2 less known drummers Phil Collins said he is a fan of

Although he became one of the biggest pop stars of all time as a solo artist and as the frontman of Genesis, Phil Collins has always been a drummer first. Over the decades, he has continued to pay attention to his peers and has shared his opinions on many of them. Rock and Roll Garage selected two lesser-known examples of drummers Collins has praised and said he is a fan of.

2 less known drummers Phil Collins said he is a fan of

Steve Gadd

The first is Steve Gadd, whom Collins jokingly praised in his autobiography. “It’s not easy being a drummer. I’ve heard all the jokes. I know that it takes five of us to change a lightbulb. One to screw it in, four to talk about how much better Steve Gadd would have done it. I’ve yucked along to the one about the drummer who died, went to heaven, was surprised to hear some phenomenal drumming coming from behind the Pearly Gates. (He) rushed to St Peter to ask if that was really Buddy Rich playing. ‘No, that’s God. He just thinks he’s Buddy Rich.’ I should have told that one to Tony Bennett,” Phil Collins said in his book “Not Dead Yet”.

One of the main reasons why he likes Gadd, is because he could “play anything and everything and yet he’s not afraid to not play at all, if it makes sense.” The drummer is six years older than Phil Collins but began his professional career later, in 1968. Since then, he has become one of the world’s most sought-after and respected session drummers. He has played on albums by Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney. Collins had known about Gadd since the 1970s, when he was already impressed by the drummer’s playing.

Phil Collins said:

“There are a lot of good players, you know. Like every now and again I hear of people like Steve Gadd, he does Atlantic (records) sessions and things. He’s a young guy, Joe Farrell, his band Joe Farrell Quartet, Steve Gadd played with that.”

“They’ve also got a guy called Robert Mason who’s a synthesizer player. He did an album with Steve Gadd on drums, He played very good stuff. People like that you know, you just hear them and think ‘f*ck, who’s that drummer?’ And you’ve never heard the guy before, and there he is, playing his head off,” he said in an interview with Ken CK in 1974.

Simon Phillips

“Simon Phillips is a wonderful drummer, but believe me, I’ve seen him so many times, he’s obviously very influenced by (Billy) Cobham, and he used to take any opportunity to do incredible stuff, but not always in the right context. I used to do the same thing because when you like someone that much, you really do want to play like them.”

“But you learn not to do it when it doesn’t call for it, even if you can. On Mike (Rutherford)’s album (Smallcreep’s Day), Simon played really, really well. He laid back. He does so many sessions now, that he just delivers what is necessary. I remember seeing Cobham with George Duke, and all he did was just constantly overplay. I think in the last few years, he’s actually calmed down a lot,” Phil Collins said in an interview with Vintage in 1981. Interestingly, according to Simon, he was the drummer Phil invited to join Genesis before calling Chester Thompson.

Phil Collins said:

“In 1976, I was at the Manor Studio, which is Richard Branson’s Virgin Studios, recording the Jack Bruce album ‘How’s Tricks’. I got a call from Phil Collins asking me to join Genesis, this was in 1976. So they had just finished the tour with Bill Bruford or that period and he was looking for another drummer. I hate to say this, Genesis were not high on my list of favorite bands, I was a little more (focused on) Jazz.”

“So I wasn’t so familiar with Genesis’ music until later, then I became a huge fan of Genesis. A huge fan of Phil, I mean, what a songwriter, stunning, and a singer. Peter Gabriel too, but I was a little late to the party. Then and I had to say: ‘Unfortunately, Phil, I’ve just joined Jack Bruce and we put a band together. I’m actually signed as a band member to the record company. So it wasn’t just a session, we were on points, never got a royalty statement, but there you go. (So I had to decline) and he said “Ok, I understand. Well, look perhaps if you’re not too busy, could you fill in for me for Brand X, while I’m rehearsing with Genesis?” he said in an interview with Rock History Music.

Simon has an incredible resumé, having worked as a session drummer with names like Jeff Beck, Judas Priest, Tears for Fears, Pete Townshend, The Who, Michael Schenker, Joe Satriani, Jon Lord, Jon Anderson and Gary Moore. He also was the drummer on Mike Rutherford’s debut solo album “Smallcreep’s Day” released in 1980.