Phil Collins became really famous as the drummer and singer of Genesis. In the 1980s, he became one of the most successful musicians globally with hits like “In The Air Tonight” and “You Can’t Hurry Love.”
Now, at 71, it seems like time has affected the legendary singer. In an interview with the BBC, Phil Collins shared a concerning health update. He mentioned that he’s having a hard time holding a drumstick, which is a significant change for someone known for their drumming skills.
Phil Collins has had a rich life dedicated to music. He started playing instruments as a young kid, and as an adult, music became his main focus.
Collins found success with different groups, like Genesis, and as a solo artist. He’s known for many hit songs and has received numerous awards for his musical achievements.
One impressive thing about him is his ability to sing and play the drums simultaneously – a true natural talent!
Despite his lifetime of success, Phil Collins is facing health challenges now. If you’re curious about how he reached this point, here’s everything you need to know about Phil Collins.
Phil Collins got into music, especially drums, when he was a little kid.
He was born on January 30, 1951, in London, England. His dad worked in insurance, and his mom was a talent manager for child actors.
Growing up, Phil’s home was always full of creative stuff. His brother was into drawing cartoons, and his sister was a professional ice skater.
But Phil wasn’t into cartoons or ice skating. When he was 3, he got a drum, and at 5, his uncle made him a drum kit that could fit in a suitcase. It had tambourines, triangles, cymbals, and toy drums. Phil said, “The old saying is, ‘Well, at least it will keep him quiet.’”
Phil loved playing the drums, and he started performing at his parents’ boating club. Besides drums, he was also a great actor. It was clear he enjoyed being on stage.
“When I got serious about playing, it was the early ’60s, and the English beat scene was taking off with bands like the Shadows,” Phil Collins shared.
“In those days, I bought the album ‘Please Please Me.’ I used to play it loud on my record player and set up my drums so I faced the mirror. That way, I didn’t have to look at what I was doing.
“When I turned fourteen, I decided to learn to read drum music from a teacher. I thought, when the rock-and-roll craze ended, I could make a living playing in a dance band or an orchestra pit. But I found out that I was better at playing by instinct than reading the music.”
At 13, Phil got the chance to be in a London production of Oliver! This led him and his parents to switch schools, and he joined the Barbara Speake Stage School in London.
Even though Phil was in The Beatles’ film ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ as an extra, his main focus was on music. He formed his first band, Real Thing, with some classmates. Later, he joined Freehold and wrote his first song, ‘Lying Crying Dying.’
In 1970, Phil Collins’ life took a big turn. He saw an ad that said the band Genesis needed a drummer who could also sing backup. The band, started by lead singer Peter Gabriel three years earlier, was looking for a change in their music.
Collins got the job, and everything changed right away. Over the next five years, Genesis released five albums and toured the US. In 1975, their lead singer, Peter Gabriel, left the group, and they needed someone new.
They interviewed more than 400 singers, but guess who became the lead singer and drummer? Phil Collins!
But did he really want that job? “I felt exposed. I had always been behind my drum kit, and suddenly there was only a microphone stand,” Phil Collins said.
Hearing the band from the front is different, and it wasn’t comfortable for him. He admitted, “I didn’t want the job, frankly. I wanted to stay the drummer.” They had auditions every Monday, and Phil taught people what to do. They were working on the album ‘A Trick Of The Tail,’ and he ended up sounding better than anyone else.
Genesis was like a family, and they had to decide if Phil would fit in. In the end, they didn’t find anyone else, and Phil Collins became the lead singer because he fit in with the way they did things.
Even though Collins had mixed feelings about being the frontman, Genesis kept going strong with him leading the way. The band started as a prog rock group, but Collins and the others shifted more towards pop rock. In 1978, they had a big hit with “Follow You Follow Me,” reaching No. 7 in the UK and No. 23 in the US.
As the 1980s rolled in, Genesis released more successful songs. Their 1980 album “Duke” became one of their biggest hits, reaching No. 1 in the UK.
While Genesis was doing great, Phil Collins also started working on other projects. He kicked off his solo career in 1981, producing and writing his own songs. Hits like “In The Air Tonight,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” and “I Don’t Care Anymore” came from his solo albums.
But why didn’t Genesis get those songs? Phil Collins explained, “Well, Genesis got to a point where we’d all write together, and then someone would go off to write the lyrics and melody. It sometimes felt too crowded and tight, like there was no breathing space.”
“I always wanted the space of an R&B record,” Phil Collins explained. When he started learning to record at home, he decided to focus on his doodles and make them into songs. He would sing first, and everything else in the music had to fit around his vocals.
For example, “In The Air Tonight” is a good example. It has a mood and vocals, and if he had given it to Genesis, it would have become more crowded with additional elements. Phil’s solo songs tend to be busier from a production perspective. For instance, “Sussudio” has lots of horn parts and is a dance tune he released in 1985, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard singles list.
In 1987, he did the title song for the film soundtrack to “Against All Odds,” which also reached No. 1 on the charts and got Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.
Even while being part of Genesis, Phil Collins continued to create music. The band released the classic tune “I Can’t Dance” in 1991. Phil also worked as a producer, collaborating with artists like Anni-Frid Lyngstad from ABBA.
In 1996, Phil Collins decided to leave Genesis after being with the band for 25 years. He wanted to change the direction of his musical life. Collins expressed his well wishes to the other members of Genesis, saying they remained the best of friends.
After leaving Genesis, Phil Collins focused on new solo projects, jazz ventures, and making music for movies. He has been through a lot in his personal life, having been married three times. He became known for writing songs about his relationships, including his first hit “In The Air Tonight,” which was about the sadness he felt after divorcing his first wife, Andrea Bertorelli, who left him for someone else.
When people asked him about putting his private life in songs, Collins explained, “People ask me, ‘Aren’t you embarrassed? You’re putting your private life out for all the world to see.’ But I’m not embarrassed by it. It’s like I shouldn’t hide that I was hurt, that I cry, that I do things that some might consider unmanly.”
These days, Phil Collins is not just a musician and producer with a few hits; he’s won six Grammy Awards! That’s a big deal.
He’s also one of only three people, alongside Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, who have sold over 100 million albums, both on their own and as part of a band.
In 2015, Phil Collins reunited with Genesis, and last year, they announced a new tour in the UK. Unfortunately, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it got postponed to this year. Phil shared that his son, Nicholas, would be handling all the drumming for the tour. Phil has five children in total, and his eldest daughter, Lili Collins, who is 32, is now a successful actress.
“Nic is a great drummer, and he can sound like early Phil. For Mike and me, that’s really exciting,” said Tony Banks, a member of the Genesis band. “It means we can play some songs that we haven’t played with Phil as the drummer for a long time.”
Nicholas Collins will be playing the drums for the tour, and it turns out it’s because his dad, Phil Collins, can’t do it anymore. Phil shared on BBC Breakfast that health issues make it hard for him to drum.
He said, “I’d love to, but you know, I can barely hold a stick with this hand. So there are certain physical things that get in the way.” Phil mentioned that this might be the last time he goes on tour because of health reasons. “We’re all men of our age, and I think to some extent, I think it probably is putting it to bed,” he added. “I think, yeah, I think just generally for me, I don’t know if I want to go out on the road anymore.”
Phil Collins is a music legend. Let’s hope he and his son have a great time during the Genesis tour, and we wish him all the best for the future. Remember, health is the most important thing. Please share this article to send good wishes to Phil Collins and honor him for his fantastic music!
