Phil Collins is a complete artist who has done almost everything. Besides being an incredible drummer, singer, and songwriter, he also worked as an actor and even as a dancer when he was a teenager.
The frontman of Genesis during its most commercially successful era had the chance to witness the evolution of the music business up close, and he praised many artists who aren’t as well-known as he is. There is one songwriter he especially loves and has said is one of his favorites.
The songwriter that Phil Collins said was one of his favorites
The songwriter that Phil Collins called one of his favorite ones was Paul Brady, who is six years young than him and was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was in an interview with BBC Radio Radio 4 back in 1993 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) that he mentioned the musician.
Collins had to choose eight songs he would take to a desert island and “Helpless Heart” was the first one. “Paul Brady is one of my favorite songwriters. He has a wonderfuly pure voice and quite often has written songs that I do wish I had been responsible for. But this song certainly meant a lot to me in the last years,” Phil Collins said.
The Genesis frotnman covered that song multiple times during his solo shows during the 1990s. The song was part of Paul Brady’s third studio album “True For You”, released in 1983. The record was produced by Paul himself with the help of Neil Dorfsman who worked with names like Dire Straits, Paul McCartney and Sting. On the album, Brady recorded the lead and background vocals, part of acoustic and electric guitars, synthesizer, piano and mandolin.
Paul Brady
The musician started to learn how to play the piano around the age of six and when he was 11 years-old he begun to play the guitar. Brady started his musical career in 1963 performing as a piano player in a hotel in Bundoran, Donegal, Ireland. He initially achieved notoriety for playing Irish traditional music in a duo with Andy Irvine. Later on he also was known for performing with Tommy Peoples and Matt Molloy. Then as a solo act he changed his sound, recording more Rock-oriented songs.
His solo debut album “Welcome Here Kind Stranger” was released in 1977 and since then he has released 12 studio albums. “Maybe So” is the most recent, being released in 2022. Some versions of famous songs recorded by him also achieved success. One for example is the cover of “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones. Other famous tracks recorded by him were “The Island”, “The Lakes of Pontchartrain”, “Crazy Dreams” and “Once in a Lifetime”.
During his prolific career, Paul Brady also collaborated with many other artists over the years. Some of them are Andy McGann and Paddy Reynolds, John Vesey, John Kavanagh and Sean O’Casey.
In 2009 he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the university of Ulster (Northern Ireland). The award was a recognition of his services to the traditional music of the country and his musical/songwriting contribution. Besides Phil Collins, many other famous musicians covered his songs. Some of them were: Tina Turner, Cher, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker and Art Garfunkel.
