With 150 million albums sold, Phil Collins is one of the top-selling artists of all time. Yet he has been one of the most criticized figures in pop music. The most commercial artist in the 1980s, he saw his fans turn against him in the 1990s.
Now at 65, a new generation is reviving his music. “When people stop thinking about you, you can be rediscovered,” says Collins. His memoir” Not Dead Yet ” chronicles a life of songs and shows, of ups and downs.
In March 2016, the year he emerged from retirement, Phil Collins was in the shower in his home in Miami when he experienced sudden deafness in his right ear. He was desperate. In the evening, he was due to return to the stage to perform in a gala concert with his 14-year-old son Nicholas after a six-year break. There was no time to waste. An hour later, he underwent surgery and recovered his hearing. The gig was a success. For the first time, music was connecting him to his children instead of doing the opposite. Over 50 years, Collins had been playing, writing, performing and entertaining. “Music had brought me more than I could ever have imagined, but it had also taken more from me than I could ever have feared.”
Phil Collins was born in 1951 in London. His future was sealed at the age of 3 when he received a plastic drum. Before he was a teenager, he had totaled 10,000 hours of drumming. After his mother launched a theatrical agency for children in London’s West End, he was chosen to play the role of the Artful Dodger in “Oliver,” the musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist.”
Soon after, he decided to take piano lessons and discovered that once he heard something, he remembered it. He is self taught and convinced that he could not have picked a better time and place to learn how to drum. In the mid-60s in London, music was everywhere, music was at the heart of Britain’s first pop cultural explosion. After seeing Jimi Hendrix, Collins made up his mind to be a drummer.
At the age of 17, he finally told his parents that he wanted to make a living as a drummer. One day, while he was poring through musical papers, he came across an ad for a drummer sensitive to acoustic music. Peter Gabriel, the lead singer for Genesis, was in charge of the auditions. He was 20 and like the two other members of this group, he went to Charterhouse, an exclusive private boarding school. They formed their group, Genesis, in 1967 and released their first single, “The Silent Sun” in February 1968. As they were recording their second album, the group’s drummer and a founding member, announced he was leaving. Collins was the last drummer to audition; at the end of his performance, Gabriel, without showing his feelings, informed him gravely that they will let him know. On Aug. 8, 1970, Peter Gabriel phoned him,” You’ve got the gig, if you want it.”
In October 1972, Collins recorded “Foxtrot” his second album with the band. It featured “Supper’s Ready,” a 23-minute song that is regarded as Genesis’ magnum opus.
Then Gabriel got an offer to work on a science fiction movie with director William Friedkin who won an Oscar for “The French Connection.” It did not work out. Peter was back but not for long. He finally left Genesis and performed for the last time on May 22, 1975.
Collins never resented Gabriel’s leaving. “Our connection is deeper than the merely musical. Contrary to what people might like to think, there was never any bad blood between us. We were great friends”
There are still heated discussions about the Gabriel-era Genesis and the Collins Genesis. Genesis, which was seen as an arty, quirky group went to sell more than 100 million records.
Collins refers to the ’80s as the “imperial years,” a period of his life that he was too busy to remember. During a fund-raising Michael Jackson concert show, Prince Charles also asked Collins to organize his birthday party.
In 1985, Phil Collins had more American No. 1 hits than anyone else. “Separate Lives” was No. 1 in the US and “No Jacket Required” won three Grammys. A year later, “Invisible Touch” became the US No. 1 single. It became the first of five American Top 5 singles from ”Invisible Touch,” which to this day is Genesis’ best album, released one year after “No Jacket Required.”
As the “imperial ’80s” gave way to the “emotional ’90s,” Collins realized that he no longer enjoyed performing in stadiums. “You’re not in control. These venues are built for sports, not for rock tours. You’re at the mercy of the elements; a bit of rain can ruin everyone’s evening, and if the wind picks up, God help the sound,” wrote Collins.
As he retired from solo touring in 2005 and from Genesis in 2007, he had too much free time on his hands. He faced a void and began drinking and reached a point of no return.
Phil Collins nearly lost his life. But he is back. Alive. Yes, he is “Not Dead Yet.” He is going back to his third ex-wife and believes that love will find a way.
“I carry guilt for everything, frankly. All the times I was away, all the moments I missed, all the periods when a tour or an album got in the way of a happy home life, or repairs to that home life. Music made me, but it also unmade me,” wrote Collins.
“Not Dead Yet” is an opportunity to remember an iconic singer and musician of the ‘80s to rediscover his hits and his genius contributions to music.
