Like most musicians, Phil Collins loved music since he was young and started to learn how to play the drums and sing when he was still a kid. Born in 1951, he wasn’t even a teenager yet when the so-called British Invasion started and he was influenced by all those amazing bands that appeared in the United Kingdom at the time.
Over the decades he talked about many of those groups and even said which one is in his opinion “probably the best band ever”.
The band that Phil Collins said that was the best of all time
Collins started his musical career when he was 12 but it was a few years later in 1970 that he started to gain fame after becoming the drummer of the Progressive Rock band Genesis. From then he only became more successful since after Peter Gabriel decided to leave the band he also became their vocalist.
That change and Steve Hackett’s departure made them become a trio and by changing their sound to a more commercial approach. The group reached a whole new audience that helped them to become one of the best-selling bands in history. The same happened with Collins, who started a successful solo career in the 80s. He became one of the few artists in history who were able to sell more than 100 million records worldwide both as a member of a band and as a solo artist.
In an interview with David Sheff, Collins was asked to give his opinion on Paul McCartney. While talking about the musician he said that The Beatles probably were 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.”
He continued:
“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.
During the same conversation he also recalled that the first music that made an impression on him was from The Beatles. He said that when he was a kid he used to be in front of the mirror with a tennis racket pretending to be John Lennon. Collins also said that the first time he heard them he went out and bought every album they had.
He was an extra in a Beatles movie and covered the band a few times during his career
Collins curiously was an extra for The Beatles movie “A Hard Day’s Night” released in 1964. He was only a kid in the middle of many screaming girls. So he remembers often that the only thing he could think at the moment was to wish they stopped screaming in order for him to hear The Beatles playing.
Phil was able to pay tribute to the band during his career. He covered the song “Tomorrow Never Knows” in 1993 for the AIDS fundraising album “Red Hot + Dance”. Also was part of the George Martin album “In My Life” released in 1998. He recorded the medley “Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End”. In that track he played the drums, percussion and sang.
He almost appeared on George Harrison’s classic album “All Things Must Pass”
Phil Collins was part of a session recording for the classic George Harrison album “All Things Must Pass” (1970). At the time Collins still wasn’t a famous artist but was recognized for his talent. He often recalls how he was starstruck to see many of his heroes in the same room. Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Klaus Voorman, Phil Spector and George Harrison were all in there.
After hours playing the conga, they said he could go. But when the album came out he realized his parts weren’t used. Harrison sent him a tape of the recording years later.