Singer, songwriter, drummer, keyboard player, and actor, Philip Collins was born in London, England in 1951.
Before his music career took off, Phil was a child actor, appearing as Artful Dodger in the London production of Oliver. He also appeared as an extra in the Beatles film “A Hard Day’s Night” in 1964 and also appeared in the Dick Van Dyke film, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”
Phil also knew, at a young age, that music was going to be a part of his life, when he received a drums for Christmas at the age of five. He played with various bands in high school, but recorded his first album in 1969, when he signed as a drummer for the group Flaming Youth. After a year, and with little success, Flaming Youth disbanded.
In 1970, Phil responded to a classified ad from a drummer and won the audition, which was held at the home of Peter Gabriel’s parents, for the band Genesis. Gabriel left the group in 1975, to pursue a solo career, and Phil took over lead vocals.
Genesis didn’t have its first Top 40 hit until 1978 with “Follow You, Follow Me.” Phil recorded his first solo album in 1981 while still singing the lead for Genesis and would continue to do so until 1987. Phil’s solo efforts produced many hits, including 1981’s “In The Air Tonight”, which was used on the television show. “Miami Vice”. and in the Tom Cruise movie “Risky Business.”
On the charts, as a solo artist and with Genesis, Phil has had 37 Top 40 hits on the Billboard weekly charts, seven of them at number one. Here’s a look at Phil Collins’ Top Twenty Hits, according to Billboard’s Weekly Top 40 Charts.
1. Another Day In Paradise – 1989 – Phil’s biggest record went to # 1 for four weeks and had some help with backing vocals from David Crosby.
2. Against All Odds (Take a look at me now) – 1984 – originally titled “How Can You Just Sit There”. This is the title song of the movie “Against All Odds”.
3. Groovy Kind Of Love – 1988 – a number 2 song for The Mindbenders in 1966, this is one of the 2 number one songs from the movie “Buster” starring Phil Collins.
4. Two Hearts – 1989 – the other number one song on “Buster”, won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
5. One More Night – 1985 – This song was used for a time in the 1990s by the American Red Cross, in their public service announcements promoting shelters.
6. Separate Lives – 1985 – more movie music. This time, Phil shared the microphone with vocalist Marilyn Martin and appeared as the love theme for the movie “White Nights.” Written by Stephen Bishop (“Over and Over”), it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song.
7. Sussudio – 1985 – Phil says the word “sussudio” was an improvised lyric and has no meaning.
8. Invisible Touch – 1986 – the only number one single that Genesis had, a limited edition live version of this single was released in 1992.
9. Easy Lover – 1985 – a duet with Philip Bailey, it was actually Bailey’s song with Phil helping out and featured on Bailey’s “China Wall” album.
10. On Too Deep – 1987 – from the Genesis album “Invisible Touch”, Phil was asked to write a song for the soundtrack of the movie “Mona Lisa”.
11. I Wish It Would Rain Down – 1990 – from the album “… But Serively”, the guitar work on this song comes from the legendary Eric Clapton.
12. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight – 1987 – This Genesis single appeared in Michelob beer commercials.
13. Land Of Confusion – 1987 – Most Genesis fans remember this song for its music video that featured many celebrity puppets from Ronald Regan to Mick Jagger.
14. Do you remember? – 1990 – with backing vocals by singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop.
15. Don’t Lose My Number – 1985 – Phil admits that even he doesn’t fully understand the meaning of the lyrics. The single was never released in the UK.
16. Throwing It All Away – 1986 – written by Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford, who would later form the band “Mike and the Mechanics”.
17. Something Happened on the Road to Heaven – 1990 – originally written for the movie “War of the Roses” starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.
18. That’s it – 1984 – the first single in the top ten for Genesis.
19. Take Me Home – 1986 – Another single featured on the NBC-TV series “Miami Vice,” this single includes backing vocals by Peter Gabriel and Sting.
20. You Can’t Hurry, Love – 1983 – A number one single for The Supremes in 1966 and Phil’s first solo song in the top ten.
Phil has also played in the jazz rock group, Brand X and, in 1996, formed the Phil Collins Big Band.
Phil has been married three times and has five children. He currently resides in Switzerland to be close to his children.
In 2009, he dislocated some vertebrae in his neck while on tour with Genesis. The operation on his neck left his hands unable to function normally, hampering his ability to play drums or piano.
Phil still records and released an album in 2010 called “Going Back”.