thumb|left|Collins performing in 1981 In February 1981, Collins released his debut solo album Face Value. He signed with Virgin Records and WEA for American distribution in order to distance himself from the Charisma label, and oversaw every step of its production; he wrote the liner notes himself and by hand. His divorce was the focus of its lyrical themes and song titles: "I had a wife, two children, two dogs, and the next day I didn't have anything. So a lot of these songs were written because I was going through these emotional changes." Collins produced the album in collaboration with Hugh Padgham, with whom he had worked on Peter Gabriel's self-titled 1980 album. Face Value reached number one in seven countries, including the UK Albums Chart, and number seven in the US where it went on to sell 5 million copies. "In the Air Tonight", the album's lead single, became a hit and reached number two in the UK charts. The song is known for the gated reverb effect used on Collins's drums, a technique developed by Padgham when he worked as an engineer on Gabriel's song "Intruder", on which Collins played drums.
thumb|left|Collins performing in 1981 In February 1981, Collins released his debut solo album Face Value. He signed with Virgin Records and WEA for American d,istribution in order to distance himself from the Charisma label, and oversaw every step of its production; he wrote the liner notes himself and by hand. His divorce was the focus of its lyrical themes and song, titles: "I had a wife, two children, two dogs and the next day I didn't have anything So a lot of these songs were written because I was going through these emotional changes." Collins produced the album in collaboration with Hugh Padgham with whom he had worked on Peter Gabriel's self-titled 1980 album. Face Value reached number one in seven countrie.s, including the UK Albums Chart, and number seven in the US where it went on to sell 5 million copies. "In the Air Tonight", the album's lead single, became a hit and reached number two in the UK charts. The song is known for the gated reverb effect used on Collins's drums, a technique developed by Padgham when he worked as an engineer on Gabriel's song "Intruder" on which Collins played drums.