Phil Collins

Phil Collins

Philip David Charles Collins (born January 30, 1951 in Chiswick, London) is an English rock and pop musician. He is best known as the lead singer and drummer of progressive rock group Genesis and as a Grammy and Academy Award-winning solo artist.
In total, Collins sang the lead vocals on eight American chart-toppers between 1984 and 1989; seven as a solo artist and one with Genesis. His singles, often dealing with lost love, ranged from the drum-heavy "In the Air Tonight", to the dance pop of "Sussudio", to the political statements of his most successful song, "Another Day in Paradise". His international popularity transformed Genesis from a progressive rock group to a regular on the pop charts and an early MTV mainstay.
Collins received a toy drum kit for Christmas when he was five. Later, his uncle made him a makeshift one that he used regularly, and his drumming skills improved. As Collins grew they were followed by more complete sets bought by his parents.He practiced by playing alongside the television and radio, and never learned to read and write conventional musical notation; instead, he uses a system he devised himself.
In 1970, Collins answered a Melody Maker classified ad for "...a drummer sensitive to acoustic music, and acoustic twelve-string guitarist".[8] Genesis placed the ad after having already lost three drummers over two albums.The audition occurred at the home of Peter Gabriel's parents. Prospective candidates performed tracks from the group's second album, Trespass (1970). Collins arrived early, listened to the other auditions and memorised the pieces before his turn.
Collins won the audition, and a year later, Nursery Cryme (1971) was released. Although his role would remain drummer and occasional backing vocalist for the next five years, he twice sang lead vocals on "For Absent Friends" (from Nursery Cryme) and "More Fool Me" (from Selling England by the Pound) (1973).
In 1974, while recording the album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Brian Eno who did the Enossification on Peter's voice was in need of a drummer for his album Another Green World and Phil was sent to play drums as payment for his doings with the band.
In 1975, following the final tour supporting the concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Gabriel left the group to pursue solo projects. Collins became lead vocalist after an unfruitful search for Gabriel's replacement. The group recruited former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford and later Chester Thompson to play drums during live shows, although Collins continued to play during longer instrumental sections. The first album with Collins as lead vocalist, 1976's A Trick of the Tail, reached the American Top 40, and climbed as high as #3 on the UK charts. Said Rolling Stone, "Genesis has managed to turn the possible catastrophe of Gabriel's departure into their first broad-based American success.
An early theme in Collins' music, although never specifically mentioned in his albums, involved his then recent divorce. Two songs he wrote on the Genesis album Duke (1980), "Please Don't Ask" and "Misunderstanding", dealt with failed relationships. With the recording of his first solo album, Face Value (1981), Collins attributed his divorce as his main influence.