Early life

Philip David Charles Collins was born on 30 January 1951 in Chiswick, the son of Winifred M. "June" (née Strange), a theatrical agent, and Greville Philip Austin Collins, an insurance agent. He was given a toy drum kit for Christmas when he was five. Later, his uncle made him a makeshift set that he used regularly. As Collins grew older, these were followed by more complete sets bought by his parents. He practiced by playing with music on the television and radio, but never learned to read and write conventional musical notation; instead, he used a system which he devised himself. According to Barbara Speake, founder of the eponymous stage school he later attended, Collins always had a rare ear for music: "Phil was always special; aged five he entered a Butlins talent contest singing Davy Crockett, but he stopped the orchestra halfway through to tell them they were in the wrong key."

Collins studied drum rudiments as a teenager, first learning basic rudiments under Lloyd Ryan and later studying further under Frank King. Collins would recall: "Rudiments I found very, very helpful - much more helpful than anything else because they're used all the time. In any kind of funk or jazz drumming, the rudiments are always there." However, Collins regretted that he never mastered musical notation, saying: "I never really came to grips with the music. I should have stuck with it. I've always felt that if I could hum it, I could play it. For me, that was good enough, but that attitude is bad." Lloyd Ryan recalled: "Phil always had a problem with reading. That was always a big problem for him. That’s a shame because reading drum music isn’t that difficult."

The Beatles were a strong early musical influence on Collins, including their drummer Ringo Starr. He also followed the lesser-known London band the Action, whose drummer he would copy and whose work introduced him to the soul music of Motown and Stax Records. Collins was also influenced by the jazz and big band drummer Buddy Rich, whose opinion on the importance of the hi-hat prompted Collins to stop using two bass drums and start using the hi-hat. While attending Chiswick Grammar School, Collins formed a band called the Real Thing and later joined the Freehold. With the latter group, he wrote his first song titled "Lying Crying Dying". His professional acting training began at age 14, at the Barbara Speake Stage School, a fee-paying but non-selective independent school in East Acton, London, whose talent agency had been established by his mother.

Career

1963-1970: Early acting roles and Flaming Youth

Collins began a career as a child actor while at the Barbara Speake Stage School and won his first major role as the Artful Dodger in the London stage production of Oliver! He was an extra in the the Beatles's film A Hard Day's Night (1964) among the screaming teenagers during the television concert sequence. This was followed by a role in Calamity the Cow (1967), produced by the Children's Film Foundation, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) as one of the children who storm the castle at the end, but the scene was cut. Collins auditioned for the role of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (1968) but this was won by Leonard Whiting.

Despite the beginnings of an acting career, Collins continued to gravitate towards music. His first record deal came as drummer for Hickory with guitarists Ronnie Caryl and Gordon Smith and keyboardist Brian Chatton. After changing their name to Flaming Youth they recorded one album, Ark 2, released in October 1969 on Uni Records that premiered with a performance at the London Planetarium. A concept album inspired by the media attention surrounding the 1969 moon landing, Ark 2 featured each member sharing lead vocals. Though a commercial failure, it received some positive critical reviews; Melody Maker named it "Pop Album of the Month", describing it as "adult music beautifully played with nice tight harmonies". After a year of touring, the group disbanded in 1970. Collins went on to play percussion on "Art of Dying" by George Harrison for his album All Things Must Pass. Harrison acknowledged Collins's contribution in the remastered edition released in 2000.

1970-1978: Joining Genesis

In mid-1970, rock band Genesis advertised for "a drummer sensitive to acoustic music and 12-string acoustic guitarist" following the departure of guitarist Anthony Phillips and drummer John Mayhew. Collins recognised Charisma Records owner Tony Stratton-Smith's name in the ad and applied to audition with Caryl. Auditions took place at the parents' home of singer Peter Gabriel in Chobham, Surrey. As they arrived early, Collins took a swim in the pool and memorised the pieces before his own audition. He recalled, "They put on 'Trespass', and my initial impression was of a very soft and round music, not edgy, with vocal harmonies and I came away thinking Crosby, Stills and Nash". In August 1970, Collins became Genesis's new drummer. Caryl's audition was unsuccessful; guitarist Mike Rutherford thought he was not a good fit for the group (they selected Steve Hackett in January 1971).

From 1970 to 1975, Collins played the drums, percussion, and backing vocals on Genesis albums and live shows. His first album recorded with the band, Nursery Cryme, was recorded and released in 1971. "For Absent Friends", an acoustic track written by Collins and Hackett, is the first Genesis song with Collins on lead vocals. He sang "More Fool Me" on their 1973 album Selling England by the Pound. In 1974, during the recording of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Collins played drums on Brian Eno's second album Taking Tiger Mountain after Eno had contributed electronic effects known as "Enossification" on "In the Cage" and "Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging".

	"Dance on a Volcano" (1976) The first track from Genesis's A Trick of the Tail was Collins's début as the group's full-time lead singer. A progressive rock track with complex time signatures, it contrasts with the style of his later work.
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In August 1975, following the The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour, Gabriel left Genesis. Collins became lead vocalist during production of A Trick of the Tail after a lengthy search for Gabriel's replacement where he sang back-up with applicants that responded to a Melody Maker advert that attracted around 400 replies. A Trick of the Tail was a commercial and critical success for the band, reaching No. 3 in the UK and No. 31 in the U.S. Rolling Stone wrote, "Genesis has managed to turn the possible catastrophe of Gabriel's departure into their first broad-based American success." For the album's 1976 tour, Collins accepted an offer from former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford to play drums while Collins sang vocals. Wind & Wuthering is the last album recorded with Hackett before his 1977 departure. Bruford was replaced by Chester Thompson, who became a mainstay of the band's live line-up, as well as Collins's solo back-up band, through the following decades.

In 1977, Collins, Banks, and Rutherford decided to continue Genesis as a trio. As the decade closed, Genesis began to shift from their progressive rock roots to a more accessible, radio-friendly pop-rock sound. The 1978 album ...And Then There Were Three... featured their first UK Top 10 and U.S. Top 40 single, "Follow You Follow Me".

In 1975 Collins played with several artists. He played the drums and sang on Hackett's first solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte; performed on Eno's albums Another Green World, Before and After Science, and Music for Films; and replaced drummer Phil Spinelli of the jazz fusion group Brand X before recording their 1976 debut album, Unorthodox Behaviour. Collins credits Brand X as his first use of a drum machine as well as his first use of a home 8-track tape machine. He then sang on Phillips's solo album, The Geese and the Ghost, and the second Brand X album, Moroccan Roll.

1978-1983: Start of solo career: Face Value and Hello, I Must Be Going!

In December 1978, Genesis began a period of inactivity as Collins's marriage was at risk of collapse after touring had made him frequently absent from his wife and children. Collins went to Vancouver, Canada to try and rebuild the family. He explained: "I was never going to leave the band. It was just that if I was going to be living in Vancouver then we'd have had to organise ourselves differently." In April 1979, Collins returned to the UK after his attempt to save his marriage had failed. With time to spare before working on a new Genesis album, Collins played on the Brand X album Product and its accompanying tour, and started writing his first solo album, Face Value, at his home in Shalford, Surrey. After Banks and Rutherford rejoined with Collins, work began on Duke, released in 1980. The dominant theme running through Collins' early solo recordings, though never specifically mentioned, was the acrimonious breakdown of his first marriage. Two songs he wrote on Duke, "Please Don't Ask", and the U.S. top 20 hit "Misunderstanding", dealt with his failed relationships.

	"In the Air Tonight" "In the Air Tonight" from Face Value (1981), was the first single of Collins's solo career and featured a famous gated reverb drum fill. The song's atmospheric production has made it one of Collins's most frequently sampled songs.
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Face Value was released in February 1981. It features a rework of "Behind the Lines" from Duke with a more funk and dance-oriented style. Collins cited his divorce as his main influence. Regarding Face Value, he says, "I had a wife, two children, two dogs, and the next day I didn't have anything. So a lot of these songs were written because I was going through these emotional changes." Collins produced the album in collaboration with Hugh Padgham, with whom he had worked on Peter Gabriel's 1980 studio album. Collins played keyboards and drums on Face Value.

Upon its release, Face Value was an international success, reaching No. 1 in seven countries worldwide and No. 7 in the U.S. where it went on to sell 5 million copies. "In the Air Tonight", the album's lead single, became a hit and reached No. 2 in the UK. The song is known for the gated reverb effect used on Collins's drums, a technique developed by producer Hugh Padgham when he worked as an engineer on Peter Gabriel's song "Intruder", which Collins played drums on. Following an invitation by record producer Martin Lewis, Collins made his debut live performance as a solo artist at the Amnesty International benefit show The Secret Policeman's Other Ball at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London in September 1981. He performed "In the Air Tonight" and "The Roof Is Leaking" accompanied by Troy Street United.

In September 1981, Genesis released Abacab. This was followed by its 1981 supporting tour and a two-month tour in 1982 promoting the Genesis live album Three Sides Live. On 2 October 1982, Collins took part in a Genesis concert, 'Six of the Best' which featured Gabriel on lead vocals and Hackett on guitar.

Collins's second solo album, Hello, I Must Be Going!, was released in November 1982. His marital problems continued to provide inspiration for his songs, including "I Don't Care Anymore" and "Do You Know, Do You Care". The album reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 8 in the U.S., where it sold 3 million copies. Its second single, a cover of "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes, became Collins's first UK No. 1 single and went to No. 10 in the US. Collins supported the album with the Hello, I Must Be Going! tour of Europe and North America from November 1982 to February 1983.

In May 1983, Collins recorded Genesis with Banks and Rutherford. Its tour ended in February 1984.

1984-1985: No Jacket Required

"Against All Odds" "Against All Odds" from the soundtrack of the same name (1984), is a power ballad which became his first Billboard Hot 100 #1 single. It again featured his gated reverb drum sound. "Another Day in Paradise" A sample of "Another Day in Paradise" from ...But Seriously (1989). Collins wrote the song to bring attention to the problem of homelessness. It became his final Billboard Hot 100 #1 single.

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Collins changed his musical style with "Against All Odds", the main theme song for the movie of the same name in 1984. The more pop-friendly and radio-accessible single became Collins's first solo single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave him his first Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. Later that year, Collins contributed to production on Earth, Wind & Fire vocalist Philip Bailey's third solo album, Chinese Wall, collaborating with Bailey on the duet, "Easy Lover", which reached No. 1 in the UK.

In November 1984, Collins played drums and was part of the all-star choir for Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?", a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for the victims of the 1983-1985 famine in Ethiopia, which became the UK Christmas #1 and the best-selling single in UK Singles Chart history, selling a million copies in the first week alone.

Collins released his most successful album, the Diamond-certified No Jacket Required, in February 1985. It reached No. 1 in both the UK and U.S. It contained the U.S. number-one hits "One More Night" and "Sussudio" as well top ten hits "Don't Lose My Number" and "Take Me Home". It also contains the lesser known "Who Said I Would", and "Only You Know and I Know". The album featured contributions from The Police's vocalist, Sting, ex-bandmate Peter Gabriel, and Helen Terry as backing vocalists. He also recorded the successful song "Separate Lives", a duet with Marilyn Martin, and a U.S. #1, for the movie White Nights. Collins had three U.S. number-one songs in 1985, the most by any artist that year. No Jacket Required won three Grammy Awards including Album of the Year.

No Jacket Required was criticised for being "too commercial", despite favourable reviews from many music critics. A positive review by David Fricke of Rolling Stone ended, "After years on the art-rock fringe, Collins has established himself firmly in the middle of the road. Perhaps he should consider testing himself and his new fans's expectations next time around." "Sussudio" attracted negative attention for sounding too similar to Prince's "1999", a charge that Collins did not deny, and its hook line ("Su-su-su-sussudio") has been named as the most widely disliked element of his career.

In 1985 Bob Geldof asked Collins to perform at the Live Aid charity event, a continuation of the fundraising effort for Ethiopia started by Band Aid. Collins had the distinction of being the only performer to appear at both the UK concert at Wembley Stadium and the U.S. concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia; he performed several songs, including "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" and "In the Air Tonight". He accomplished this by performing early in the day at Wembley as both a solo artist and alongside Sting, then transferring to a Concorde flight to the U.S. enabling him to perform his solo material, and play drums with Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton in Philadelphia. The Led Zeppelin reunion was poorly received and later disowned by the band. Guitarist Jimmy Page alleged that Collins "hadn't learned" his drum part. Page said: "You can get away with that in a pop band but not with Led Zeppelin". Collins responded that the band "weren't very good" and that he "was made to feel a little uncomfortable by the dribbling Jimmy Page." To avoid negative attention, he persisted with the set rather than leave the stage.

Besides his number-one duet with Marilyn Martin in 1985, Collins scored two more hits from movies with the singles, "A Groovy Kind of Love" (#1 UK and U.S.) and "Two Hearts" (#1 U.S., #6 UK), both from the soundtrack of his feature film, Buster. In 1986 Collins won the first two of his six Brit Awards for Best British Male and Best British Album for No Jacket Required.

The music press noted Collins's astronomical success as a solo artist had made him more popular than Genesis. Before the release of No Jacket Required, Collins insisted that he would not leave the band. "The next one to leave the band will finish it," Collins told Rolling Stone magazine in May 1985. "I feel happier with what we're doing now, because I feel it's closer to me. I won't be the one." Collins added, "Poor old Genesis does get in the way sometimes. I still won't leave the group, but I imagine it will end by mutual consent."

1985-1991: ...But Seriously

In October 1985, Collins reunited with Banks and Rutherford to record the next Genesis album, Invisible Touch. Its title track was released as a single and reached No. 1 in the US, the only Genesis song to do so. The group received a Grammy Award (their only one) and a nomination for the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year in 1987 for the single "Land of Confusion" which featured puppet caricatures created by the British satirical team Spitting Image. The video was directed by Jim Yukich. Reviews of Invisible Touch were mixed and many comparisons were made with Collins's solo work, but Rolling Stone's J. D. Considine praised the album's commercial appeal, stating, "every tune is carefully pruned so that each flourish delivers not an instrumental epiphany but a solid hook".

In 1989 Collins worked on his fourth studio album ...But Seriously, and appeared on The Who Tour 1989, performing the role of young Tommy's wicked Uncle Ernie in a reprisal of the rock opera Tommy (a part originally played by their late drummer, Keith Moon). In November, Collins released ...But Seriously, which became another huge success, featuring as its lead single the anti-homelessness anthem "Another Day in Paradise", with David Crosby singing backing vocals. "Another Day in Paradise" reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts at the end of 1989, won Collins Best British Single at the Brit Awards in 1990, and the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1991; it was also one of Germany's most successful singles of all time. It became the final U.S. number-one single of the 1980s. Despite its success, the song was also heavily criticised. It also became linked to allegations of hypocrisy made against Collins.

...But Seriously became the first number-one U.S. album of the 1990s and the best-selling album of 1990 in the UK. Other songs included "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" (#4 U.S., #15 UK), "Do You Remember?" (not released in the UK, but #4 in the U.S.), and "I Wish It Would Rain Down" (the latter featuring Eric Clapton on guitar; #3 U.S., #7 UK). Songs about apartheid and homelessness demonstrated Collins's turn to political themes. A live album, Serious Hits... Live!, followed, which reached the top ten around the world. In September 1990 Collins performed "Sussudio" at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. Collins also played drums on the 1989 Tears for Fears hit single, "Woman in Chains".

1991-1997: Leaving Genesis, Both Sides and Dance into the Light

After a hiatus of five years, Genesis reconvened for the 1991 album release We Can't Dance, Collins's last studio album with the group to date. It features the singles "Jesus He Knows Me", "I Can't Dance", "No Son of Mine", and "Hold on My Heart". Collins performed on their 1992 tour. At the 1993 American Music Awards, Genesis won the award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo, or Group.

Collins's record sales began to drop with the 1993 release of Both Sides, a largely experimental album that, according to Collins, included songs that "were becoming so personal, so private, I didn't want anyone else's input". Featuring a less polished sound and fewer up-tempo songs than his previous albums, Both Sides was a significant departure. Collins used no backing musicians and he performed all the vocal and instrumental parts at his home studio, using rough vocal takes for the final product. The album was not as well received by radio. Its two biggest hits were "Both Sides of the Story" and "Everyday". In 1995, Collins turned down the chance to contribute to Tower of Song, an album of covers of Leonard Cohen songs, due to his touring commitments.

Collins left Genesis in 1996 to focus on his solo career. He formed The Phil Collins Big Band with himself on drums. The band performed jazz renditions of songs from Genesis and his solo career. His sixth solo album, Dance into the Light, was released in October 1996. The album was received negatively by the music press and sold less than his previous albums. Entertainment Weekly reviewed by saying that "even Phil Collins must know that we all grew weary of Phil Collins". Singles from the album included the title track, which reached No. 9 in the UK, and The Beatles-inspired "It's in Your Eyes". The album achieved Gold certification in the United States. On 15 September 1997, Collins appeared at the Music for Montserrat concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

1998-2006: Big Band Tour, work with Disney and Testify

The Phil Collins Big Band completed a world tour in 1998 that included a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1999 they released the CD A Hot Night in Paris including big band versions of "Invisible Touch", "Sussudio", and "The Los Endos Suite" from A Trick of the Tail.

A compilation album ...Hits was released in 1998 and sold well, returning Collins to multi-platinum status in the U.S. The album's one new track, a cover of the Cyndi Lauper hit "True Colors", received considerable airplay on U.S. Adult Contemporary stations while peaking at No. 2.

In 1999 Collins reunited with Genesis to re-record "The Carpet Crawlers" for the compilation album Turn It On Again: The Hits.

Collins's next single, "You'll Be in My Heart", from the Disney animated movie Tarzan, spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart—the longest time ever up to that point. The song won Collins an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award both for Best Original Song. It was his third nomination in the songwriters's category, after being nominated in 1985 and 1989. Collins was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, on 16 June 1999.

In 2000 Collins suddenly developed a deafness in one ear, due to a viral infection. He contemplated ending his musical career at that point; the combined partial deafness and growing criticism were wearing him down. However, when medical treatment cured his deafness, he continued his chosen path. In June 2002 he accepted an invitation to drum for the house band at the Party at the Palace event held at Buckingham Palace Garden, a concert celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee.

In November 2002 Collins released his seventh solo album, Testify. Metacritic's roundup of album reviews found this record to be the worst-reviewed album at the time of its release, though it has since been "surpassed" by three more recent releases. The album's single "Can't Stop Loving You" (a Leo Sayer cover) was a number-one Adult Contemporary hit. Testify only sold 140,000 copies in the U.S. by year's end. From June 2004 to November 2005, Collins performed his First Final Farewell Tour, a reference to the multiple farewell tours of other popular artists. In 2006, he worked with Disney on a musical production of Tarzan.

2006-2015: Genesis reunion, Going Back, and retirement

Collins reunited with Banks and Rutherford and announced Turn It On Again: The Tour on 7 November 2006, nearly 40 years after the band first formed. The tour took place during summer 2007, and played in twelve countries across Europe, followed by a second leg in North America. During the tour Genesis performed at the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium, London. In 2007 they were honoured at the second annual VH1 Rock Honors, performing "Turn It On Again", "No Son of Mine" and "Los Endos" at the ceremony in Las Vegas.

In October 2009, it was reported that Collins was to record a Motown covers album. He told a German newspaper, "I want the songs to sound exactly like the originals", and that the album would feature up to 30 songs. In January 2010, Chester Thompson said that the album had been completed and would be released some time soon. He also revealed that Collins managed to play the drums on the album despite a spinal operation.

Going Back was released on 13 September 2010, entering the UK charts at No. 4, rising to No. 1 the following week. In summer 2010, Collins played six concerts with the music from Going Back. These included a special programme, Phil Collins: One Night Only, aired ITV1 on 18 September 2010. Collins also promoted Going Back with his first and only appearance on the BBC's foremost music series Later... with Jools Holland, broadcast on 17 September 2010.

In March 2010, Collins was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis at a ceremony in New York City. As of January 2011, Collins has spent 1,730 weeks in the German music charts—766 weeks of them with Genesis albums and singles and 964 weeks with solo releases.

On 4 March 2011, citing health problems and other concerns, Collins announced that he was taking time off from his career, prompting widespread reports of his retirement. On 7 March his UK representative told the press, "He is not, has no intention of, retiring." However, later that day, Collins posted a message to his fans on his own website, confirming his intention to retire to focus on his family life.

In July 2012, Collins's greatest hits collection ...Hits re-entered the U.S. charts, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard 200.

In November 2013, Collins told German media that he was considering a return to music and speculated that this could mean further live shows with Genesis, stating: "Everything is possible. We could tour in Australia and South America. We haven't been there yet." Speaking to reporters in Miami, Florida in December 2013 at an event promoting his charity work, Collins indicated that he was writing music once again and might tour again.

On 24 January 2014, Collins announced in an interview with Inside South Florida that he was writing new compositions with fellow English singer Adele. Collins said he had no idea who Adele was when he learned she wanted to collaborate with him. He said "I wasn't actually too aware . I live in a cave." Collins agreed to join her in the studio after hearing her voice. He said, " achieved an incredible amount. I really love her voice. I love some of this stuff she's done, too." However, in September 2014, Collins revealed that the collaboration had ended and he said it had been "a bit of a non-starter".

In May 2014, Collins gave a live performance of "In the Air Tonight" and "Land of Confusion" with young student musicians at the Miami Country Day School in Miami, Florida. Collins was asked to perform there by his sons, who are students at the school. In August 2014, Collins was reported to have accepted an invitation to perform in December at a benefit concert in Miami in aid of his Little Dreams Foundation charity. He ultimately missed the concert due to illness.

2015-present: Out of retirement

In May 2015 Collins signed a deal with Warner Music Group to remaster his eight solo albums with previously unreleased material. In October, he announced that he was no longer officially retired and is planning to tour and write a new album. Collins said that he plans to release an autobiography in late 2016.

Drumming and impact

In his book on the "legends" who defined progressive rock drumming, American drummer Rich Lackowski wrote: "Phil Collins' grooves in early Genesis recordings paved the way for many talented drummers to come. His ability to make the drums bark with musicality and to communicate so convincingly in odd time signatures left many a drummer tossing on the headphones and playing along to Phil's lead." In 2014, readers of Rhythm voted Collins the fourth most influential progressive rock drummer for his work on the 1974 Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. MusicRadar named Collins one of the six pioneers of progressive rock drumming. In 2005, Planet Rock listeners voted Collins the fifth greatest rock drummer in history. Collins was ranked tenth in "The Greatest Drummers of All Time" list by Gigwise and number nine in a list of "The 20 greatest drummers of the last 25 years" by MusicRadar in 2010.

Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins cites Collins as one of his drumming heroes. He said, "Collins is an incredible drummer. Anyone who wants to be good on the drums should check him out - the man is a master." In the April 2001 issue of Modern Drummer, Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy named Collins in an interview when asked about drummers he was influenced by and had respect for. In another conversation in 2014, Portnoy lauded his "amazing progressive drumming" back in the early and mid-1970s. Rush drummer Neil Peart praised his "beautiful drumming" and "lovely sound" on the 1973 Genesis album Selling England by the Pound, which he called "an enduring masterpiece of drumming". Marco Minnemann, drummer for artists including Joe Satriani and Steven Wilson, described Collins as "brilliant" for the way "he composes his parts, and the sounds he gets". He said, "Phil is almost like John Bonham to me. I hear his personality, his perspective." He singled out the drumming on "In the Air Tonight" as an example of "ten notes that everybody knows" and concluded "Phil is a insanely talented drummer".

Modern Drummer readers voted for Collins every year between 1987 and 1991 as Pop/Mainstream Rock drummer of the year. In 2000, he was voted as Big Band drummer of the year. In 2012, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Equipment

Collins is a left-handed drummer, and uses Gretsch drums, Remo heads and Sabian cymbals. Past kits he used were made by Pearl and Premier.

The Gretsch Company drums: (all drums are single head concert toms except snare)

• 14 x 20" bass drum
• 5.5 x 8" rack tom
• 6.5 x 10" rack tom
• 8 x 12" rack tom
• 12 x 15" rack tom
• 16 x 16" floor tom
• 18 x 18" floor tom
• 3.5 x 14" snare drum

Sabian cymbals:

• 15" Hi Hats
• 22" HH China
• 16" HH Medium Thin Crash
• 17" HH Extra Thin Crash
• 21" HH Raw Bell Dry Ride
• 20" HH Medium Crash
• 20" HH China

Other instruments associated with Collins' sound (particularly in his post-1978 Genesis and subsequent solo career) include the Roland CR-78, Roland TR-808, Roland TR-909, and the Linn LM-1 and LinnDrum drum machines, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer, the Yamaha CP-70 electric grand piano, the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, Oberheim DMX drum machine (as heard on "Sussudio"), Korg Wavestation, Korg KARMA, Korg Trinity,

Record producer and guest musician

For his solo career and his career with Genesis, Collins produced or co-produced virtually all of his singles and albums, the notable exceptions being "Against All Odds" (produced by Arif Mardin), and his cover of "True Colors" (produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds).

Collins also maintained a career as a producer for other artists throughout the 1980s, usually working on outside projects at the rate of one artist per year. His first outside work as a producer was the 1981 album Glorious Fool for John Martyn; in 1979 he had played drums and contributed backing vocals on Martyn's Grace and Danger. He followed that up by producing Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad's (Frida Lyngstad of ABBA) 1982 album Something's Going On, which contained the international hit "I Know There's Something Going On".

In 1976 Collins was brought in to contribute some percussion to one or more tracks on Thin Lizzy's album Johnny The Fox, seemingly because he was a close friend of Phil Lynott. Brian Robertson later said, "Collins was a mate of Phil's... I think Phil probably wanted to get him on the album to name-drop." Neither Brian Robertson nor Brian Downey has been able to remember exactly which songs Collins played on.

Collins played drums on Robert Plant's first two solo albums, Pictures at Eleven and The Principle of Moments.

In 1983 Collins produced two tracks for Adam Ant, on which he also played drums, both of which hit the UK charts: "Puss 'N' Boots" and "Strip". "Strip" was a minor US hit as well.

In 1984 Collins produced Phillip Bailey's album Chinese Wall, which included the hit Bailey/Collins duet "Easy Lover". It also contained the Bailey hit "Walking on the Chinese Wall".

In 1985 Collins produced and played drums on several tracks on the Eric Clapton album Behind the Sun. The following year, he produced (in collaboration with Hugh Padgham) one track for Howard Jones, the international hit No One Is to Blame, on which he also played drums.

Collins was one of the producers on Eric Clapton's 1987 album August, which included the UK top 20 single "Behind the Mask".

In 1988, Collins and Lamont Dozier collaborated as writers and producers of The Four Tops top 10 UK hit Loco in Acapulco, from the soundtrack of the film Buster, in which Collins starred.

Collins co-wrote, sang and played on the song "Hero" on David Crosby's 1993 album Thousand Roads.

Film, theatre, and television

The majority of Collins' film work has been through music. Four of his seven U.S. number-one songs came from film soundtracks, and his work on Disney's Tarzan earned him an Oscar. Collins also sang German, Italian, Spanish and French versions of the Tarzan soundtrack for the respective film versions. He also did the soundtrack to another Disney film Brother Bear in 2003. His acting career has been brief. As a child, he appeared in three films, although two of the films were for brief moments as an extra.

Collins wrote and performed the title song to Against All Odds in 1984. The song became the first of his seven U.S. number-one songs, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song. Collins was not invited to perform the song at that year's presentation, although he was in the audience as the song's composer. Collins had arranged his U.S. tour to accommodate the possibility of appearing on the telecast in the event his song was nominated for an Oscar. It is believed that the producers of that year's Academy Awards show were not aware of his prominence as a musical performer. A note to Collins' label from telecast co-producer Larry Gelbart explaining the lack of invitation stated, "Thank you for your note regarding Phil Cooper . I'm afraid the spots have already been filled". Collins instead watched actress and dancer Ann Reinking perform his song. Reinking's performance was described by one critic as an "absurdly inept rendition" of the song. The Los Angeles Times said: "Reinking did an incredible job of totally destroying a beautiful song. The best that can be said about her performance is that the stage set was nice." Collins would introduce it at subsequent concerts by saying: "I'm sorry Miss Ann Reinking couldn't be here tonight; I guess I just have to sing my own song."

As a lead vocalist, Collins sang Stephen Bishop's composition "Separate Lives" for the film White Nights (1985) as a duet with Marilyn Martin. The single of the recording became another number-one hit for Collins. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song (a category that honours composers, not vocalists). Bishop's song had parallels to some of those on Collins' first two albums. Writer Stephen Bishop noted that he was inspired by a failed relationship and called "Separate Lives" "a song about anger". When the song was being nominated for an Academy Award, in interviews about the original snub by the Academy for "Against All Odds", Collins would jokingly say "the hell with him - I'm going up too," should Bishop's song win the award.

Collins' first film role since embarking on his career as a musician came in 1988 with the romantic comedy-drama Buster. He starred as Buster Edwards, a criminal convicted for his role in the Great Train Robbery, which took place in England in August 1963. Reviews for the film were mixed and controversy ensued over its subject matter, with Prince Charles and Princess Diana deciding to withdraw from attending the film's première after it was accused of glorifying crime. However, Collins' performance opposite Julie Walters received good reviews and he contributed four songs to the film's soundtrack. His slow ballad rendition of "A Groovy Kind of Love", originally a 1966 single by The Mindbenders, became his only single to reach No. 1 in both the U.S. and the UK. The film also spawned the hit single Two Hearts, which he co-wrote with legendary Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier; the two artists would go on to win a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and receive an Oscar nomination in the same category, the second such honour for Collins; "Big Noise", written by Phil Collins and Lamont Dozier, which included Collins on the lead vocals (although the song was not released as a single, an instrumental version of this song appeared as the B-side to the single version of "A Groovy Kind of Love"). The final song, "Loco in Acapulco", was another collaboration with Dozier, with the vocals performed by the legendary Motown group The Four Tops. Film critic Roger Ebert said the role of Buster was "played with surprising effectiveness" by Collins, although the film's soundtrack proved more successful than the film did.

Collins had cameo appearances in Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991) and the AIDS docudrama And the Band Played On (1993). He starred in Frauds, which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. He supplied voices to two animated features: Amblin's Balto (1995) and Disney's The Jungle Book 2 (2003). A long-discussed but never completed project was a film titled The Three Bears; originally meant to star Collins, Danny DeVito, and Bob Hoskins. He often mentioned the film, though an appropriate script never materialised.

Collins performed the soundtrack to the animated film Tarzan (1999) for The Walt Disney Company. He won an Academy Award for You'll Be in My Heart, which he performed at that year's telecast as well as during a Disney-themed Super Bowl halftime show. The song, which he also recorded in Spanish among other languages, became his only appearance on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. Disney hired Collins and Tina Turner for the soundtrack to the 2003 animated film, Brother Bear, and had some airplay with the song "Look Through My Eyes".

Collins' music is featured in the satirical black comedy film American Psycho, with psychotic lead character Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale) portrayed as an obsessive fan who reads deep meaning into his work, especially with Genesis, while describing his solo music as "...more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way." Bateman delivers a monologue praising Collins and Genesis during a sequence in which he engages the services of two prostitutes while playing "In Too Deep" and "Sussudio".

Collins twice hosted the Billboard Music Awards on television, which were produced and directed by his longtime music video and TV special collaborators, Paul Flattery and Jim Yukich of FYI (Flattery Yukich Inc). He also appeared in an episode of the series Miami Vice, entitled "Phil the Shill", in which he plays a cheating con-man. He also appeared in several sketches with The Two Ronnies.

In 2001, Collins was one of several celebrities who were tricked into appearing in a controversial British comedy series, Brass Eye, shown on public service broadcaster Channel 4. In the episode, Collins endorsed a hoax anti-paedophile campaign wearing a T-shirt with the words "Nonce Sense" and warned children against speaking to suspicious people. Collins was reported by the BBC to have consulted lawyers regarding the programme, which was originally pulled from broadcast but eventually rescheduled. Collins said he had taken part in the programme "in good faith for the public benefit", believing it to be "a public service programme that would be going around schools and colleges in a bid to stem child abduction and abuse". Collins also accused the makers of the programme of "some serious taste problems" and warned it would prevent celebrities from supporting "public spirited causes" in the future.

Collins appeared as himself in the 2006 PSP and PS2 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. Set in 1984, he appears in three missions in which the main character, Victor, must save him from a gang that is trying to kill him, the final mission occurring during his concert, where the player must defend the scaffolding against saboteurs while Collins is performing "In the Air Tonight". After this, the player is given the opportunity to watch this performance of "In the Air Tonight" for only 6,000 dollars in the game. "In the Air Tonight" was also featured in the soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and it was also featured in the film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters, the 2009 movie The Hangover and the 2007 Gorilla commercial for Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate. The advertisement also helped the song re-enter the New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart at No. 3 in July 2008, the following week reaching No. 1, beating its original 1981 No. 6 peak. "In the Air Tonight" was also sampled in the song "I Can Feel It" on Sean Kingston's self-titled debut album.

Collins was portrayed in the cartoon South Park in the episode "Timmy 2000" holding his Oscar throughout, referring to his 1999 win for You'll Be in My Heart, which defeated "Blame Canada" from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. He was seen again in the episode "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000". Collins appears briefly in the Finnish animated sitcom Pasila in the episode "Phil Collins Hangover". The music of this episode is a pastiche of Collins' Another Day in Paradise. Collins was mentioned in the Psych episode "Disco Didn't Die. It Was Murdered!" as resembling Shawn Spencer's father, Henry, portrayed by actor Corbin Bernsen.

Criticism and praise

Critical and public perceptions

According to a 2000 BBC biography of Collins, "critics sneer at him" and "bad publicity also caused problems", which "damaged his public profile". Rock historian Martin C. Strong wrote that Collins "truly polarised opinion from the start, his ubiquitous smugness and increasingly sterile pop making him a favourite target for critics". During his recording career Collins would regularly place telephone calls to music writers to take issue with their written reviews. Over time, he came to be personally disliked; in 2009, journalist Mark Lawson told how Collins' media profile had shifted from "pop's Mr. Nice Guy, patron saint of ordinary blokes", to someone accused of "blandness, tax exile and ending a marriage by sending a fax". Collins has rejected accusations of tax avoidance, and, despite confirming that some of the divorce-related correspondence between him and second wife Jill Tavelman, was by fax (a message from Collins regarding access to their daughter was reproduced for the front cover of The Sun in 1993), he states that he did not terminate the marriage in that fashion. Nevertheless, the British media has often repeated the fax claim. Collins has been the victim of scathing remarks in regard to his alleged right-wing political leanings. Caroline Sullivan, a music critic of The Guardian, referred to his cumulative negative publicity in her 2007 article "I wish I'd never heard of Phil Collins", writing that it was difficult for her to hear his work "without being riven by distaste for the man himself". According to Jeff Shannon in The Seattle Times, Collins is the "target of much South Park derision". A New Musical Express writer also observed the series' "endless lampooning" of Collins.

Several critics have commented on Collins' omnipresence, especially in the 1980s and early 1990s. Journalist Frank DiGiacomo wrote a 1999 piece for The New York Observer titled The Collins Menace; he said, "Even when I sought to escape the sounds in my head by turning on the TV, there would be Mr. Collins...mugging for the cameras—intent on showing the world just how hard he would work to sell millions of records to millions of stupid people." In his 2010 article Love don't come easy: artists we love to hate, The Irish Times critic Kevin Courtney expressed similar sentiments. Naming Collins as one of the ten most disliked pop stars in the world, he wrote: " performed at Live Aid, playing first at Wembley, then flying over to Philadelphia via Concorde, just to make sure no one in the U.S. got off lightly. By the early 1990s, Phil phatigue had really set in." Appraising Collins' legacy in a 2013 review of the American Psycho musical (adapted from a 2000 film incorporating his music), The Guardian critic Tom Service described Collins as "un-stomachable" and his music as "perfectly vacuous". He also compared him unfavourably with pop contemporaries such as the Pet Shop Boys and The Human League, whose music he said had endured far more successfully. Service described Collins' most popular album No Jacket Required (1985) as "unlistenable to today", reserving particular criticism for "Sussudio".

Collins received acerbic comments in the press following reports about his retirement in 2011. He was dubbed "the most hated man in rock" by The Daily Telegraph, and by FHM as "the pop star that nobody likes". Rolling Stone journalist John Dioso acknowledged "the incredible, overwhelming popularity" Collins and Genesis achieved, but said that he had become "a negative figure in the music world" and that the reaction to his legacy was strongly unfavourable. Tim Chester of the New Musical Express alluded to the widespread disdain for Collins in an article titled, "Is It Time We All Stopped Hating Phil Collins?" He described Collins as "the go-to guy for ironic appreciation and guilty pleasures" and stated he was responsible for "some moments of true genius (often accompanied, it must be said, by some real stinkers)". He also argued that "Genesis turned shit at the precise point he jumped off the drum stool" to replace the departing Peter Gabriel as frontman, and said of the unrelenting derision he has suffered, "..a lot of it he brings on himself." He said that Collins was "responsible for some of the cheesiest music ever committed to acetate". Erik Hedegaard of Rolling Stone mentioned that Phil Collins hate sites had "flourished" online, and acknowledged that he had been called "the sellout who took Peter Gabriel's Genesis, that paragon of prog-rock, and turned it into a lame-o pop act and went on to make all those supercheesy hits that really did define the 1980s".

Criticism from other artists

Writing about Collins in a 2013 publication on 1980s popular music, Dylan Jones said that, along with the press, "many of his peers despised him so". Some fellow artists have criticised Collins publicly. Appearing on a 1989 edition of BBC programme Juke Box Jury, Collins applauded an upcoming single by British new wave band Sigue Sigue Sputnik; this prompted their singer, Martin Degville, to say directly to Collins' face: "God! We must have really got it wrong if you like us!" In 1990, former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters criticised Collins' "ubiquitous nature", including his involvement in The Who's 1989 reunion tour. David Bowie subsequently dismissed his own critically reviled 1980s output as his "Phil Collins years/albums". In addition to the song's negative press from music journalists, singer-songwriter and political activist Billy Bragg also criticised Collins for writing "Another Day in Paradise", stating: "Phil Collins might write a song about the homeless, but if he doesn't have the action to go with it he's just exploiting that for a subject."

Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher criticised Collins on multiple occasions, including the comment: "Just because you sell lots of records, it doesn't mean to say you're any good. Look at Phil Collins." Collins said he has "at times, been very down" about Gallagher's criticisms. Gallagher's brother, Oasis singer Liam, recalled the "boring" Collins's chart dominance in the 1980s and stated that, by the 1990s, it was "time for some real lads to get up there and take charge". Appearing on television series Room 101 in 2005, Collins nominated the Gallaghers as entrants into the titular room. He described them as "horrible" and stated: "They're rude and not as talented as they think they are. I won't mince words here, but they've had a go at me personally." On the closing track of their 2014 album What Have We Become?, titled "When I Get Back to Blighty", former Beautiful South collaborators Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott included the lyric: "Everyone around us agrees that Phil Collins must die". MusicOMH critic David Meller remarked that the line "is delivered with willing, almost pleasurable conviction by Abbott".

Collins on criticism

Collins acknowledged in 2010 that he had been "omnipresent". He said of his character: "The persona on stage came out of insecurity...it seems embarrassing now. I recently started transferring all my VHS tapes onto DVD to create an archive, and everything I was watching, I thought, 'God, I'm annoying.' I appeared to be very cocky, and really I wasn't." Collins concedes his status as a figure of contempt for many people and has said that he believes this is a consequence of his music being overplayed. In 2011 Collins was quoted: "The fact that people got so sick of me wasn't really my fault … It's hardly surprising that people grew to hate me. I'm sorry that it was all so successful. I honestly didn't mean it to happen like that!" Collins has described criticism of his physical appearance over the years as "a cheap shot", but has acknowledged the "very vocal element" of Genesis fans who believe that the group sold out under his tenure as lead singer.

Regarding criticism of his single "Another Day in Paradise", Collins stated: "When I drive down the street, I see the same things everyone else sees. It's a misconception that if you have a lot of money you're somehow out of touch with reality."

Responding to reports about his retirement in 2011, Collins dismissed the notion that his departure from the music industry was due to negative attention, and stated small parts of conversations had been made into headlines. He said: "I have ended up sounding like a tormented weirdo who thinks he was at the Alamo in another life, who feels very sorry for himself, and is retiring hurt because of the bad press over the years. None of this is true."

Praise

Paul Lester of The Guardian wrote in 2013 that Collins is one of several pop acts that "used to be a joke" but are "now being hailed as gods". Despite the criticism he has received, Collins has become an iconic figure within U.S. urban music, influencing artists such as Kanye West, Alicia Keys and Beyoncé. His songs have been sampled by various hip-hop and contemporary R&B acts, and performers including Lil' Kim, Kelis and Wu-Tang Clan co-founder Ol' Dirty Bastard covered his work on the 2001 tribute album Urban Renewal. In 2004, indie rock musician Ben Gibbard praised Collins' singing, claiming he's a "great vocalist". Collins' music has been championed by his contemporary, the heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, David Crosby has called him "a dear friend" who has helped him "enormously" and Robert Plant paid tribute to him as "the most spirited and positive and really encouraging force" when commencing his own solo career after the break-up of Led Zeppelin. Collins has been championed by modern artists in diverse genres, including indie rock groups The 1975, Generationals, Neon Indian, Yeasayer, St. Lucia and Sleigh Bells, electronica artist Lorde, and soul singer Diane Birch, who said in 2014, "Collins walks a really fine line between being really cheesy and being really sophisticated. He can seem appalling, but at the same time, he has awesome production values and there's a particular richness to the sound. It's very proficient in the instrumentation and savvy about melodies."

Genesis bandmate Mike Rutherford has praised Collins' personality, saying that "he always had a bloke-next-door, happy-go-lucky demeanour about him: let's have a drink in the pub, crack a joke, smoke a cigarette or a joint". He has been characterised by favourable critics as a "rock god", and an artist who has remained "down to earth". In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, published in 2004, J. D. Considine wrote: "For a time, Phil Collins was nearly inescapable on the radio, and enormously popular with the listening public—something that made him an obvious target for critics. Despite his lumpen-pop appeal, however, Collins is an incisive songwriter and resourceful musician." Creation Records founder Alan McGee wrote in 2009 that there was a "non-ironic revival of Phil Collins" happening. According to McGee: "The kids don't care about 'indie cred' anymore. To them, a great pop song is just that: a great pop song. In this time of revivals, nothing is a sacred cow anymore, and that can only be a good thing for music." Commenting on Collins' popularity with hip-hop acts, he argued: "It's not surprising. Collins is a world-class drummer whose songs immediately lend themselves to being sampled."

In 2010, Gary Mills of The Quietus made an impassioned defence of Collins: "There can't be many figures in the world of pop who have inspired quite the same kind of hatred-bordering-on-civil-unrest as Collins, and there can't be too many who have shifted anything like the 150 million plus units that he's got through as a solo artist either...The disgrace of a career bogged entirely in the determined dross of No Jacket Required however is simply not justified, regardless of how Collins gained either his fortune, or his public image." David Sheppard wrote for the BBC in 2010: "Granted, Collins has sometimes been guilty of painting the bull’s-eye on his own forehead (that self-aggrandising Live Aid Concorde business, the cringe-worthy lyrics to 'Another Day in Paradise', Buster, etc.), but nonetheless, the sometime Genesis frontman’s canon is so substantial and his hits so profuse that it feels myopic to dismiss him merely as a haughty purveyor of tortured, romantic ballads for the middle income world."

Rolling Stone journalist Erik Hedegaard has expressed disapproval of the widespread criticism which Collins has received, suggesting that he has been "unfairly and inexplicably vilified". Martin C. Strong stated in 2011 that "the enigmatic and amiable Phil Collins has had his fair share of mockers and critics over the years, although one thing is sure, and that is his dexterity and undeniable talent". In a piece the following year, titled "10 Much-Mocked Artists It's Time We Forgave", New Musical Express critic Anna Conrad said Collins had been portrayed as a "villain", and wrote: "Was the bile really justified?...come on, admit it. You've air drummed to 'In the Air Tonight', and loved it." The Guardian journalist Dave Simpson wrote a complimentary article in 2013; while acknowledging "few pop figures have become as successful and yet reviled as Phil Collins", he argued "it's about time we recognised Collins' vast influence as one of the godfathers of popular culture".

Personal life

Family

Collins has been married three times, each has ended in divorce. He married Andrea Bertorelli in 1975. They met as students in a London drama class. They had a son, Simon Collins, who became a vocalist and drummer with the band Sound of Contact. Collins adopted Bertorelli's daughter Joely, who became a Canadian actress and film producer.

Collins met his second wife, U.S. citizen Jill Tavelman, in 1980. They were married from 1984 to 1996. They had one daughter, Lily Collins, born in 1989.

Collins married his third wife, Orianne Cevey, a Swiss national, in 1999. They have two sons, Nicholas and Matthew. They bought Sir Jackie Stewart's former house located in Begnins, Switzerland, overlooking Lake Geneva. Announcing their separation on 16 March 2006, they were divorced on 17 August 2008. Collins continued to live in Switzerland at the time, residing in Féchy, while he also maintained homes in New York City and Dersingham, Norfolk. In 2008, after his wife left him, she and the boys moved to Miami, leaving Collins devastated. He recalled: "I went through a few bits of darkness; drinking too much. I killed my hours watching TV and drinking, and it almost killed me." He revealed in 2015 that he hadn't consumed alcohol in three years. In 2015, Collins then moved to Miami (in a separate home, previously owned by Jennifer Lopez) to be closer to his family. In January 2016, Collins said he was back with his third wife and they were living together in the house he had bought in Miami.

From 2007 to 2015, Collins dated CBS 2 WCBS-TV news reporter Dana Tyler.

Fortune

Collins was estimated to have a fortune of £115 million in the Sunday Times Rich List of 2011, making him one of the 20 wealthiest people in the British music industry. In 2012 Collins was estimated to be the second wealthiest drummer in the world, beaten to first place by Ringo Starr.

Court case

Main article: Phillip Collins Ltd v Davis

On 29 March 2000, Collins launched a case against two former musicians from his band to recoup £500,000 ($780,000) in royalties that were overpaid. Louis Satterfield, 62, and Rahmlee Davis, 51, claimed their contract entitled them to 0.5 per cent of the royalties from Serious Hits... Live!, a live album recorded during Collins' Seriously, Live! World Tour in 1990. Their claim was they were an integral part of the whole album, but Collins responded the two should only receive royalties from the five tracks in which they were involved. Instead of asking for a return of what Collins considered overpayment, he sought to recoup the funds by withholding future royalties to Satterfield and Davis.

On 19 April 2000, the High Court ruled that the two musicians would receive no more royalty money from Phil Collins. The amount that Collins was seeking was halved, and Satterfield and Davis (who originally brought the suit forward in California) would not have to repay any of it. The judge agreed with Collins' argument that Satterfield and Davis should have been paid for only the five tracks on which they performed, including the hit "Sussudio".

Health problems

Collins had reportedly lost hearing in his left ear in 2000 due to a viral infection; the condition was resolved after the infection was cured. In September 2009, it was reported that Collins could no longer play the drums, due to a recent operation to repair dislocated vertebrae in his neck. A statement from Collins on the Genesis band website said, "There isn't any drama regarding my 'disability' and playing drums. Somehow during the last Genesis tour I dislocated some vertebrae in my upper neck and that affected my hands. After a successful operation on my neck, my hands still can't function normally. Maybe in a year or so it will change, but for now it is impossible for me to play drums or piano. I am not in any 'distressed' state; stuff happens in life." However, in 2010 Collins alluded to feelings of depression and low self-esteem in recent years, claiming in an interview that he had contemplated committing suicide, but he resisted for the sake of his children.

In October 2014, Collins told John Wilson on BBC Radio 4's Front Row that he still could not play the drums; he said the problem was not arthritis but an undiagnosed nerve problem where he was unable to "grip the sticks". He confirmed in a 2016 interview that he was still unable to drum with the left hand; however, he has also said that after a major back surgery, his doctor advised him that if he wanted to play the drums again, all he needed to do was practice as long as he took it step by step.

Honorary degrees

Collins has received several honorary degrees in recognition of his work in music and his personal interests. In 1987 he received an honorary doctorate of fine arts at Fairleigh Dickinson University. In 1991 he received an honorary doctorate of music at the Berklee College of Music. On 12 May 2012 he received an honorary doctorate of history at the McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, for his research and collection of Texas Revolution artefacts and documents (see other interests section).

Politics

Collins has often been mentioned erroneously in the British media as being a supporter of the Conservative Party and an opponent of the Labour Party. This derives from the famous article in The Sun, printed on the day of the 1992 UK general election, titled "If Kinnock wins today will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights", which stated that Collins was among several celebrities who were planning to leave Britain in the event of a Labour victory.

Collins is sometimes reported in the British press to have left the UK and moved to Switzerland in protest at the Labour Party's victory in the 1997 general election. Shortly before the 2005 election (when Collins was living in Switzerland), Labour supporter Noel Gallagher was quoted: "Vote Labour. If you don't and the Tories get in, Phil Collins is threatening to come back and live here. And let's face it, none of us want that." However, Collins has since stated that although he did once claim many years earlier that he might leave Britain if most of his income was taken in tax, which was Labour Party policy at that time for top earners, he has never been a Conservative Party supporter and he left Britain for Switzerland in 1994 purely because he started a relationship with a woman who lived there. He said of Gallagher: "I don't care if he likes my music or not. I do care if he starts telling people I'm a wanker because of my politics. It's an opinion based on an old misunderstood quote."

Despite his statement that he did not leave Britain for tax purposes, Collins was one of several wealthy figures living in tax havens who were singled out for criticism in a 2008 report by the charity Christian Aid. The Independent included Collins as one of their "ten celebrity tax exiles", erroneously repeating that he had left the country when Labour won the 1997 general election and that he threatened to return if the Conservatives won in 2005. Referring to the 1997 general election in his article "Famous men and their misunderstood politics" for MSN, Hugh Wilson stated: "Labour won it in a landslide, which just goes to show the influence pop stars really wield". He also wrote that Collins' reported comments and subsequent move to Switzerland led to "accusations of hypocrisy" since he had "bemoaned the plight of the homeless in the song 'Another Day in Paradise'", making him "an easy target when future elections came round". The Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott song "When I Get Back to Blighty", from their 2014 album What Have We Become?, made reference to Collins as "a prisoner to his tax returns".

Questioned about his politics by Mark Lawson in an interview for the BBC, broadcast in 2009, Collins said: "My father was Conservative but it wasn't quite the same, I don't think, when he was alive. Politics never loomed large in our family anyway. I think the politics of the country were very different then." In a 2016 interview in The Guardian, Collins stated that talking about politics to The Sun was one of his biggest regrets. When asked whether he had ever voted Conservative, he said: "I didn’t vote, actually. And that’s not something I’m proud of. I was just so busy that I rarely was here."

Other interests

Collins has a long-standing interest in the Alamo. He has collected hundreds of artefacts related to the famous 1836 battle in San Antonio, Texas, narrated a light and sound show about the Alamo, and has spoken at related events. His passion for the Battle of the Alamo has also led him to write the book The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector's Journey, ISBN 978-1-933337-50-0, published in 2012. A short film was released in 2013 called Phil Collins and the Wild Frontier which captures Collins on a book tour in June 2012. On 26 June 2014, a press conference was held from The Alamo, where Collins spoke, announcing that he was donating his entire collection to The Alamo via the State of Texas. On 11 March 2015, in honour of his donation, Collins was named an honorary Texan by the state legislature.

In common with Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton, Collins is also a model railway enthusiast.

Activism

Collins was appointed a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) in 1994, in recognition of his work on behalf of the Prince's Trust. Collins has stated he is a supporter of animal rights and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). In 2005 he donated autographed drum sticks in support of PETA's campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken.

In February 2000, Collins and his wife Orianne founded Little Dreams Foundation, a non-profit organisation that aims to "...realise the dreams of children in the fields of sports and art" by providing future prodigies aged 4 to 16 years with financial, material, and mentoring support with the help of experts in various fields. Collins took the action after receiving letters from children asking him how they could break into the music industry. Mentors to the students who have benefited from his foundation include Tina Turner and Natalie Cole. In 2013 he visited Miami Beach, Florida, to promote the expansion of his foundation.

Collins supports the South African charity Topsy Foundation, which provides relief services to some of South Africa's most under-resourced rural communities through a multi-faceted approach to the consequences of HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty. He donates all the royalties earned from his music sales in South Africa to the organisation.

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Phil Collins

Discography

Main articles: Phil Collins discography and Genesis discography

Studio albums

• Face Value (1981)
• Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982)
• No Jacket Required (1985)
• ...But Seriously (1989)
• Both Sides (1993)
• Dance into the Light (1996)
• Testify (2002)
• Going Back (2010)

Filmography

• 1964: A Hard Day's Night (uncredited as a young fan in the crowd during a Beatles performance)
• 1965: R3 (episode: "Unwelcome Visitor")
• 1967: Calamity the Cow
• 1985: Miami Vice (episode: "Phil the Shill")
• 1986: The Two Ronnies (2 episodes)
• 1988: Buster (as Buster Edwards)
• 1988: Mickey's 60th Birthday (himself; TV special)
• 1991: Hook (as Detective Good)
• 1993: Frauds (as Roland Coping)
• 1993: And the Band Played On (as Eddie Papasano; TV movie)
• 1995: Balto (voice of Muk and Luk)
• 2003: The Jungle Book 2 (voice of Lucky)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]