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Phil Collins

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File:PhilCollins RollingStone.jpg
Phil Collins on the May 1983 cover of Rolling Stone.

Philip David Charles Collins (born January 30, 1951 in London), better known as Phil Collins, is an English rock/pop musician. He was the drummer for the jazz-fusion group Brand X and progressive rock band Genesis, and, after the departure of the latter's lead singer Peter Gabriel, lead singer of Genesis.

Phil Collins has collaborated with such well known musicians as George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, Mike Oldfield, Sting, John Martyn, John Cale, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel and Ravi Shankar.

Childhood

Collins' ambitions to wield the sticks started at the age of five when he was given a toy drum for Christmas. He instantly harbored ambitions to drum properly and professionally, and as he got older, his uncle made him a makeshift kit for him to practice on. By the time he was a teenager he was a fully accomplished drummer.

His performance career began early, as a child actor and model, highlights of which included appearing on stage in Oliver! as the Artful Dodger and as an extra on The Beatles’ A Hard Day's Night, though he jokes “Paul McCartney doesn’t believe me!”

Flaming Youth

Collins first record deal came as the drummer for Flaming Youth, an obscure British rock group which released a single album, Ark 2 (1969). The album, a concept album inspired by the recent media attention surrounding the moon landing, was critically recognized but failed to make much commercial success. The album was featured in Melody Maker as "Pop Album of the Month" and described as "adult music beautifully played with nice tight harmonies". Despite the praise of the music press, the album's main single, "From Now On", failed to gain much attention on the radio. After a year of touring, band tensions and the lack of commercial success dissolved the group. [1]

From Genesis to Revelation

File:Genesis Group.jpg
Phil Collins (top centre) with Genesis

In 1970 Phil Collins answered a Melody Maker classified ad for “..a drummer sensitive to acoustic music and twelve-string guitars”. The ad was for an up and coming rock group called Genesis. The audition was held at the home of Peter Gabriel's parents. During the audition, prospective candidates were asked to play pieces from the group’s sophomore album Trespass. After arriving early, Collins was asked to wait for the other drummers to have their turns. Collins listened and spent his time by the family pool learning the pieces before sitting at the drum kit. When his turn arrived, he knew all the parts and was quickly hired by the band.

Phil Collins gained acclaim as a “technically sound drummer” and sang lead vocals on “For Absent Friends ” (from Nursery Cryme) and “More Fool Me” (from Selling England by the Pound). Collins was also Genesis’ primary backing vocalist up until 1975. Genesis gained acclaim as a major progressive rock outfit with compositions such as the 23 minute "Supper's Ready", from their 1972 album, Foxtrot.

In 1975, following the final tour supporting Genesis’ ambitious, concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, frontman Peter Gabriel left the group. After an unfruitful search for a new singer, Collins took over as lead vocalist. The group also recruited former Yes Drummer Bill Bruford and later Chester Thompson to play drums during live shows, although on some longer pieces Phil would play drums as well. The follow up album A Trick of the Tail outsold all previous Genesis albums combined. However, Genesis began to steer away from their progressive rock roots and more toward pop as the decade closed. Although their 1978 album, And Then There Were Three, still contained progressive rock influences, it is best known for the group's first UK Top 10 and US Top 40 single, "Follow You, Follow Me".

During the 1970s Collins also played drums for the jazz fusion band Brand X and appeared on albums by Brian Eno, Robert Fripp and John Cale. In the 1980s he did session drumming for such high-profile artists as Adam Ant, Robert Plant, Howard Jones and Tears for Fears.

In the 1980s, Genesis moved further from progressive rock and became more pop oriented. With Phil Collins as lead singer, the group scored a string of successful albums, including the 1986 Invisible Touch, which was their first UK top hit. The album's title track was the only Genesis song to reach number one on the American Billboard charts. The group also received an MTV “Video of the Year” nomination in 1987 for “Land of Confusion”, also from the same album.

After a successful world tour in the early 1990s, Phil Collins eventually parted ways with Genesis in 1995. Collins and Gabriel reunited with Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett in 1999 to re-record "Carpet Crawlers" ("The Carpet Crawl") from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway for Genesis’ Turn It On Again: The Hits. The last studio album with Collins as the lead singer was 1991's We Can't Dance.

Recently, there has been talk that Phil Collins is open to reuniting with Genesis [2]. However, Collins has stated that he would only return if Peter Gabriel took the vocals and Collins performed as drummer. There have been no official plans announced of a reunion.

Solo career

Phil Collins vented frustrations in his marital life by composing new material which formed the bulk of his first solo album, Face Value, in 1981. The song “In the Air Tonight” launched Phil Collins as a solo artist and is now part of folklore. There are many stories around the song, but usually they have to do with Phil seeing a man let someone drown and writing the song about the incident. Collins then invites the man to the song's debut and sings it while the man is in the spotlight. This is purely myth; Collins says the song, like the album, refers to his feelings about his divorce from his first wife, Andrea. (From this marriage, he had two children, of whom his son, Simon, is also a musician.)

Another urban legend has it that Collins performed on "The Secret Policeman's Other Ball" with a can of paint on top of his piano. This was allegedly because the man for whom his wife left him was a painter. While the piano incident really did happen, Phil denies that it happened on purpose.

Phil Collins continued to record as a solo artist and with Genesis in 1983 releasing a UK Number One hit rendition of The Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love” and the Genesis self titled album which went to Number 9 on the Billboard Album Charts.

He wrote and performed the award-winning title song to the movie Against All Odds in 1984. The song would become the first of Collins' seven American number one songs as a solo artist. He also appeared as drummer at the Band Aid recording at the end of the year.

In 1985, Phil Collins performed at Live Aid at both Wembley stadium in England and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. He accomplished the feat by performing early in the day as a solo artist and with Sting at Wembley. Immediately after his performance he boarded a Concorde to perform his solo material and drum for Led Zeppelin.

File:Nojacket.jpg
Phil Collins's highest selling album, 1985's No Jacket Required, went on to win the Grammy for Album of the Year.

The same year, Collins released his most successful album No Jacket Required, which contained hits like "Sussudio", "One More Night" and "Take Me Home". The album featured ex-bandmate Peter Gabriel and Sting as backing vocalists. Phil also enjoyed another UK Number 1 with "Easy Lover", a duet with Philip Bailey that same year. He also recorded the critically-acclaimed "Separate Lives", a duet with Marilyn Martin and an American number 1.

Collins' first starring film role came in 1988 in the movie Buster playing train robber Buster Edwards. Phil Collins’ rendition of “A Groovy Kind of Love”, originally a 1960s single by The Mindbenders, reached Number One on the charts. The film also spawned the hit single "Two Hearts", which Collins wrote in collaboration with legendary Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier. He also played a cameo role in Miami Vice and guest starred in some sketches with The Two Ronnies.

In 1989, Collins produced another hugely successful album, ...But Seriously, which featured the anti-homelessness anthem Another Day in Paradise. The song went to Number 1 on the Billboard US Charts and won Phil Collins a Grammy for “Record of the Year” (1990). Other songs included "Hang in Long Enough," "Do You Remember?," and "I Wish it Would Rain Down" (the latter featured long-time friend Eric Clapton on guitar). Collins received some criticism for "Another Day In Paradise" as he was a millionaire and yet he was asking others to give money. In defense of the song, he would point out that it was written mainly to show more fortunate listeners to feel grateful about their small problems and take heed of the larger ones of the less fortunate.

Collins' record sales dropped after the 1993 release of Both Sides, a largely experimental album which, according to Collins, is his finest. Featuring a less studio-polished sound, less uptempo music and darker lyrical subject matter than on previous albums, Both Sides abandoned the winning formula that had brought him much success in the 1980s. Also, Collins used no backing musicians, performing all of the vocal and instrumental parts at his home studio and using rough vocal takes for the final product. Two of its singles, "Both Sides of the Story" and "Everyday", were minor successes.

Phil Collins' 1996 album Dance Into the Light included minor hits such as the title song, "No Matter Who", a rendition of Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin" and "Wear My Hat" which featured a comical music video starring Danny DeVito. It also featured several Beatles-inspired songs, including "It's In Your Eyes". The album sold over 800,000 copies in the US going past Gold but sold less than previous albums, although stylistically it harked back to the sound of his 1980s smashes. Although the album was not successful, its subsequent tour played sold out arenas across the US in 1997.

His latest studio album, 2002's Testify met with a similar fate. Adored by fans, the album failed to make much impact on the mainstream charts overrun by rap, hip-hop, nu-metal and teen pop. Testify featured the Leo Sayer cover "Can't Stop Loving You", and "Come With Me" - a heartfelt father-to-child song originally written in 1990 but finally recorded for Collins' baby son Nicholas. (His son Matthew was born in December 2004.)

Collins' passion for Big Band music is well documented. In 1996, Phil formed the Phil Collins Big Band, which, with Phil as drummer, performed jazz renditions of Phil Collins and Genesis hits. The Phil Collins Big Band also did a world tour in 1998 and performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1999, the CD "A Hot Night in Paris" was released including Big Band versions of "Invisible Touch", "Sussudio", and the more obscure "The Los Endos Suite" from the progressive era of Genesis.

Collins was asked by The Walt Disney Company to produce the score for the animated film Tarzan in 1999. His song "You'll Be in My Heart" won an Academy Award. Disney hired Collins in 2003 for the soundtrack to another animated feature film, Brother Bear, and had some airplay with the song "Look Through My Eyes".

Collins does not read and write conventional musical notation but uses a system of his own devising. In recent years he has reportedly been losing his hearing in one ear, and in 2003 announced a farewell tour. The previous year he accepted an invitation to be the drummer in the 'house band' at the rock concert celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. He played drums for the likes of Paul McCartney, Ozzy Osbourne and Cliff Richard.

He is married to his third wife, Orianne, and lives in Clayton House, Begnins Switzerland, overlooking Lake Geneva, about 20 miles east of the city of that name. He acquired the house from its former owner, Scottish F1 racing champ, Jackie Stewart of Dumbarton. Beginning in 2004, Collins embarked on his so-called "First Final Farewell Tour", a nod to the many farewell tours of other popular artists. Given a prognosis of a viral ear infection, Collins wanted to complete one last large-scale tour internationally and spend more time with his family. He is expected to continue touring through 2006, while working with Disney on the completion of a Broadway production of Tarzan.

Appearances in Pop Culture

Phil Collins has been parodied and referenced in the animated comedy "South Park" on several occasions.

  • In the Timmy 2000 episode, Phil Collins is the headline feature of Lollapalooza when he gets supplanted by "Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld", a group with a physically and mentally handicapped child as their frontman. In response to this, Phil Collins conspired to break up the band by getting one of its members to go solo. Phil Collins and his music is portrayed as only likable when under the influence of drugs (particularly Ritalin).

Films

Although known primarily for music, Collins has appeared in several films. Most of his appearances have been cameos, although twice Collins has starred.

As a child, Collins appeared in three films, although two of the films were for brief moments as an extra. Besides the aforementioned A Hard Day's Night (1964), Collins also appeared as an extra in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). His first lead role was in Calamity the Cow (1967). [3]

Collins starred in the 1988 film Buster, which is primarily known through the songs Two Hearts and Groovy Kind of Love featured on the soundtrack. Collins also starred in 1993's Frauds.

Collins had cameo appearances in Steven Speilberg's Hook (1991) and And the Band Played On (1993). He also supplied voices to two cartoons, Balto (1995) and The Jungle Book 2 (2003).

A long discussed but never completed pet project of Collins' was a movie titled The Three Bears. Originally meant to star him alongside Danny DeVito and Bob Hoskins, the film was often mentioned by Collins but an appropriate script was never completed. [4]

On television, Collins has twice hosted the Billboard Music Awards. As well, he appeared in an episode of the series Miami Vice.

The majority of Collins' work with films has been through music. Four of his seven number one songs have come from film soundtracks, and his work on Disney's Tarzan earned him an Oscar.

Biography

The most recent biography of Phil Collins was written by Ray Coleman and published in 1997. Titled Phil Collins: The Definitive Biography, the book remains in print in the United Kingdom as a trade paperback. The hardcover edition was briefly made available in the United States but is no longer in print.

Other fan biographies were written in the mid-1980's during the height of Collins' popularity. They are all out-of-print.

Band

Here are all the current members of Phil's touring band.

Former touring band musicians

Former studio musicians

All past touring members worked with Phil in the studio except for Bryant, Lawson, Mahon, and White.

Albums

  • 1981: Face Value #1 UK, #7 US, US Sales: 5,000,000, Worldwide Sales: 19,000,000

In The Air Tonight/This Must Be Love/Behind The Lines/The Roof Is Leaking/Droned/Hand In Hand/I Missed Again/You Know What I Mean/Thunder And Lightning/I'm Not Moving/If Leaving Me Is Easy/Tomorrow Never Knows

I Don't Care Anymore/I Cannot Believe It's True/Like China/Do You Know, Do You Care?/You Can't Hurry Love/It Don't Matter To Me/Thru These Walls/Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away/The West Side/Why Can't It Wait 'Til Morning?

Sussudio/Only You Know And I Know/I Don't Wanna Know/One More Night/Don't Lose My Number/Who Said I Would/Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore/Inside Out/Take Me Home (CD formats include 'We Said Hello Goodbye')

  • 1987: 12"ers (Compilation of remixed 12" releases) Worldwide Sales: 1,000,000

Take Me Home/Sussudio/Who Said I Would/Only You Know And I Know/Don't Lose My Number/One More Night

  • 1989: ...But Seriously #1 UK, #1 US, US Sales: 4,000,000 Worldwide Sales: 26,000,000

Hang In Long Enough/That's Just The Way It Is/Do You Remember?/Something Happened On The Way To Heaven/Colours/I Wish It Would Rain Down/Another Day In Paradise/Heat On The Street/All Of My Life/Saturday Night And Sunday Morning/Father To Son/Find A Way To My Heart

  • 1990: Serious Hits... Live! (live) #2 UK, #11 US, US Sales: 4,000,000 Worldwide Sales: 22,000,000

Something Happened On The Way To Heaven/Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)/Who Said I Would/One More Night/Don't Lose My Number/Do You Remember?/Another Day In Paradise/Separate Lives/In The Air Tonight/You Can't Hurry Love/Two Hearts/Sussudio/Groovy Kind Of Love/Easy Lover/Take Me Home

  • 1993: Both Sides #1 UK, #13 US, US Sales: 1,000,000 Worldwide Sales: 10,000,000

Both Sides Of The Story/Can't Turn Back The Years/Everyday/I've Forgotten Everything/We're Sons Of Our Fathers/Can't Find My Way/Survivors/We Fly So Close/There's A Place For Us/We Wait And We Wonder/Please Come Out Tonight

Dance Into The Light/That's What You Said/Lorenzo/Just Another Story/Love Police/Wear My Hat/It's In Your Eyes/Oughta Know By Now/Take Me Down/The Same Moon/River So Wide/No Matter Who/The Times They Are A-Changin'

  • 1998: Hits (compilation) #1 UK, #18 US, US Sales: 2,000,000 Worldwide Sales: 15,000,000

Another Day In Paradise/True Colours/Easy Lover/You Can't Hurry Love/Two Hearts/I Wish It Would Rain Down/Something Happened On The Way To Heaven/Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)/Both Sides Of The Story/One More Night/Sussudio/Dance Into The Light/Groovy Kind Of Love/In The Air Tonight/Take Me Home

Sussudio/That's All/Invisible Touch/Hold On My Heart/Chips And Salsa/I Don't Care Anymore/Milestones/Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)/Pick Up The Pieces/The Los Endos Suite

  • 2002: Testify #15 UK, #30 US Worldwide Sales: 5,000,000

Wake Up Call/Come With Me/Testify/Don't Get Me Started/Swing Low/It's Not Too Late/This Love This Heart/Driving Me Crazy/The Least You Can Do/Can't Stop Loving You/Thru My Eyes/You Touch My Heart

  • 2004: Platinum Collection (Face Value, No Jacket Required and But Seriously packaged together) #4 UK Worldwide Sales: 1,000,000

See album listings above.

  • 2004: Love Songs: A Compilation... Old and New (compilation) #9 UK, #51 US, #9 ITA Worldwide Sales: 3,000,000

CD1: Tearing And Breaking/Do You Remember?/One More Night/Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)/Can't Turn Back The Years/Groovy Kind Of Love/Everyday/Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away/Please Come Out Tonight/This Must Be Love/It's In Your Eyes/Can't Stop Loving You

CD2: Testify/True Colours (Rehearsal)/You'll Be In My Heart/If Leaving Me Is Easy/I've Been Trying/I've Forgotten Everything/Somewhere/The Least You Can Do/Two Hearts/Separate Lives (Live)/My Girl (Live)/Always (Live)/The Way You Look Tonight (Live)

  • CAREER: 155,000,000 Albums sold (314,000,000 including Genesis)

Hit singles

  • from "Face Value"
    • 1981 "In the Air Tonight" #2 UK, #19 US
    • 1981 "I Missed Again" #14 UK, #19 US
    • 1981 "If Leaving Me Is Easy" #17 UK
  • from "Hello, I Must Be Going"
    • 1982 "You Can't Hurry Love" #1 UK, #10 US
    • 1983 "I Don't Care Anymore" #39 US
  • from "Against All Odds" soundtrack
    • 1984 "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" #2 UK, #1 US
  • from "Chinese Wall" (album by Philip Bailey)
    • 1985 "Easy Lover" (duet with Philip Bailey) #1 UK, #2 US
  • from "No Jacket Required"
    • 1985 "One More Night" #4 UK, #1 US
    • 1985 "Take Me Home" #19 UK, #7 US (1986 release)
    • 1985 "Don't Lose My Number" #4 US
    • 1985 "Sussudio" #12 UK, #1 US
  • from "White Nights" soundtrack
    • 1985 "Separate Lives" (with Marilyn Martin) #4 UK, #1 US
  • non-album single
    • 1988 "In the Air Tonight" (remix) #4 UK
  • from "Buster" soundtrack
    • 1988 "A Groovy Kind of Love" #1 UK, #1 US
    • 1988 "Two Hearts" #6 UK, #1 US
  • from "But Seriously"
    • 1989 "Another Day in Paradise" #2 UK, #1 US
    • 1990 "I Wish It Would Rain Down" #7 UK, #3 US
    • 1990 "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" #15 UK, #4 US
    • 1990 "That's Just the Way It Is" #26 UK
    • 1990 "Do You Remember?" #4 US
    • 1990 "Hang in Long Enough" #34 UK, #23 US
  • from "Both Sides"
    • 1993 "Both Sides of the Story" #7 UK, #25 US
    • 1994 "Everyday" #15 UK, #24 US
  • from "Dance into the Light"
    • 1996 "Dance into the Light" #9 UK, #45 US
    • 1996 "It's in Your Eyes" #30 UK, #77 US
  • from "Hits"
    • 1998 "True Colours" #26 UK
  • from "Urban Renewal" (a Phil Collins tribute album)
    • 2001 "In the Air Tonite" (Lil' Kim feat. Phil Collins) #26 UK
  • from "Testify"
    • 2002 "Can't Stop Loving You" #27 UK, #76 US
  • from "Thug World Order" (album by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
    • 2003 "Home" (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony feat. Phil Collins) #19 UK

See also

References

    1. ^ Coleman, Ray. "Phil Collins: The Definitive Biography". Simon & Schuster, 1997. London.
    2. ^ The Internet Movie Database [[5]]
    3. ^ "Travels With Phil Collins" [[6]]
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