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10 bands Phil Collins said are some of his favorites of all time
One of the most successful artists of all time, Phil Collins is one of the few musicians to have sold over 100 million records both as a solo artist and as a member of a band. He first achieved fame as the drummer for Genesis and later became the band’s vocalist after Peter Gabriel left.
The band adopted a slightly more commercial sound and reached a much broader audience. Collins went on to become an even bigger pop star when he launched his solo career in the 1980s.
As his career shows, he has a remarkably broad musical taste. So Rock and Roll Garage has selected 10 bands that are among his favorites.
10 bands Phil Collins said are some of his favorites of all time
Beach Boys
Phil Collins is a huge fan of The Beach Boys and the legendary Brian Wilson, the mastermind behind some of their most praised and influential albums. Their records were extremely important for Collins and he told Ken Bruce in the BBC Radio show Tracks of My Years back in 2016 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage), that “Sail On Sailor” was one of his favorites songs.
“One forgets about The Beach Boys sometimes, the amount of great songs that Brian Wilson wrote, you know. But this album ‘Holland’, that this song comes from has got a lot of good songs on it. It appeared when they were on hip, you know,” Phil Collins said.
That song was first released on the groups 19th studio album “Holland” in 1973. The song was composed Brian Wilson, Tandyn Almer and Van Dyke Perks with lyrics by Ray Kennedy and Jack Rieley. However, who recorded the vocals for the track was Blondie Chaplin.
Curiously, that song was the inspiration behind Genesis “Misunderstanding” as Collins already revealed. According to the musician, that song was based on “Sail On Sailor”. The track was part of the Genesis album “Duke”, released in 1980.
The Four Tops
The Genesis frontman always had a really broad musical taste that was especially showed during his solo career. The musician mixed many of the Motown influences he had the Four Tops was his favorite band from that era.
That’s what he said in an interview with Centerstage. “Probably the Four Tops were (my favorite). Because they had, certainly in England, where I lived, they had just one hit after the other. They were just full of hooks and you know, they’re just great songs.”
(…) (Motown) is the music I grew up with. I mean, as well as The Beatles, which of course, everybody grew up with. For me, it was the Motown records that I really gravitated to. So for me it’s the soundtrack of my life. I’ve never sung these songs, apart from the school band,” Phil Collins said.
He had the chance to write a song for the Four Tops in the 80s which became a hit. Released in 1988, “Loco In Acapulco” was written by Collins and the producer Lamont Dozier. It was part of the soundtrack of “Buster”, movie starring Phil Collins and Julie Walters. In 2010, Collins also paid tribute to the group covering some of their songs on his album “Going Back”. The tacks covered were: “Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever”, “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and “Something About You”.
The Action
The Action is not simply one of Collins’ favorite bands, is the group that he said was the best of all time. The less-known band was formed in London, England in 1963 and was part of the mod subculture, mixing Pop and Soul music.
He praised them in an interview with “Tracks of My Years” (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). “The Action! What can I say that I haven’t already said before? This is my favorite band. My favorite, absolute favorite.”
“In the 60s I was going to the Marquee Club and I discovered them one night. (I) went to see them every night they played. I’ve since got to know them. Played with them where they did, they reformed and I played a gig with them at the 100 club. (It) Was a dream come true.”
He continued:
“You had to be on stage playing all the songs that I heard when I was a teenager. You know, Roger the drummer is a huge influence on me. We became great friends now. This is a great record (‘Never Ever’, they were produced by George Martin. It’s a great song,” Phil Collins said.
Collins also said once that playing with The Action live felt like he was playing with Beatles, because he was a huge fan of their music.
Tom Petty
Another musician that Phil Collins really likes is the late Tom Petty and in an interview with Ken Bruce in the BBC Radio show Tracks of My Years, he revealed that the song “Learning To Fly” was one of his favorites.
(Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) “I’ve loved Tom Petty’s stuff for a long, long time. He is very cynical, which I kind of understand, you know. It’s very English in some respects. I always loved his work with the Traveling Wilburys. But he has that 12 string thing, it’s just that reminds me a little bit of The Byrds, I think, from the 60s. I just find him very edgy, keeps reinventing himself, big fan,” Phil Collins said.
As Collins said, Tom Petty was a member of the supergroup Traveling Wilburys, which also had Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and George Harrison.
Traffic
Formed in Birmingham, England in 1967, Traffic is another band that Phil Collins loves. The group was originally formed by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason.
He praised the band in an interview back in 1986 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). “Yeah, Steve Winwood (I would like to work with him). I mean, (I like him) ever since Spencer Davis Group and of course, Traffic. Traffic were one of my favorite bands.”
“But he’s got a great voice, I think it’s ridiculous that not many people know him. I know that now he’s got a hit record. But up until then it was like ‘Ah Steve, didn’t he used to be with Spencer Davis?’ No one ever heard of him since, really. I suppose Traffic was a really big band. But him, I’d like to work with and Aretha Franklin I’d like to work with,” Phil Collins said.
Collins finally had the chance to play with Winwood three years later, in 1989, when he played in the Hammond organ in the track “All of My Life”. The song was part of Collins solo album “…But Seriously”.
Prince
Like most Rock stars from his era, Collins was also quite impressed by the late Prince when he appeared on the scene. He praised the musician in an interview with David Sheff and even revealed some of his favorite songs.
“I’m a big fan. I just wish he weren’t quite like he is sometimes. I mean, he came to some British awards here and made his way up to the stage to get his awards with a huge bodyguard who stood there while he said, ‘Thanks a lot.'”
“So I just think it’s funny to pull that kind of thing off in this business. If you’re in front of 10,000 kids screaming at you, it’s one thing; but inside the business, it’s strange. Musically, Prince is great, though. I love his attitude. ‘Little Red Corvette’ is a fantastic song. ‘Take Me with U’, ‘Purple Rain’.”
The Beatles
Like 99% of the Rock and Roll musicians from his generation, Phil Collins was also influenced a lot by The Beatles and loved them since day one. He told David Sheff that the Fab Four probably was the “best band that ever existed”.
“When McCartney has balls, he’s great. There was some talk of my producing him. I liked the idea. I thought, Just to get a bit of balls into the production.”
“I’m sure he’s got it in him. It’s just that someone’s not bringing it out. Everyone looks at McCartney and wants the Beatles, which is impossible. The Beatles were probably the best band ever. Now he wants to do what he wants to do. Unfortunately, that may not be what the public wants to hear from him,” Phil Collins said.
Curiously, he was an extra in The Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night, released in 1964. However, he didn’t make it to the big screen in the final cut. Still, he had the chance to meet Ringo (one of his favorite drummers), Paul McCartney, and George Harrison.
He also took part in the recording sessions for George’s All Things Must Pass (1970), playing the conga. However, just like with the movie, he didn’t make it to the final cut.
Led Zeppelin
Ringo Starr was certainly one of Phil Collins biggest inspirations as a drummer and Led Zeppelin‘s John Bonham as well. The Genesis frontman had the chance to see Bonzo performing when he was still part of Tim Rose’s band.
He recalled that in an interview with BBC 6 Radio (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). “I saw John Bonham play at the Marquee Club with Tim Rose who was a American singer. He did this hit version of ‘Morning Dew’ and he was on tour and had this guy John Bonham on drums. I went to see Tim Rose. But when I saw Bonham I had never seen anything like it.”
“He had the best bass drum of anybody I’ve ever seen. I became a convert there. So I started to follow him wherever he was doing rude to be playing in a band. Next time I saw him was with Led Zeppelin, when they were still called The New Yardbirds. The early Led Zeppelin was something to behold because nobody was doing that,” Phil Collins said.
Decades later, he had the chance to perform with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin at Live Aid. However, he was criticized for his performance.
Curiously, John’s son, Jason Bonham, revealed a couple of years ago that his father was quite upset when he lost a poll to Collins back in the late ’70s.
The Who
The Who is also one of Phil Collins’ favorite bands and certainly the late legendary drummer Keith Moon is an important element of the band for him. He even told BBC 6 Radio that “Won’t Get Fooled Again” is one of the greatest songs of all time.
“I think that one of the Classic Rock tracks of all time is ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’. And I remember seeing them on TV, they were televised from Charlton Football ground. I saw him with this gaffer tape around his head, with his headphones, you know. It hurts to take it off if you’re foolish enought to put it around. The way he played, there was no orthodoxy at all”.
The two times he saw Keith Moon
“I was probably underage but I used to go there and Keith used to be sometimes behind the bar. I will never forget I bought a round of drinks which should have cost almost a pound, which I know it sounds ridiculous now. But it was like six or seven drinks, should definitely have cost the best part of a quid. He was giving me the drinks. He gave me eighteen sheelings change and I always tought he was lovely after that (laughs).”
“I’d asked (Pete Townshend) if I could join after Keith died. I was doing a session with Pete Townshend. I said ‘You know, if you’re looking after the dust settles, I would love to do it. But they already asked Kenny Jones. I would have left Genesis for that,” Phil Collins said.
Earth, Wind & Fire
Yes, Phil Collins likes Disco music and Earth, Wind & Fire is one of his favorite bands from that music genre.
Collins praised the band in an interview with Rolling Stone , recalling his work with Philip Bailey, who is a member of the group. He co-write the hit “Easy Lover” with Collins in the 80s.
“I always loved Earth, Wind & Fire. In 1984 I was asked if I would produce Philip Bailey’s solo album. People were leaning on him, racially — ‘Don’t come back with a white album. You’re one of us.’
“So Philip got Nathan East to play on it also. We hit some rocky ground early on. But we worked everything out. Near the end of the sessions, Philip said, ‘We haven’t written anything together on this album.’”
“So we just started having a jam one night, and went round and round. (It) turned it into a verse and a chorus. We recorded it that night so we wouldn’t forget it. That song doesn’t sound like any particular era. It’s just fantastic.”
“The hip-hop brigade fell in love with me after ‘Easy Lover.’ They were like, “Where’d that come from? That ain’t black music and that ain’t white music. That’s kind of an interesting color of beige,” Phil Collins said.
