Phil Collins

About Phil Collins

Rocker Phil Collins may just be one of the most famous drummers in history. How often does the drummer get any love? Sweating along in the back, carrying the beat, he's usually the anonymous one too far back to catch any of the spotlight. But the gifted Phil Collins' had always been ambitious-he tried for an acting career at a young age and appears in a crowd scene in The Beatles' A Hard Days' Night. Phil Collins hooked up with progressive rock band Genesis after answering a NME ad in 1970. He'd go one to make huge hits with Genesis including "Follow You, Follow Me" and "Land Of Confusion." After original singer Peter Gabriel left, feeling the band was leaning too pop, Collins was promoted from singing backing vocals to lead vocals. The Collins-sung Genesis LP A Trick of the Tail hit the Top 40 in the US and went to #3 in the UK, the group's biggest success yet. Genesis kept making progressive pop records til Collins left to concentrate on his own solo projects. He had bigger success as a solo artist, with his pure voice and wistful, romantic lyrics. Collins cites his early divorce as inspiration for most of his dark break-up songs that characterize his work. In 1985 he released his biggest solo disc, No Jacket Required. He paired up with 80's MTV royalty like Sting, Kate Bush and ex-band mate Peter Gabriel. The singles "Sussudio," "One More Night" and "Take Me Home" made the charismatic Collins a familiar face in music videos. These days, Phil Collins has found success collaborating on soundtracks with Walt Disney, his most notable efforts being the Tarzan and Brother Bear soundtracks.