art rock beginnings to pop stardom, from soundtrack master to big band leader.
In 1998, Collins's solo career to date was recapped on the multi-million-selling "HITS" collection. In addition to his music for Tarzan, 1999 saw the release of "A HOT NIGHT IN PARIS," a live album which marked the debut recording by Collins's much-praised big band, the formation of which was the fulfillment of a life-long ambition.
In June of this year, Phil served as the "house drummer" for the spectacular Queen's Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace - where he backed everyone from Ozzy Osbourne to longtime mate Eric Clapton.