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Phil Collins

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Phil Collins
File:PhilCollins RollingStone.jpg
Background information
Years active1969-Present

Philip David Charles Collins (born January 30, 1951 in London), better known as Phil Collins, is an English rock/pop musician. Collins’s presence on popular music was most evident in the mid-to-late 1980s. Although he has taken part in numerous projects, he is best known as the lead singer of progressive rock group Genesis and as a Grammy winning solo artist.

In total, Collins sang the lead vocals on eight American chart-toppers between 1984 and 1989, inclusive of seven as a solo artist and one with Genesis. His singles, often dealing with lost love, ranged from the haunting rock classic, “In the Air Tonight”, the dance pop of “Sussudio”, and the political statements of his most successful song, “Another Day in Paradise”. His international success turned Genesis into one of the decade’s most popular rock groups, helping in the transition of Genesis from a progressive rock group to a regular on the pop charts and an early MTV mainstay.

Collins’s professional career began as a drummer, first with obscure rock group Flaming Youth and more famously with Genesis. Although Collins occasionally supplied backing vocals for original front man Peter Gabriel, it wouldn’t be until 1975 that Collins moved away from the drums and became the group’s lead singer. As the decade closed, Genesis’s first international hit, “Follow You, Follow Me”, demonstrated a drastic change from the band’s early years. His subsequent solo career, heavily influenced by his personal life, propelled Collins into an international superstar through the 1980s.

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. He has won multiple Grammies, including both Album and Record of the Year, as well as an Academy Award.

According to Atlantic Records, Collins total worldwide sales as a solo artist, as of 2002, were over 100 million. [1]

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 professionally, and as he got older, first his uncle made him a makeshift kit for him to practice on, followed by more complete sets bought by his parents. [2] Collins practiced by playing along to the television and radio. By the time he was a teenager he was a fully accomplished drummer, although not in the typical sense – Collins never learnt to read music. Collins does not read and write conventional musical notation but uses a system of his own devising.

Hardly a shy child, Collins looked for every opportunity to perform. His professional training began at age fourteen when he entered Barbara Speake Stage School. [3] He began a career as a child actor and model. Most notably, he won the role of the Artful Dodger in a London production of “Oliver!, a role he kept for nine months. He also appeared as an extra on The Beatles’ A Hard Day's Night [4], although as part of a crowd scene. He had also auditioned for the role of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (1968). [5]

Despite the beginnings of an acting career, Collins continued to gravitate toward music. During high school he formed a band called The Real Thing and later joined The Freehold. It was during his time with The Freehold that Phil wrote his first song titled "Lying Crying Dying." [6]

The Genesis Era

Also see the complimentary main article, Genesis (band).

In 1970, Collins answered a Melody Maker classified ad for “...a drummer sensitive to acoustic music, and acoustic twelve-string guitarist". [7] The ad was for an up and coming rock group called Genesis, who in the course of two albums had already lost three drummers. [8] 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. [9]

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

Collins gained acclaim as a drummer after Nursery Cryme (1971), the first Genesis album with Collins, was released. Twice he even sang lead vocals, specifically on “For Absent Friends” (from Nursery Cryme) and “More Fool Me” (from Selling England by the Pound) (1973). 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 first album with Collins as lead vocalist, 1976’s A Trick of the Tail, became the first Genesis album to reach the American Top 40, and climbed as high as #3 on the UK charts. [10]

As the decade closed, Genesis began to steer away from their progressive rock roots and toward pop music. 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".

In the 1980s, the group scored a string of successful albums, including their first UK top hit Invisible Touch (1986). 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”, although ironically they lost to Gabriel’s solo hit, “Sledgehammer”. [11].

After a successful world tour in the early 1990s, 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 Collins is open to reuniting with Genesis [12]. However, Collins has stated that he is most interested in returning if Peter Gabriel took the vocals and Collins performed as drummer. There have been no official plans announced of a reunion.

Solo career

An early theme in Collins’ music, although never specifically mentioned in his albums, dealt with his recent divorce. Two songs which he wrote on the Genesis album Duke, "Please Don’t Ask" and "Misunderstanding", dealt with failed relationships. When Collins ventured into a solo career with the recording of his first album, Face Value (1981), Collins attributed his divorce as his main influence. [13]

Collins’ frustrations in his marital life formed the bulk of his first solo album as well as his sophomore effort, Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982). With songs such as Face Value’s "In the Air Tonight" and Hello’s "I Don’t Care Anymore", Collins early albums had a dark presence, usually heavy on the drums, and often dealing with a failed relationship. There were occasional peppier influences – Face Value’s "Behind the Lines", for example, was a jazzy remake of a Genesis song he co-wrote, and Hello’s rendition of The Supremes’ "You Can’t Hurry Love" was a UK Number One – but the overall theme was disappointment.

1985 would be a banner year for Collins, as well as a noticeably happier one. Collins performed at Live Aid at both Wembley stadium in England and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. He accomplished the feat by performing earlier in the day as both a solo artist and alongside Sting at Wembley. Immediately after his performance, he boarded the Concorde to perform his solo material and drum for Led Zeppelin.

The same year, Collins released his most successful album, No Jacket Required, containing the hits "Sussudio", "One More Night" and "Take Me Home". The album featured ex-bandmate Peter Gabriel and Sting as backing vocalists. Phil enjoyed another UK number one 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 one, for the movie White Nights. In total, Collins had three American number one songs in 1985, the most of any artist that year. [14]

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.

In 1989, Collins produced another successful album, ...But Seriously, featuring 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). Songs about apartheid and homelessness demonstrated Collins’s sudden turn to politically driven songs, a theme which would appear again in his later albums.

Collins' record sales dropped with the 1993 release of Both Sides, a largely experimental album which, according to Collins, included songs that “were becoming so personal, so private, I didn't want anyone else's input” [15]. Featuring a less studio-polished sound, fewer uptempo songs and darker lyrical subject matter than on previous albums, Both Sides abandoned the winning formula that had brought him success in the 1980’s. Collins used no backing musicians, performed all of the vocal and instrumental parts at his home studio, and used rough vocal takes for the final product. The departure was not well received on the radio, and its two singles, "Both Sides of the Story" and "Everyday", were minor successes.

After the heavy political messages of his prior two albums, Collins attempted a return to peppier music with Dance Into the Light (1996). It included minor hits such as the title track, the Beatles-inspired “It’s in Your Eyes”, and the comical “Wear My Hat”. However, although the album went Gold in the US, it sold considerably less than his previous albums. The songs have largely been forgotten by radio, and only the title track made a brief appearance on Collins then-forthcoming Hits collection (1998). Despite this, its subsequent tour, A Trip into the Light, regularly sold out arenas across the US in 1997.

Although the decade failed to treat Collins as well as the previous, there were several bright spots at the close of the 90s. The Hits album was a success. The album’s sole new track, "True Colors", obtained considerable play on the Adult Contemporary charts before peaking at #2. [16] Collins went further with his next single, "You'll Be in My Heart", from the movie Tarzan (1999). The soundtrack reached the Top 10, the single was Collins’s first to enter the Top 40 in nearly five years, and Collins finally achieved his allusive dream of obtaining an Academy Award.

Still, it appeared that Collins’ grasp on the pop charts had begun to weaken. His most recent studio album, 2002’s Testify, was well-received by critics but failed to make much impact on the mainstream charts. Testify featured the Leo Sayer cover "Can't Stop Loving You", and "Come With Me (Lullaby)" - a heartfelt father-to-child song originally written in 1990 but finally recorded for Collins' baby son Nicholas. Although both songs performed well on the Adult Contemporary charts, the album was ignored by mainstream radio and disappeared quickly.

In recent years Collins has reportedly been losing his hearing in one ear, and in 2003 announced a farewell tour. [17] Collins embarked on his so-called "First Final Farewell Tour", a tongue-in-cheek title to the multiple 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. Outside of the tour, Collins has only performed occasionally, although Collins did accept an invitation to be the drummer in the “house band” 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.

Other projects

Collins's 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". [18] 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.

In 1975, around the time that Collins was first recording as lead singer as Genesis, he performed in a jazz fusion group called Brand X. They recorded their first album, The Eddie Howell Gramophone Record, will Collins as drummer. Since Collins was giving greater priority to Genesis, there were several tours and albums released without Collins. Collins credits Brand X as his first use of a drum machine as well as his first use of a home 8-track. [19]

In 1996, Collins formed the Phil Collins Big Band. With Collins as drummer, the band 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.

Films

The majority of Collins' work with films has been through music. Four of his seven American number one songs have come from film soundtracks, and his work on Disney's Tarzan earned him an Oscar. However, Collins has made appearances in several films. 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). [20]

He wrote and performed the 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 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. However, Collins was famously not invited to perform the song at that year’s presentation, although he was in the audience and had arranged his tour around the telecast. It was believed that the Academy, despite nominating him, did not know who Collins was. A note to Collins’s label from telecast co-producer Larry Gelbart explaining the lack of invite stated, “Thank you for your note regarding Phil Cooper (emphasis added). I’m afraid the spots have already been filled”. Collins instead watched Ann Reinking perform his song. [21]

Collins performed (although did not write) “Separate Lives” for the film White Nights (1985). A duet with Marilyn Martin, the single became an additional Number One for Collins as well as another nominee for an Academy Award. The song had parallels to Collins’s first two albums. Writer Stephen Bishop noted that he was inspired by a failed relationship and called “Separate Lives” “a song about anger”. [22]

Collins' first starring film role came in 1988 in the movie Buster playing train robber Buster Edwards. Phil Collins’ rendition of “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.

File:MukLukBalto.jpg
Collins provided the voices to both Muk and Luk in the 1995 cartoon, Balto.

Collins’s future work as an actor was considerably smaller than Buster, with only a starring role 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).

Collins was asked by The Walt Disney Company to produce the score for the animated film Tarzan in 1999. Collins finally had his luck with the Academy Awards when his song "You'll Be in My Heart" won an Oscar and was performed by him at that year’s telecast. The song, also recorded in Spanish among other languages by Collins, was his only appearance on Billboard’s Hot Latin Tracks [23]. 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".

On television, Collins has twice hosted the Billboard Music Awards. As well, he has appeared in an episode of the series Miami Vice and guest starred in several sketches with The Two Ronnies.

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. [24]

Urban legend

See also, "In the Air Tonight".

“In the Air Tonight”, a song from Collins album Face Value, has become the subject of numerous, exaggerated stories. The stories usually involve Collins seeing a man who let someone drown. Collins writes a song about the incident, then invites the man to the song's debut, putting a spotlight on the murderer. Collins says the song, like the album, refers to his feelings about his divorce from his first wife, Andrea. [25] Over two decades later, the myth continues to be referenced, most recently in the Eminem song, "Stan".

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. On an edition of the BBC popular music show Top of the Pops he also performed the song with a can of paint on the piano. It is not clear whether this was a tounge-in-cheek reference to the previous rendition as described above or if there really was a link betwixt the paint and the painter.

Further reading

  • Ray Coleman, Phil Collins: The Definitive Biography, Simon & Schuster. London. 1997. ISBN 0-684-81784-5
  • Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books, New York. 1997. ISBN 0-8230-7641-X (Eight essays about Collins, including one with Genesis)
  • Craig Rosen's, The Billboard Book of Number One Albums. Billboard Books, New York. 1996. ISBN 0823075869 (Two essays about Collins)

Discography

From the main article, Phil Collins discography.

Band

From the main article, Touring and studio musicians of Phil Collins.

Collins is currently touring for what has been billed his final solo tour, The First Final Farewell Tour. The current touring band includes:

References

  1. ^ Atlantic Records press release. “Phil Collins Celebrates TESTIFY with Weekend Today Performance and NYC In-Store” 11/15/02. [[26]] Accessed January 19, 2006.
  2. ^ Coleman, R. Phil Collins: The Definitive Biography, Simon & Schuster. London. 1997. Pgs 29-30. ISBN 0-684-81784-5
  3. ^ Official Genesis biography (Accessed January 10, 2006)
  4. ^ Yahoo! Movies The Beatles - The Making of A Hard Day's Night (1995) (Accessed January 9, 2006)
  5. ^ Coleman, R. Phil Collins: The Definitive Biography, Simon & Schuster. London. 1997. Pg 51. ISBN 0-684-81784-5
  6. ^ Official Biography (Accessed January 9, 2006)
  7. ^ Coleman, R. Phil Collins: The Definitive Biography, Simon & Schuster. London. 1997. Pg 61. ISBN 0-684-81784-5
  8. ^ Billboard Magazine, Online. “Genesis” Biography. Accessed January 16, 2006. [[27]]
  9. ^ Coleman, R. Phil Collins: The Definitive Biography, Simon & Schuster. London. 1997. Pg 63. ISBN 0-684-81784-5
  10. ^ Billboard Magazine, Online. “Genesis” Biography. Accessed January 16, 2006. [[28]]
  11. ^ MTV.com. MTV Video Awards, Past Winners. [[29]]. Accessed January 16, 2006.
  12. ^ Heller, C. "Phil Collins Said Open to Genesis Reunion". November 6, 2005. [[30]] Accessed January 14, 2006.
  13. ^ Bronson, F. The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books, New York. 1997. Pg. 604. ISBN 0-8230-7641-X
  14. ^ Whitburn, J. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books, New York. 2000. Pgs. 143-144. ISBN 0-8230-7690-3
  15. ^ Coleman, R. Phil Collins: The Definitive Biography, Simon & Schuster. London. 1997. Pg 181. ISBN 0-684-81784-5
  16. ^ Billboard Magazine, Phil Collins Chart History [[31]] Accessed January 13, 2006.
  17. ^ Hear-it.org [[32]] Accessed January 13, 2006.
  18. ^ Coleman, R. Phil Collins: The Definitive Biography, Simon & Schuster. London. 1997. Pg 55. ISBN 0-684-81784-5
  19. ^ Official Brand X biography from the Phil Collins website, [[33]], accessed January 14, 2006.
  20. ^ The Internet Movie Database [[34]]. Accessed January 13, 2006.
  21. ^ Bronson, F. The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books, New York. 1997. Pg. 586. ISBN 0-8230-7641-X
  22. ^ Bronson, F. The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books, New York. 1997. Pg. 624. ISBN 0-8230-7641-X
  23. ^ Billboard Magazine, Phil Collins Chart History [[35]] Accessed January 13, 2006.
  24. ^ Baker, G. A. Penthouse Interview, 1993. [[36]], accessed January 13, 2006.
  25. ^ Snopes.com, “In the Air Tonight”. [[37]]. Accessed January 13, 2006.
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