The lesser-known band that Phil Collins said was brilliant

Born in Wandsworth, London, England, Phil Collins is certainly one of the most versatile musicians of all time. He started his career as a drummer and after Peter Gabriel left Genesis in 1975, he had the chance to show that he was also an incredible songwriter, singer and frontman. The band became more commercial and that not only made them sell millions of records but also helped Collins to launch a successful solo career in the early 80s.

He always had a broad musical taste and was influenced by many different groups, including a lesser known British band that he always said was brilliant.

The lesser-known band that Phil Collins said was brilliant

The lesser-known band that Collins thinks is fantastic is The Action, formed in London, England back in 1963. They were part of the mod subculture and played a mix of Pop and Soul music. The original members were Reg King (lead vocals), Alan “Bam” King (rhythm guitar, vocals), Mike “Ace” Evans (bass guitar) and Roger Powell (drums).

In an interview for his podcast “A – Z of Phil Collins“, back in 2021, the musician talked about his love for the group. (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) “There was The Beatles of course, but The Action were brilliant. I obviously must have caught them by accident at a gig in the Marquee Club when they were supporting someone. But I became a complete, complete fan of theirs. They issued singles and eventually an album that they had recorded was released. I remember Al Clark, the very famous publicist, who was with The Sex Pistols and he was also with Virgin (records) and with me when I signed for Virgin.”

He continued:

“He drove to my house in Guildford and in my car he laid a copy of The Action album which had just come out. It was like finding the holy grail, it was fantastic. I got to know them and Roger, the drummer, who was a huge influence, still is a great friend of mine. So, they were fantastic, you would have to see them. It was Soul, Motown and all the records that were coming from America. (…)”

“They reformed (in 2000), which is when I finally got in touch with Roger Powell, the drummer. They couldn’t afford to edit the film together of their reform gig. So I paid for that and then they had the offer to put a book together. So I funded that because I wanted to read it. It was like anything that I could get hold of, because it was so scarce when they actually active first time around. So I did (fund those things) and I’m quite proud of that,” Phil Collins said.

The Action is his favorite band of all time

In an interview with “Tracks of My Years” (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) in 2016, Collins even said they were his favorite band of all time. He picked their song “Never Ever” as one of his favorites and said: “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:

He is such a big fan of the band that he even said that having the chance to play with them was like performing with The Beatles. He had that experience back in the early 00s when the band’s only reunion happened. They were first active from 1963 to 1969.

Although they never sold many records, they had a big fanbase and their shows always had a big audience back in the 60s. Some of their most famous tracks are “Land Of 1000 Dances” and “I’ll Keep Holding On”.

Another big fan of the group is The Jam multi-instrumentalist and singer Paul Weller. He even wrote the sleeve notes on their 1980 compilation album. The Action’s lead vocalist Reg King and the bassist Mike Evans both passed away in 2010. The three classic members of the group who are still alive are Alan King (Guitar), Pete Watson (Guitar) and Roger Powell (Drums).