Phil Collins

Philip David Charles Collins (born January 30, 1951), better known as Phil Collins, is a British rock/pop musician, known mainly for singing and playing the drums. He was born in London, England.

Collins' ambitions to wield the sticks started early when he was given a toy drum for Christmas at the age of just three. He instantly harboured ambitions to drum properly and professionally, and as he got older, his uncles made him a makeshift kit for him to practise on. By the time he was a teenager he was fully accomplished.

His showbusiness career had begun early, as a child actor and model, highlights of which included appearing onstage in Oliver! and being recruited for a non-speaking role in A Hard Day's Night, though as one of hundreds of kids paid to scream at the Beatles, he is difficult to make out.

In 1970 he answered a Melody Maker classified ad and joined the already successful group Genesis as their drummer. He also performed most of the backing vocals on the band's next four albums, and sang lead on two songs which didn't require his drumming skills.

In 1975, when frontman Peter Gabriel left Genesis, Collins took over as lead vocalist. The band enjoyed its most commercially successful period with Collins as vocalist, which essentially began in 1978 when the single Follow You, Follow Me became their first UK Top 10 hit. They continued to have strong success in the early 1980s and by 1986 Invisible Touch topped the album charts. By this time they had several hit singles under their belt to go with the string of successful albums. Collins finally announced that he was leaving Genesis in 1996.

During the 1970s Collins also played drums for the jazz fusion band Brand X. In the 1980s he did session drumming for such high-profile acts as Robert Plant, Howard Jones and Tears for Fears. He also has collaborated with well known musicians, such as George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, Mike Oldfield, and several others.

In the late 1970s, Collins' first wife left him and announced she wished to divorce. Despite continuous attempts to save his marriage, Collins realised he wasn't going to do so and found that the emotions and frustrations he endured could be channelled into songwriting. When Genesis rejected the songs, he decided to make a solo album.

The result, in 1981, was Face Value, containing the memorable hit "In The Air Tonight" which made Number 2 in the UK singles charts. Collins famously did Top Of The Pops with a paintbrush on top of his piano - the man his wife eloped with was a painter and decorator.

Collins worked both for himself and with Genesis in 1983, each releasing albums and singles, and he enjoyed a solo Number 1 single with a version of You Can't Hurry Love. He was also tapped for his producing skills for Adam Ant in 1983 for the album "Strip," on which he also played drums.

He wrote and performed the award-winning title song to the movie Against All Odds in 1984 and appeared as drummer at the Band Aid recording at the end of the year.

In 1985 he was one of the stars of the Live Aid concert during which he performed Against All Odds at the Wembley end, then flew to the USA on Concorde to do the same song at Philadelphia. Also in 1985, he released his most successful album No Jacket Required and enjoyed another UK Number 1 with Easy Lover, a duet with Philip Bailey. He also recorded the critically-acclaimed Separate Lives, a duet with Marilyn Martin.

After a year with Genesis and re-marrying, Collins re-emerged in 1988 when he took up acting again, taking the lead in the Buster, in which he played train robber Buster Edwards. From the soundtrack, he enjoyed his third UK Number 1 with a evrsion of A Groovy Kind Of Love. 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-homeless anthem Another Day In Paradise. The song just missed out on a UK Number 1 slot but overwhelmingly won the 1990 Best Single award at the Brits, in a vote conducted by listeners to BBC Radio 1.

Collins' record sales decreased greatly since the release of Both Sides in 1993; subsequent releases never reached the levels of his 1980s albums. Collins' total worldwide album sales, including Genesis albums, are approximately two hundred million.

Collins is a successful songwriter, and 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 again hired Collins in 2003 for the soundtrack to another animated feature film, Brother Bear.

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 Silver Jubilee. He ended up playing drums for the likes of Paul McCartney, Ozzy Osbourne and Cliff Richard.

He is married to his third wife and lives in Switzerland.

Discography

This discography does not include live albums and film soundtracks.

• 1981: Face Value
• 1982: Hello, I Must Be Going
• 1985: No Jacket Required
• 1989: But Seriously
• 1993: Both Sides
• 1996: Dance into the Light
• 2002: Testify