During his storied career, Phil Collins, the famed drummer and lead singer of Genesis, has had immense success in the music industry.
He is one of three artists who have sold more than 100 million records in solo and collaborative endeavors, joining Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney in this select group. Collins, who was born on January 30th, 1951, in London, England, to artistic parents, was exposed to music at a young age.
At age five, he obtained a handmade drum kit from his uncle, which featured tambourines, triangles, cymbals, and small drums – a move that would form his distinct sound.
The English beat scene began to emerge, with essential bands such as The Shadows leading the way. Collins would go on to be at the vanguard of this movement, as well as performing at social gatherings hosted by his parents’ boating club regularly.
Collins was inspired to purchase a record player and Please Please Me by The Beatles at the tender age of fourteen after being introduced to rock and roll. To avoid having to look at what he was doing while playing the drums, he would turn up the record player’s volume and set his drums in front of a mirror.
He chose to take drum lessons from a tutor to learn how to read drum music, which was required if one wanted to work in a dance band or orchestra pit. Collins quickly knew, however, that playing intuitively was considerably superior to reading sheet music.
Collin’s life took an astonishing turn in the 1970s when he saw an advertisement for a drummer who belonged to Genesis. When Collins contacted them, they welcomed him aboard, marking the beginning of his remarkable music career.
Throughout their five albums as The Beatles, they had numerous songs that became iconic masterpieces that we still adore today. It was only a short time before Collins took over as the band’s main singer due to a lack of qualified candidates.
Although it took him some time to acclimate to being both a vocalist and a drummer, he persevered and eventually established himself as one of the best musicians of our day.
Collins was a hugely successful musician as a member of the iconic band Genesis and a solo artist. Hits like ‘In The Air Tonight,’ ‘You Can’t Hurry Love,’ and ‘I Don’t Care Anymore’ catapulted him to the music industry’s top.
Collins decided to take a different path in his musical life after 25 years with Genesis, focusing on jazz projects, cinema music, and his solo career. He expressed his wish for his former bandmates to have a bright future, but when 2017 arrived, he opted to rejoin them for their Last Domino global tour.
Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, this tour had to be postponed, and just before it began, Phil gave an interview to BBC Breakfast, which raised some concerns about his health. Despite this setback, the band hopes to perform together again, with Phil taking on vocals and Nicholas Collins on drums.
While Nic is a fantastic drummer, Tony Banks said that he could make early Phil Collins songs seem even more powerful than they already do.
When asked why Phil wasn’t playing the drums anymore, he said, “I’d like to, but I can scarcely grip a stick with this hand.” Nonetheless, Phil has not let physical constraints stop him from following his passion for music, even though it does create some hurdles that must be addressed.
The storyteller, a man our age, described his physical difficulties with a tangible sense of loss. He lamented that he couldn’t share his son’s adventures and accompany him on the road.
Due to his health, he was still determining if he wanted to continue his travels. His words created a sense of resignation as if he had come to terms with the fact that certain things were now off-limits to him, and he couldn’t participate in them.
The choice between continuing on his current route and discontinuing his excursions felt demanding and tough for him to make. He realized that either way, he’d have to give up something he loved due to a physical limitation or a conscious decision. This weighed heavily on him, and he was overwhelmed by the prospect of missing out on many life opportunities due to this rapid change in circumstances.