Phil Collins Jokes That Singing for Genesis Was a Mistake
· Ultimate Classic RockPhil Collins jokes that becoming Genesis’ lead singer in 1976 was a big mistake.
He was asked about the career change in the new documentary Phil Collins: Drummer First, just released by Drumeo and available below.
He took over after Peter Gabriel decided move on in 1975. Collins said that bandmate Tony Banks actually “got wind of” the lineup change before they were told about it. “From then on, we knew that Pete could leave at any time – but we had a 150-show tour to do,” Collins explained.
READ MORE: Top 10 Phil Collins-Era Genesis Songs
“I was the one, when Peter left, who said, ‘Let’s do it instrumentally,’” Collins added, “and everybody jeered and told me to shut up and get back in my box. But I can see that they were right.”
For Collins, “it was not in my mind to become the singer; it was just that nobody else really wanted the job.” He continued: “We had a long search for a singer that didn’t amount to much.
“I used to sing all the songs … to the guys who were coming to audition. And I started, in general, to sound a bit better than they did.” Pointing out that Genesis songs were effectively the music he “grew up with,” he added: “My excuse was always, ‘My voice has been there in the background, whether it’s backing vocals or the odd lead vocal here and there.’”
A former actor, Collins fronted Genesis for the first time in London, Ontario in March 1976. “The theatrical experience definitely helped me get up on stage and not be nervous,” he said. “I went on and I didn’t let go of the mic stand. That became my drum kit!
How Phil Collins Dealt with Peter Gabriel’s Live Drumming
“It was eerie. … I always missed being behind the drums. I thought I was better at that than I was singing.” But Collins accepted that “it just looked so dull if I was singing the whole show from behind the drums. I didn’t find it physically difficult. But especially with the cymbals [it’s like] you’re putting a screen up. We didn’t want to go there, really.”
He said, “You know in a second if it was a mistake or not.” Asked if it was, he joked: “Yeah! It was awful!”
Looking back on the five years he spent performing alongside Gabriel, Collins noted: “Peter just had this aura of the costumes and the drama, some of which he didn’t do naturally. He did it because there was a lot of instrumental stuff. What do you do? You either go offstage or you stay on and do something.”
Collins noted that Gabriel “was a drummer as well. … When I was there on stage, he’d be wild with his bass drum.” Since it was a distraction, action was taken: “It gradually got filled with carpet so you couldn’t hear it!”
Watch ‘Phil Collins: Drummer First’
8: 'Testify' (2002)
Collins brought back the drum machines that dominated 'No Jacket Required,' but not that album's chart magic. He tried stirring in bits of next-gen electronica, but more often backslid into the adult-contemporary sound of his then-recent soundtrack work. Nothing seemed to fall into place on this project, which – perhaps unsurprisingly – stands as Collins' last album of original work to date.
7: 'Going Back' (2010)
A love for '60s R&B had already given Collins his first-ever solo U.K. No. 1, a 1982 cover of the Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love." On 'Going Back,' he had a chance to say goodbye. Collins, who'd dislocated a vertebra during a reunion tour with Genesis, decided to return to the music of his youth on an album he said would be his last. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but you can't deny the sincerity of his performances.
6: 'Dance Into the Light' (1996)
Though it included some of the world-music elements that had propelled former bandmate Peter Gabriel's solo career, 'Dance Into the Light' didn't have the same gravitas. Still, Collins tried to make a go of it on his first album after officially leaving Genesis, releasing six singles. None of them, however, reached the Top 40 – a first for Collins as a solo artist.
5: 'Both Sides' (1993)
Conceived in much the same way as his first two solo records, the steadfastly ruminative 'Both Sides' is Collins' most direct album not named 'Face Value.' He took an even more personal role in creating this music, playing every instrument. Sales were considered disappointing at the time – 'Both Sides' "only" went platinum – but those million or so people stumbled into one of Collins' more starkly compelling albums.
4: 'Hello, I Must Be Going!' (1982)
The exact midpoint between the darker considerations of Collins' debut and the mechanized pop of 'No Jacket Required,' this album largely succeeds at walking that very fine line. Maybe he was all over the map here. Such a disparate collection of moods, tempos and personas occasionally gave 'Hello, I Must Be Going!' the choppy feel of a hits collection. But the high points were worth a few bumps in the road along the way.
3: 'No Jacket Required' (1985)
Monolithic in its moment, 'No Jacket Required' now seems a bit locked into its era – especially on its biggest, most mechanized hits. Lesser-heard moments like "Inside Out," "Long Long Way to Go" (featuring Sting) and "Only You Know and I Know" are actually the better songs, even though they never earned the ubiquitous airplay enjoyed by cuts like the funky but nonsensical No.1 hit "Sussudio."
2: 'But Seriously' (1989)
No one would have blamed Collins for sticking with the multi-platinum 'No Jacket Required' formula for his next solo album. But instead he backed away from the metronomic drum machines, returned to some of the jazzier asides that powered his early solo material and allowed his writing – in keeping with the LP's title – to turn toward more earnest concerns. 'But Seriously' doesn't always have the buoyancy of its predecessor, but that depth has ultimately helped this album age far more gracefully.
1: 'Face Value' (1981)
An impressive display of radio-friendly musical versatility, 'Face Value' is a time capsule of everything that turned Genesis member Phil Collins into solo star Phil Collins. It started out as a personal work, and that made for an album that's often delightfully extemporaneous, and almost always determinedly different from Genesis.