In the Air Tonight / The Roof Is Leaking

Written amid a painful divorce, this atmospheric solo debut famously popularized the 'gated reverb' drum sound, a technique accidentally discovered during sessions with Peter Gabriel. The track slowly builds tension using a Roland CR-78 drum machine and Prophet-5 synthesizer drones before erupting into one of the most recognizable drum fills in pop history. It completely shifted the sonic landscape of 1980s pop and R&B production.