Hello, I must be going!
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philrocks asks:
Do you miss living in Britain, the British way of life, the TV, the weather, the countryside?
Guardian contributor Yeah. I do miss things about Britain. I think there was a misconception, there definitely was, that I left because of bad press, and being pilloried. I left Britain because I fell in love with someone who lived in Switzerland - that was the main thing. So do I miss it? Yes, I miss the pubs, I miss the humour. I used to go to my local pub and it was like a sanctuary, nobody dared ask for an autograph. You went in there for a ploughman's and a pint, and you went home and watched TV. Believe me, there's more to watch on British TV than American, except for CNN right now. But yeah, I miss it.
Grrrrr asks:
Phil, what do you really think of prog rock? You’ve been a part of some of the greatest ever recordings in the genre, and I have often wondered whether you still hold any residual sympathy for it, or whether continuing to perform it with Genesis for so many years was a but of a drudge for you at times.
and loyatemu adds:
Watching the documentary about the reunion tour, I got the impression that he wasn’t too fond of some of the older material.
Guardian contributor I'm not sure at all about the current prog rock scene. I think that's kind of the direction that Simon follows, my eldest son, I just don't hear enough of it. Prog rock, with a little good taste, is ok. I tried to bring some of it into this century, I guess. I don't think much about it to be honest. Mick Jagger was asked about somebody, and he said: I don't think of them at all. I thought that was a great comment. I don't know what it is about prog rock... is it the quirky time signatures, the lyrics? I'm not sure who is considered prog and what isn't.
lulusbackintown says:
It gladdened my heart when you helped raise funds for Terry-Thomas when he was down on his uppers, so, on a bit of a tangent, who are your favourite comedy performers?
Oh, and when Keith Moon died, would you have accepted an invite to join the Who if it had been offered?
Guardian contributor Absolutely would have joined The Who. I would have left Genesis to join The Who. But they've got a great drummer now in Zak Starkey, he's fantastic. Someone with the balls that Keith Moon had.
Comedians? Stephen Fry. I'm turning my kids onto Fawlty Towers now, and it's great to hear Matthew at 11 going around saying "This... is... typical." Because I liked it and Nick liked it, he didn't like it at first, but was watching behind the sofa, and it's part of our conversation now. That will never die for me - it's very funny. New comedians, I don't know. I was on a show yesterday with Alan Carr, and I'm going to be on tonight with Joe Lycett - very funny people. I've got to get back to Europe and watch some Sky and see what's going on. Of course Peter Kay is very funny - he's a good friend. He'll never forgive me for not mentioning him.
jonhimself asks:
How does it feel knowing that, after you fell out of fashion, your music is now being appreciated by a new generation? Do you get a feeling of “I told you so” or is it something that never really made an impression?
Guardian contributor Neither. I'm really happy that the music is still appreciated, but I certainly never felt "I told you so". It was just gratitude, that people were listening. One tends to feel that when you decide to go back into the darkness, as it were, that it all stops. You leave a country, they stop playing you on the radio. So to realise that that doesn't happen... I was talking to Australian press earlier, and they said: we never stopped playing you. I tended to forget about that. It brings a smile to your face that there is this continuing thing, that people like what you do. As a writer, author, creator of something the fact that people are still interested, is fantastic.
Nowthewireforawin asks:
Are you ever going to reform Brand X? I read that the great Percy Jones is still working but I haven’t read anything about John Goodsall being active. They were by far your greatest band.
Guardian contributor Brand X apparently, we were somewhere recently, maybe socially, and Brand X had played the night before. I'm not really in touch with the guys, but as I was the drummer, and I can't consider myself a drummer any more, I don't see us getting back together. It was a very happy period of my life. Genesis seemed to be... I give a visual analogy. Genesis was the wife, Brand X was the mistress. Genesis was a little more restrained, and Brand X was total abandon. Eventually we met in the middle. And also, I just couldn't keep up three jobs.
SkeletalDude says:
Some of George Duke’s 1970s output puts me in mind of you. Are you a fan of the late Mr Duke? And when did you first start listening to Earth, Wind & Fire?
Guardian contributor I worked with their horn section with Philip Bailey, on Easy Lover. I started listening to George Duke in the mid 80s, always been a big fan. I actually played with him at the 30th anniversary of Montreux jazz festival, and we played a 30-minute version of Pick Up The Pieces, and an edited version is on the big band album. He played a wonderful piano solo. He was a lovely guy. I worked with him with Philip Bailey as well. Lovely musician, lovely man.
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musikfirekk says:
It took me moving to west Africa to finally understand the drive and complexity behind your drumming, which has kept me enraptured since I was 5! Certain drummers in Senegal intentionally try to put the audience into trances. They also use the drums to “talk”. How much do you identify with these aspects of drumming? Also, when are you coming to play in Dakar?! :)
Guardian contributor I love the sound of Senegalese drummers playing together. To me, groups of musicians playing together, not fighting each other, but playing a groove together is one of the most exciting things to listen to. If I could find a home in something, musically, a home in a song or a piece of music, then that whole trance thing would be something I'd jump at. I have some rhythms on my computers, that are actually called "trance", they go from 1-30 or 40. They're grooves that come on the synth. If I could somehow use them, I would. Peter Gabriel has investigated all this, so I don't want to feel like I'm rushing and treading on someone else's work. But it moves me as much as it moves this guy.
Will there be a Genesis reunion?
VirtueSignaller asks:
How are the nerves in your hands and what has the damage meant for your return? Also: Genesis reunion????!!
Guardian contributor The hand has got better over the years, but there's still a long way to go. I've got six months to sort something out, so I will be attempting to play something.
Genesis reunion: with Peter, without Peter... probably more chance without. Because of my drumming situation. But anything is possible.
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petermillar84 asks:
Do you feel that you could have pursued a more low-key career as a fusion/jazz drummer in the 80s and 90s? Could this have been as satisfying as your pop career?
Guardian contributor Well, yeah. Things happen, but things happen and you follow ... your heart is too dramatic, but you follow. I didn't become a commercially successful artist by design, and actually I think that commercially successful just means, if you analyse it, that a lot of people like you. It's become a dirty word, and I don't necessarily think it needs to be. I can sense that maybe this person feels that I sold out somewhere, and at no point in my life do I think I sold out. Because to me, if you're a songwriter, who says that writing a song like Against All Odds is not the thing you should do. To me, you write what comes out. My affair with Disney, I'm sure had people thinking: this is kids' music. It's not - it's a push when it comes to being a writer, to try and do this particular job, and I just figured if I'm going to call myself a songwriter throughout my life, then writing for most genres of music is something I should at least attempt.
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StewGregg says:
As someone who’s followed your career for decades I was always struck, that even at the height of your success, you seemed to find it difficult to accept the huge affection that so many people clearly had for you and your music, and instead seemed unduly concerned with winning over the people who didn’t like what you did. Where do you think this need to be liked (or not disliked) comes from?
Do you think that this time round, now that you’re a bit older and wiser, you’ll be able to relax, ignore negative reviews and comments, and accept the adulation of your audience?
Guardian contributor Yes, I agree entirely. There's something perverse isn't there, if you're playing in front of 100,000 people and there's 2000 people down the front who don't like, you think: what is it that they don't like? Of course you can't please everyone all the time. It's just something that I've got to get over, and I'm better at it now. But the question is quite right, and it comes over in the book: this stupid sensitivity! But then women like sensitivity.
Live Aid
TheBigBadWolf asks:
You famously performed at both Live Aids, in London and Philadelphia, on the same day. Is there one particular memory that has stayed in your mind from that day?
Guardian contributor The reason I played twice in the same day, was that I could get it right once. I guess the truth is that a couple of my friends were playing in Philadelphia, and I wanted to play drums with them: Clapton and Plant. In retrospect it turned out that I became a flagship for the event, because I play in both continents, but that was not my intention. I just wanted to play with my mates.
There's a whole chapter devoted to Live Aid in the book. My main memory was arriving back in New York after all this logistical web, and there was no car. We landed by helicopter, and somebody had forgotten to order the car. We had to rush around getting a cab, which at that time of night, in this part of town, was impossible.
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Uncannyvalley says:
I noticed a distinct change in style with your drumming on and after the Trick of the Tail. Your sublime drumming on Foxtrot, Selling England and Lamb was quite subtle and I could feel the jazz drummer in you. After Trick of the Tale it was simpler, more upfront and rock in style. Was this a deliberate shift or did it just naturally evolve that way?
Guardian contributor It was certainly not deliberate. I would say that I always prided myself on playing whatever was right for the song. And as the songs got a little simpler, I think therefore so did my drumming. When you're young you want to show people what you can do, no matter what the cost. Whereas when you're older, and you realise that maybe a drum machine is better than you playing, then use the drum machine. As a composer I approached the drums differently than a non-composing drummer. I embraced drum machines. Drummers get bored. You tell them to play something simple, and it gets more complicated as they do it. If they're not a composer, if they don't have any kind of investment in the music, they'll just add a bit there and another bit there, and you think no! Don't do that. So you end up using a drum machine. There's no drummer I know that would play the first four or five minutes of In The Air Tonight without putting something in. It's a hypnotic thing a drum machine can create, an atmosphere; then you paint extra colours with live drums.
Why did I like simpler songs? Just times change. This is one of the repeated things I hear: even though people will read different kinds of books, they don't read Lord of the Rings when they're 30 even though they did at 15. People don't wear the same kind of clothes. And yet we're supposed to play the same kind of music as we did in the 70s. It's not changing for commercial success, it's changing because that's the way we are as people.
American Psycho
Jackman87 asks:
How did you feel about your music being referenced heavily in American Psycho?
Guardian contributor Flattered! I'm easily flattered. I went to see the musical. First of all I was very surprised they made one. It was ok... If I was honest, if my music is being held as representative of an era, then that's more than I thought would happen to me when I was 13 or 14. I thought the movie of American Psycho was quite funny - I don't know if it was meant to be. I don't think him being a psychopath and liking my music is linked - my music was just omnipresent in that era.
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Christopher Green asks:
Are you aware of the various Phil Collins tattoos people have had done? If so, do you have a favourite?
Guardian contributor I feel terrible for women that have had Phil Collins tattoos. Their poor husbands have to deal with. Tattoos don't impress me. For me it's just another awkward part of fame. It's extraordinary - tattoos in basketball and soccer, it's quite extraordinary. All I can think about is when these guys are 60, wishing they hadn't had it done.
Miami Vice
Borucs asks:
Miami Vice or Live Aid?
Guardian contributor I think Miami Vice was more fun. Live Aid was more educational. It's in the book... Miami Vice was great fun to do. Being part of an iconic series, that had always been very kind to my music, and working with a great group of people. I still send Christmas cards to Don Johnson, and Izzy, and even though I haven't seen him I still feel close to him. Friendships were made. Izzy was played by Martin Ferraro, and he was just constantly making me laugh. Don Johnson was very nice. Miami, where I'm living now, was a very different place to the Miami back then, but it was tremendous fun to do. I was told to come over and have fun, and I did.
Phil's second divorce
Megamopp says:
Love your work Phil! What album would you say is your favourite artistically? And what album did you enjoy creating the most (solo or otherwise)?
Guardian contributor Both Sides is my favourite album, from a songwriting and creative perspective. It was very much a solo album. I played everything, the songs just streamed out of me, and as a writer that's the kind of thing that you dream of. It was the second divorce! Personal relationships at that time were tangled, is a better way of saying it, and it all came very spontaneously.
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jjc83 asks:
What is it about the battle of the Alamo that captured your attention ? Are you interested in any other historical conflicts ?
Guardian contributor Not particularly. The Alamo that captivated me when I was a child when I watched King of the Wild Frontier by Disney. There was something about it, the last couple of episodes, which involved him being in a place where people had gathered to fight knowing they were probably going to die. There was something very, I found, romantic about that idea. But as I've gotten older and learned more, I realise that Hollywood has not told the truth. There's a surprise!
maryfalconer asks:
You once said that as you were the last in line on audition day with Genesis, you got to hear the other drummers and thus learned the audition song, giving you an advantage. Do you think you’d have got the gig anyway?
Guardian contributor Yes, I think I would have got the job anyway. Because from what I heard, I think I was the best drummer! "Big Ears" did help me, because I hear things and remember things, so once I heard it two or three times I knew what was going on - assuming the other drummers didn't have Big Ears, gave me an advantage. Peter Gabriel said he knew as soon as I sat down at the drums, the way I sat down and set my kit up, that he knew I was the guy. Tony agreed; Mike wasn't sure. So I don't send Mike a Christmas card.
ID4517983 asks:
Do you think your vocal style was influenced by Peter Gabriel? I sometimes am struck by how similar the two of you sound.
Guardian contributor That's pure coincidence! The thing I used to say was that we were singing the same melodies, and it wasn't as if we were a blues band and he was singing and I ended up sounding the same - with Genesis, we sang melodies that were written rather than improvised. But my influences were Steve Winwood back in the old days; now, I would say John Martyn, maybe Bruce Hornsby. There's a purity of the way they sing. Winwood, I kind of sounded a little bit like him in the early days. I didn't so much want it, it was someone who recognised that, a good friend that was Joe Cocker's drummer, who suggested quite strongly that I stop drumming and start singing. That was late 60s - before Woodstock!
'Apart from being Phil Collins, I'm the same as you...'
kendoddsdadsdogsdead says:
Phil, I once went through a break-up where I found myself empathising with your lyric, “If you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand”. I didn’t feel that level of anger for long and I would definitely lend a hand now. How about you?
Guardian contributor I'm glad that the lyrics reach people and make them understand that we're all the same, really. Apart from being Phil Collins, I'm also the same as them. We all have the same problems in relationships. As I've got older, I've got more understanding of relationships and how they work – but every single relationship has different dynamics, so you can't paint everyone with the same colour.
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Steve Musanto says:
First of all welcome back. You have been missed. As a long time fan of your drumming skills I am interested in what you consider some of your best work behind the skins …also what drummers do you admire???
Guardian contributor I have to say I'm not the best person to answer this! One of the earliest best works would certainly be Apocalypse in 9/8, which was at the end of Supper's Ready. And that was certainly the earliest recording of something that I really felt like I lived up to the expectations.
John Bonham I admire. Chad Smith, Taylor Hawkins. And Keith Moon. They've all got balls. And attitude. Those two things are essential.
and neusch continues:
I’m looking forward to reading Not Dead Yet. By writing your book, were there things that you learned about yourself and/or your career?
Guardian contributor Yes, I was reminded harshly about how much I worked. Which didn't seem to be quite like that much when you were doing it, but looking back at it in a lump, yes, it was quite intimidating. You miss out on family. The only saving grace is that as my kids have gotten busier themselves, professionally, they have realised that that comes with what you do. They've realised that.
neusch asks:
It’s so fun that my kids (11 and 14 years old) are now listening and enjoying your music. What are your kids’ favourite songs of yours?
Guardian contributor Invisible Touch. I Can't Dance. Home by the Sea. I think it's from driving them to school, at 7am it was: "daddy's music!" They'd always skip Groovy Kind of Love, Hold on my Heart. They were younger then, but they got involved... Home By The Sea and Driving The Last Spike they loved. I thought: this is quite deep stuff for nine and ten year olds.
Nicholas, he likes all the old stuff of mine, because he's got to learn it! It's school homework. He's been glued to that for months, because we've been talking about what songs to do, and he'll say: that shouldn't be second, it should be third. He's got the same thing that I had in Genesis: putting songs in order. So we discuss the setlist mutually, and he goes upstairs and practises.
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Phil is ready to answer your questions.
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Post your questions for Phil Collins
Phil Collins is nearing fifty years in the entertainment game. As the drummer for Genesis, he drove the band from meandering prog to smooth soft rock; in his subsequent solo career, he created ultra-synthetic pop anthems like Sussudio, Easy Lover and In The Air Tonight, as well as an eternal power ballad in Against All Odds.
Only three artists have sold over 100m records both in a band and as a solo artist – Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, and Phil. But there have been bumps in the road: temporary deafness, nerve damage, and three divorces, the last of which left him with a drink problem. But he kicked the booze, and is now coming out of retirement with a string of newly-announced dates across Europe.
He’s also written his autobiography, Not Dead Yet, and is releasing a new best-of collection, The Singles. With both out this month, he joins us to answer your questions about anything in his career, in a live webchat from 1.20pm GMT on Wednesday 19 October. Post your questions in the comments below, and he’ll answer as many as possible.
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Great questions! And still flattered, no matter what they say, in the interest that people show. Sorry I couldn't answer them all. Jonathan Ross is calling...