Phil Collins and Genesis Biography [1951-2022] Personal and musical story
Phil Collins is the 2nd richest drummer in history, partly because he became the lead singer of the legendary band Genesis, and even more because his solo career was spectacular. Music occupied everything in his life, so much so that he neglected his family and divorced three times. This is the essential biography of one of the greatest musicians.
Video-Podcast Genesis & Phil Collins
3 Songs to know Phil Collins and Genesis
🏆 GENESIS GREATEST HIT
Invisible Touch
🏆 PHIL COLLINS GREATEST HIT
In the Air Tonight
💛 TREMBOL FAVE
Can’t Stop Loving You
Phil Collins and Genesis Trembol Card
- 🗿 Name: Phillip David Charles Collins.
- 🎂 Year: Phil Collins was born on 30 January 1951 in London, UK. He joined Genesis in 1970, first as drummer and after Peter Gabriel’s departure, as vocalist.
- 👫 Genres: Genesis has moved through multiple genres of Rock, while Phil Collins mainly composed Pop-Rock.
- ✍️ Phil Collins autograph:
- 💿 Discography: Genesis released 15 studio albums, while Phil Collins made 8 solo albums.
- 👬 Genesis Original Members: Peter Gabriel (vocals), Phil Collins (drums), Steve Hackett (guitar), Mike Rutherford (guitar), Tony Banks (keyboards).
- 👬 Genesis Current Members:Phil Collins (vocals), Nic Collins (drums), Mike Rutherford (guitar), Tony Banks (keyboards).
- 🗣 Phil Collins Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
- 🗣 Genesis Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
I’m not a singer who plays a bit of drums. I’m a drummer that sings a bit. And, you know, I never wanted to be a singer.
Phil Collins
Phil Collins (Facebook Image)
Genesis (Facebook Image)
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Phil Collins & Genesis | Biography and Music
Phillip David Charles Collins was born on 30 January 1951 in London. Although his first steps were as an actor, the drums won him over and he spent all his youth learning on his own. A newspaper advert led him to audition for a young band called Genesis. With them, first as a drummer and later, when Peter Gabriel left the band, as an unexpected vocalist, alongside Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, he would sell more than 155 million albums… among the top 30 best-selling groups in history. He would combine the success of Genesis with an even greater solo career, being a worldwide star who spent more than 50 years touring. However, he neglected his family life, leading to 3 divorces, 5 children, alcoholism, multiple operations and finally his retirement from the stage.
Chapter 1 | Actor or musician?
Phil Collins and his mother June (Not Dead Yet book Image)
Phillip David Charles Collins was born in London, UK, on 30 January 1951. His mother, June, worked in a toy shop and his father, Gref Collins, worked for the London Insurance Company, as did his grandfather.
- He had two siblings, Carole and Clive.
- While his parents worked he spent a lot of time with his grandmother whom he adored.
In 1952 they had the first car in their family 🚙, an Austin 1100 Countryman. On one of the first rides his father decided to test the brakes, he squeezed them so hard that Phil flew off and hit the front of the car. It would be the first 2 scars in his long history.
Phil Collins young (Facebook Images)
When he was 3 years old he was given his first plastic drum. He spent all day beating on it, so some neighbours helped him set up a kind of drum kit with a cymbal and some homemade stuff 🛢️
- While his family watched TV, Phil was in the corner of the living room playing along to the tunes of the programmes they were listening to.
At the age of 10 he had his first girlfriend. Her name was Linda, he took her to the fair and when she got off the ride the school bully gave him a good thrashing. That made him tougher and in the following years he would be the one protecting his neighbourhood park, fighting whenever necessary.
- His family loved the river, they used to rent a boat and row 🚣, they even helped build a club where they had a great time performing and singing.
When he turned 12, he and his mother bought his first drum kit for £50.
- A four-piece Stratford kit that he played to his heart’s content imitating Ringo Starr and Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts.
He loved acting, so at the age of 13 he started taking diction lessons and his parents enrolled him in art school. This led to his first role in Dickens’ Oliver. At drama school Barbara Speake Phil met the girls he would date intermittently for the next few decades, Lavinia Lang and Andrea Bertorelli.
- She also met the bandmates with whom he formed her first band, ‘The Real Thing‘.
At 14 he was already playing the drums decently, but he thought it would be good to learn to read music:
- He took lessons from his great-aunt.
- His good ear meant that he could replicate melodies without having to read the music score, and he stuck with this habit for the rest of his life, never learning music 🎼
The £15 a week he earned performing in Oliver was spent on records and concerts at the Marquee Theatre, where he had the opportunity to see the beginnings of greats such as Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Hendrix.
Phil Collins early years (‘Not Dead Yet‘ book image)
Phil Collins playing drums at young age (‘Not Dead Yet‘ book image)
Chapter 2 | Phil Collins first bands until he found Genesis
In 1966 Phil turned 15 and was crazy about drums.
- At that time he met a friend for life, Ronni Caryl. He was just as crazy about music, but in his case about the guitar.
- With Ronni and a bass player he knew, Collins put together his first band, although the bass player wasn’t very good and soon dropped out.
At 16 he finished school. He was supposed to be an actor, but the only role he got was as an extra in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
- Phil wanted to be a musician, and he told his parents so. His mother was supportive, but his father stopped talking to him for a while.
- He worked as a professional drummer in different bands, each one worse than the last, but this allowed him to gradually work his way up on stage.
It was in 1968, when he was almost 18 years old, that he wrote his first song, in which he told how his girlfriend Lavinia had broken his heart when she left him.
- The song was called ‘Lying, crying, dying‘ and it was the first time he also sang.
- He recorded a demo with his band of the time, Freehold, but it didn’t go any further ☹️
Phil Collins beginnings (Facebook Image)
One day, after a gig, he met Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had the idea of making an album called ‘Ark 2‘ about a possible escape of mankind from earth.
- They had a certain reputation, so Phil Collins and his friend Ronni auditioned for them. They were convinced and soon formed the band ‘Flaming Youth‘.
- When the album ‘Ark 2’ was released in 1969, to the surprise of Collins, who thought they had done something pretty bad, it did well, even selling in Holland, which gave him the opportunity to travel for the first time to perform in the Netherlands.
- Things would eventually fall apart and the band did not go ahead.
Flaming Youth (with Phil Collilns) Changes
Phil Collins and George Harrison’s first solo album
It was 1970, Phil was at his parents’ house out of work when he was called to play on a recording at Abbey Road. It turned out to be for George Harrison’s (ex-Beatle) first solo album. Ringo Starr and Phil Spector, the famous producer, were also there. Phil recounted the experience like this:
I played until my hands bled, but in the end they didn’t put me on the record. It was a big blow for me. 30 years later, as a friend of George’s, I told him about it but, of course, he didn’t remember.
Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks (Getty Image)
It was 1970 and Phil Collins was still looking for a band to play real music with.
- Every week he would buy all the music magazines and look at the ads until one day he saw one that said a band called Genesis was looking for a drummer.
- He went to audition at a house in the country where he met Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks.
Phil Collins audition with Genesis went great and he joined them, he would be paid £10 a week 💷 double what he had made so far, which he was very happy with. Genesis had already released an album and had a record deal, although it had sold only 1,000 copies.
- Collins foresaw a bright future in the band and imagined how he could contribute musically and personally. He was the one who was always there to crack a joke when an argument started within the group.
- Phil Collins moved in with Mike. He loved the eggs his mother made in the mornings 🍳
- They hired a van and toured the UK doing small gigs in front of 200 people.
Classic Genesis line-up (Facebook Image)
The 5th member of Genesis, Steve Hackett
So far Genesis were four and missing a guitarist. Luckily life threw Steve Hackett in their path. He was not only good on guitar but also had brilliant musical ideas. Steve completed the classic Genesis line-up.
Genesis For Absent Friends
They did a second tour with 2 other groups where they increased the audience to between 500 and 2000 people.
- The press praised the tour and Peter Gabriel.
- At that time they got a call from Belgium to play there, Phil Collins’ second international adventure.
In 1971 Collins, at the age of 20, recorded his first album with Genesis, ‘Nursery Crime‘.
- During the recording, it naturally came up that Phil would sing parts of some tracks like ‘For Absent Friends‘.
- From then on he would sing all the second vocals on Genesis.
- The album reached No.4 in Italy, which took them on tour there playing to 3500 enthusiastic new fans. However in the UK they were still very much in the minority and touring from place to place in their rented van 🚌
In 1972 Genesis released a new album, Foxtrot, with a 23-minute track, ‘Supper’s Ready‘.
- The song is wonderful and an innovation for the time.
- It pushed the limits of what a cassette or vinyl record could take 💿
The album took them for the first time to play in Ireland where something strange and magical would happen. They were playing an instrumental part of the song ‘The musical box‘ and Peter Gabriel got off the stage. No one knew what he was doing, when he came back he was wearing his wife’s dress and a wolf’s head.
- Everyone freaked out, but the audience liked it and it became a habit.
- From there he moved on to a flower mask or a hat in the shape of a triangular box.
- Melody Maker magazine would immortalise it on their cover, making them go from charging £35 per gig to £350 💰
Still in 1972 they played their first 2 concerts in the USA. It wasn’t in front of a huge audience, but it allowed them to cross the pond for the first time.
Genesis Supper’s ready
Phil Collins’ father’s infidelity and death
At Christmas 1972, unexpectedly, Phil’s father Greville Collins passed away.
Phil wondered if he had ever been proud of his musician son, but on the flip side, he discovered that his father had been unfaithful to his mother, which left him stunned.
Within six days of the death of his father, Phil Collins and Genesis went on their Foxtrot tour that would take them to Europe and North America.
- Peter Gabriel’s costumes became more and more extravagant, turning into Genesis trademark.
- As it was one of their strong suits, they released a live album, ‘Genesis Live‘.
In 1973 they published ‘Selling England by the Pound‘. The single ‘The Cinema Show‘ became their first hit.
- So much so that they were invited to perform at Top of the Pops 🎤, the most important music TV show in the UK, although they declined because it wasn’t their style, Genesis wasn’t mainstream.
- The truth is that they could have done with the money, because they soon discovered that their road manager had generated a debt of 150,000 pounds (about 2 million today).
Genesis The Cinema Show
In order to pay for it, they toured the United States with a mixed reception: they were acclaimed on the West Coast, sold out in the East, but were not well received in the South because they didn’t understand Peter’s concept of a show.
- They returned to the UK to play 5 legendary concerts at the London Theatre Royal.
- Peter wore a silver suit, white face paint, a cape and a fluorescent hat box 👻 legendary!
In 1974, after 18 months of touring, they set to work on what, unbeknownst to them, would be their last album as a quintet.
- They wanted to make a concept album that told a story.
- Peter Gabriel insisted on writing all the lyrics, while the rest of the band wrote the music.
- At times it was very difficult, because Peter’s wife was pregnant and having complications.
- To make matters worse, he was offered to write the script for a science fiction film, something Gabriel wanted very much. The rest of Genesis told him that if he did it, he would have to leave the band, because he wouldn’t be able to focus on both things at the same time.
- The film was cancelled and Peter stayed in Genesis, but something was already broken.
Peter Gabriel, famous concert costume (Genesis Facebook Image)
Genesis The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
They finally had a double album ready with 23 tracks that told the surreal and allegorical story of Rael, a Puerto Rican boy living in New York. Its title, ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’.
- A spectacular 104-date tour followed.
- Everything happened to them on tour, from exploding speakers at a gig in Scandinavia, to a giant inflatable penis that appeared on stage in Chicago 🍆
They noticed how Peter’s figure grew above the rest. Without deliberately seeking it, Gabriel had become the centre of attention and it was becoming increasingly clear to him that he would find his own way out of Genesis. He made this clear to Phil Collins before the end of the tour. Phil explained:
I don’t hold any grudges, we were and are friends. I still remember his last words as the lead singer of Genesis: “It’s just rock ‘n’ roll, but I like it”.
Andrea Bertorelli and Joely. Phil Collins’ first wife and daughter
When the Genesis tour was passing through Vancouver, Collins went back to see one of his childhood sweethearts, a gorgeous and very sexy girl named Andrea Bertorelli. She had just had a daughter named Joely, but the father didn’t want to take care of them, so Phil decided to start a family and went to live with them in Canada 👨👩👧
Phil Collins, his wife Andrea Bertorelli and their daughter Joely (Google Image)
Brand X (with Phil Collins) And so to F…
Genesis was still alive but needed a singer. More than 400 candidates came in to replace Peter, but none of them fit the bill.
- Meanwhile, they were still writing a new album.
- Back then, guitarist Steve Hackett, who hadn’t been involved much in writing the lyrics so far, wanted to do it, but the inertia at Genesis was that the lyrics were mostly written by Mike and Tony, so Steve decided to release a solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte.
- The rest of the band thought it was perfect and even helped him.
- Phil Collins did something similar, he was offered to join a funk and jazz band called Brand X as a part-time drummer. In the following years he would release several albums with them such as: Unorthodox Behaviour in 1976 and Moroccan Roll in 1977.
Genesis (with Phil Collins in vocals) Mad Man Moon
In 1975 they had to record the album, as there was no other option Phil proposed to his Genesis bandmates to record the vocals himself while they were still looking for an official singer.
- Surprisingly for everyone, including Phil Collins himself, it worked out very well 😲
Phil felt much more comfortable than he imagined and the record sounded great, so it was with no little fear and without looking for it, that he left the drums behind and became the frontman and singer for Genesis.
- ‘A Trick of the Tale‘ was released in 1976 and reached number 3 in the UK charts, equalling the previous record with Peter Gabriel.
Phil Collins learned his trade as a singer gig by gig, he even created his own trademark, you know what it is? Hitting himself on the head with a tambourine while dancing 🤪 The 8th Genesis album, ‘Wind & Wutherin‘ was recorded in Holland while Collins’ wife Andrea Bertorelli was pregnant with their first born son, Simon Philip Nando Collins, who was born in 1976.
- Phil could only stay at home for a few days and rushed off to the Genesis tour. This would eventually take its toll on his marriage.
- With a new drummer, Chester Thompson, the 1977 Wind & Wutherin tour began to take them to bigger venues, such as New York’s Madison Square Garden and their biggest gig to date, in Brazil for 150,000 people.
Genesis Your Own Special Way
Phil Collins Snowbound
All was not going well, with little time spent at home, Phil and Andrea divorced. She went to live with the children in Canada and Phil returned to England in 1979. To make matters worse, guitarist Steve Hackett, tired of no longer being able to contribute to the songwriting and finally decided to leave Genesis. The 3 remaining original members of Genesis, Tony, Mike and Phil, got back together and released ‘…And then there were three‘, which was to be the band’s biggest hit to date 🏆
Are Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel still friends?
Yes, they always were, even when Peter Gabriel left Genesis. So much so that Phil would collaborate on Peter’s 3rd solo album, playing drums on several songs.
Another curious friendship that Phil Collins forged is with Eric Clapton, with whom he would collaborate on multiple occasions in the future.
Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel (Facebook Image)
At that time, self-production was beginning to take off, musicians were setting up small teams at home to compose. Phil Collins decided to do the same.
- He hadn’t taken writing and composing seriously until then, but little by little he got the hang of it.
- The fruits of that time, 1980, were:
- In the air tonight
- Against all odds: My favourite Phil Collins song, which would not be used until 1984 for a film of the same name. It became the paradigm of the ballad in the 80s. It speaks starkly of the break-up between Phil and his wife Andy.
Despite having these songs ready, Phil Collins still had no idea that he could make an album of his own, so he shelved them.
Phil Collins Against All Odds
What does ‘In the Air Tonight‘ mean?
Contrary to what many think, ‘In the Air Tonight’ 🌬️ is a very spontaneous track and has no premeditated meaning. Phil Collilns himself explained:
It just came out of me like that. In case it has a background it’s one of “I’m going to move on with my life, after the separation from my wife Andy”.
Still in 1980, Phil rejoined Genesis and they wrote ‘Duke‘, their seventh album, which continued to build on the band’s success. One day when he was with Ahmet Ertegun, the head of Atlantic Records in America, Collins played him demos of his songs, Ahmet instantly said: ‘This has to be an album‘.
- Because it was so personal and introspective, Phil Collins called his first album ‘Face Value‘.
- Released in 1981, Phil had no great expectations of it, in fact, he was still with Genesis preparing for the tour as he received more and more reports of the album doing well, especially ‘In the air tonight‘, No. 1 in Germany and after its performance on Top of the Pops, No. 2 in the UK, something Genesis had never achieved before.
Phil Collins If leaving me is easy
Phil Collins and Prince Charles of England (‘Not Dead Yet‘ book Image)
- En los 80 surgió la MTV, y los vídeos de Phil Collins en solitario y de Genesis se volverían asiduos del canal.
- Más loco aún es que Phil se hizo amigo del príncipe Carlos de Inglaterra, tocando en sus cumpleaños y viviendo muy de cerca el triángulo amoroso con Lady Di y Camila Parker 👩❤️💋👨
- También se convirtió en productor de Eric Clapton o Robert Plant de Led Zeppelin, incluso de Anni-Frid, cantante de ABBA.
In 1981, he released a new album with Genesis, ‘Abacab’. At the same time Phil started writing his second album.
- This time he didn’t want it to be about heartbreak like the first one, but he just got the final divorce papers from Andy and had to write about it.
- The first single, ‘Thru These Walls‘, was not a hit, but his version of ‘You Can’t Hurry Love‘ would elevate the album, ‘Hello, I Must Be Going’, to the top of the charts 🔝
Phil Collins You Can’t Hurry Love
In 1983, back with Genesis, they released the band’s twelfth album of the same name, ‘Genesis‘, with incredible tracks like ‘Mama’ and ‘That’s all‘.
- It sold an unprecedented 4 million copies, taking them on a successful 4 month tour.
In 1984, Phil was still extremely busy.
- Emotionally he was doing very well with his partner, Jill, and he was doing as much fathering as he could with Simon and Joely, but work left him little room.
- He continued to produce records, such as Eric Clapton’s new one.
- He was also involved in the Band Aid Christmas song, ‘Do they know it’s Christmas‘.
Genesis That’s All
In 1985, ‘No Jacket Required‘, Phil Collins’ third solo album, was released, becoming an immediate number 1 thanks to:
- Easy Lover
- Sussudio: Do you know what Sussudio means? It’s a word that doesn’t mean anything. It just popped into Phil Collins’ head one day and he turned it into a song. The song has sold 25 million copies, as well as 3 Grammys and a Brit.
Phil Collins Sussudio
Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin Separate Lives
Genesis biggest hit, ‘Invisible Touch’.
- While enjoying the success of the album, Phil Collins composed another song for a film. We’re talking about ‘Separate Lives‘ from the film ‘White Nights‘. Another number 1.
Almost without digesting so much success, in 1986, Phil releases with Mike and Tony, ‘Invisible Touch‘, the biggest hit of Genesis career.
- Invisible Touch is about those women who have something you can’t explain but you’re madly attracted to, even though it always ends badly with them.
- Phil Collins was offered a part in an episode of Miami Vice. Although he thought long and hard about it because he hadn’t acted in years, he was convinced and it worked out very well.
- In 1984, things with his partner Jill were going great, so they got married 💒
Phil Collins at the Live Aid benefit concert
Live Aid happened at the same time in London and Philadelphia in 1985. The only artist to play both places was Phil Collins. He sang with Sting at Wembley, took the Concorde 🛫 to New York, from there to Philadelphia where he played with Eric Clapton and at the Led Zeppelin reunion.
Phil Collins live (Facebook Image)
A new tour with Genesis was coming up, 10 months and 112 shows, a blast!
- They had so many gigs in a row that Phil, whenever he could, would take steam baths to take care of his voice.
- By the way, that was the first tour where he got a bra in the face 👀, until then he had only had shoes thrown at him.
- The grandiose tour ended with 4 concerts in a row at Wembley in front of 86000 people, Phil Collins and Genesis were on top of the world!
Phil Collins’ film ‘Buster‘
Phil Collins first film
An opportunity arose for him to star in a film that told the story of train robber Buster Edwards.
The film, called Buster, went largely unnoticed, unlike the soundtrack which included 2 new number ones for Phil Collins: Two Hearts and A Groovy Kind of Love.
In 1989 Phil Collins released ‘But Seriously‘. An album with many influences: Apartheid, the dramatic situation in Northern Ireland and above all the birth of his daughter Lily, who is now famous for the Netflix series ‘Emily in Paris‘.
- The album was littered with hits such as ‘Colours’, ‘Heat of the Night’ and ‘That’s just the way it is’.
- The biggest hit was ‘Another Day in Paradise‘, which talks about how well we live in the West, and how much we complain.
- The song was used in campaigns to raise money for the homeless.
The album, in addition to Grammys and Brit Awards, was the last Billboard number 1 in the 80s and the first in the 90s. It took Collins on a 121 concert tour from Japan to New York where he sold out 7 nights in a row 🗺️
Phil Collins Another Day In Paradise
Phil Collins and philanthropy
Among Phil Collins’ many charitable actions in his life, perhaps the greatest was donating all the proceeds from his records sold in Africa to African causes 🌍
Still in ’89 Phil Collins was producing Paul McCartney’s new album ‘Press to Play’, performing with one of his favourite bands, The Who, and even playing a small part in Spielberg’s film Hook. It was non-stop 🏃! The second divorce
- In 1991, back with Genesis, they recorded ‘We Can’t Dance’, the fifth consecutive UK number 1 for them.
- During the album tour they stopped in Los Angeles for a gig and because Phil was getting a house there. He found out that his childhood sweetheart, Lavinia, was living there, and invited her to the gig.
- After the show she went backstage to greet him, they hugged and felt a shock they had never felt before.
- A few days later they would meet again in London, with Collins’ wife and three-year-old daughter in Los Angeles. Phil would have an affair with her.
- Although it would not last more than 4 weeks, Phil told his wife Jill, and although they tried to work it out, nothing would ever be the same and they would divorce 2 years later, greatly disappointing their daughter Lily.
Genesis: Phil Colins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks (Facebook Image)
Genesis I Can’t Dance
Phil Collins Both Sides of the Story
In 1993, Genesis had never been bigger, but Phil Collins had never felt so small.
- He locked himself in the studio and gave vent to everything he felt, the regret, the longing, the love… the fruit was called Both Sides of the Story.
- He recorded it all by himself, and all while he was participating in another film called ‘Fraud‘.
The only hit of the album was the song that gave it its name, but despite this, Phil gave 169 concerts all over the world.
At a stop on Phil Collins’ tour in Geneva, he fell in love with a beautiful girl called Orianne.
- She had a partner, a jealous boyfriend who beat her, so Collins had no trouble convincing her that he was a better catch.
Although it might seem otherwise, it was a very hard time for Phil because a fax he had written to his ex, Jill, telling her everything and apologising, was leaked.
- The English press picked up the most lurid parts and published them 📰
- Overnight he had gone from being a lovable musician to a monster who cheated on his wife and young daughter.
Because of all the pressure, Phil Collins decided it was time to leave Genesis, although they wouldn’t announce it until 2 years later, in 1996, when he had already gone to live in Switzerland with Orianne, finding peace and freedom for the first time in his 44 years of life 🌾
Phil Collins and Orianne Cevey (Image by Richard Young in Shutterstock)
On leaving Genesis, Phil Collins formed a Big Band, where he only played drums, called the ‘Phil Collins Big Band’, led by Quincy Jones in the early days.
- They would tour a couple of times. Phil really enjoyed it. They would do jazz 🎷 and Beatles covers. In 1996 he also released a new solo album, ‘Dance into the light’.
Disney and Tarzan arrived From 1996 to 1999 Phil Collins was almost entirely dedicated to the soundtrack of the Disney film Tarzan.
- When he was approached he couldn’t say no, he was a real Disney fan.
- It was the first time in a Disney film that some songs were not sung by the characters, but by their author, i.e. Phil Collins, and in multiple languages!
- That incredible experience ended with an Oscar for best song for ‘You’ll be in my heart‘.
Phil Collins (Tarzan soundtrack) You’ll be in my heart
The watershed in Phil Collins’ life
The year was 1998 and Phil Collins was drawing a line that told his story up to then with 2 compilations: ‘Hits’, from his solo career, and ‘Turn it on again: The Hits’, with Genesis.
He lived in Switzerland with his love Orianne, whom he married twice, started learning French. He was happy!
Phil Collins (Facebook Image)
Phil Collins diseases After 30 years of tours, Collins’ body was paying the price. He recounted:
As a drummer, you suffer from bleeding blisters that you get all the time, gig after gig, which you can only learn to suffer from. With the voice it’s even worse, if you have bad strings one day you can only inject cortisone or similar to sing, which over time weakens your bones.
On top of that, one day during a recording, a very loud sound in his headphones affected him so much that he lost almost completely the hearing in one of his ears 🦻
- Touring was over for Phil Collins, but he didn’t mind.
- In fact, Disney offered him to compose the music for another film called Brother Bear. He accepted again.
In 2001, Phil and Orianne had their first son, Nicholas Grev Austin Collins. He inspired ‘Come with me‘, included on his 7th album, Testify.
- It didn’t have the success of the previous ones, but Phil said he couldn’t complain 😆.
- The album is mature, deep and of great quality, as evidenced by songs like ‘Testify‘ or the wonderful ‘Can’t Stop Loving You’.
Three years later, Phil was feeling better and reckon he had to say goodbye to his fans, so he organised The First Final Farewell tour, with 77 spectacular concerts.
- During the tour he had his second son with Orianne, Matthew Thomas Clemence Collins, but as had always happened on previous tours, his relationship with her went sour and he ended up divorced from his third wife.
He also did a short farewell tour with Genesis friends, Mike and Tony, ‘Turn it on again: The Tour‘ was called.
Phil Collins Come With Me
Phil Collins (Facebook Image)
More diseases and alcoholism Even while on tour Collins began to feel a pain in his back that prevented him from playing. It was coming from his spine due to a lack of calcium. He had to have surgery.
- This was followed by his left arm and hand, for which he also needed surgery, making him unable to play drums for the longest time in his life.
- In fact when he tried once, he realised that he couldn’t, his time as a drummer was over 🥁
In 2010, his agent suggested he do a cover album. Phil had always wanted to do Motown, that way he would release ‘Going Back‘. In spite of everything Phil felt an emptiness inside, do you know what he filled it with? With alcohol.
- He had gone through all the decades of drugs as a rock star without a major problem and at 55 he was becoming an alcoholic.
- He hardly ever drank with people, always in private, but he drank a lot until the alcohol knocked him out and allowed him to sleep.
- It got to a point where he couldn’t stop, it affected his health, his relationship with his children and with his partner at the time, a reporter named Dana.
- Luckily, after several years of this, he went into rehab and managed to recover before the alcohol killed him 🥃 It was really closed!
In 2014, thanks to the BBC, who were going to make a Genesis documentary, Tony, Mike, Peter and Phil got back together. The whole thing ended up on a compilation called R-Kive. On the sentimental front, after 8 years with his girlfriend Dana, they split up and he went back to Orianne.
- Phil Collins said that he had changed and she needed him after suffering a problem that left her partially paralysed.
- Not that Collins was in top condition, far from it. He had more than eight screws in his spine to hold it in place because over the years it collapsed.
- The fact is that life brought them back together with their 2 children, and Phil Collins finally had a stable family to complete the other 3 children he had, whom he had not been able to care for properly at the time!
Phil Collins (Facebook Image)
In 2016, Phil Collins turned 65. To celebrate, he wrote his autobiography ‘Not Dead Yet‘.
- Surprisingly, a few years later he would go on tour again, do you know why? Because he would have the chance to go with his son Nicolas as drummer. He had to sing sitting down but it was worthy it.
- It started with the biggest solo concert Phil Collins has ever played, in Hyde Park in 2017, and stretched out with 97 shows until 2019 🏟️
That good experience led him to come full circle with Genesis as well. That way between 2021 and 2022 they would tour with ‘The Last Domino? Tour‘. Their last concert was at the O2 Arena in London where Phil Collins said goodbye:
This is the last Genesis concert.
Phil Collins saying it’s the last Genesis concert
Phil Collins live (Facebook Image)
We don’t know what life has in store for him, but being the 2nd richest drummer in the world (Ringo Starr is the first), with over 300 million records sold solo and with Genesis, plus a large family with 5 children, we are sure Phil Collins is happy.
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