Phil Collins

Phil Collins

of Genesis

Phil Collins' ascent to the status of one of the most successful pop and adult-contemporary singers of the '80s and beyond was probably as much of a surprise to him as it was to many others. Balding and diminutive, Collins was almost 30 years old when his first solo single, "In the Air Tonight," became a #2 hit in his native U.K. (the song was a Top 20 hit in the U.S.). Between 1984 and 1990, Collins had a string of 13 straight U.S. Top Ten hits. He got his first break in music at the end of his teens, when he was chosen to be a replacement drummer in the British art-rock band Genesis in 1970. When frontman Peter Gabriel abruptly left in 1974, Genesis auditioned 400 singers without success, then decided to let Collins have a go. The result was a gradual simplifying of Genesis' sound and an increasing focus on Collins's expressive, throaty voice. Collins made his debut solo album Face Value in 1981, which turned out to be a bigger hit than any Genesis album. It concentrated on Collins' voice, often in stark, haunting contexts such as the piano-and-drum dirge "In the Air Tonight." During the '80s, Collins balanced his continuing solo work with Genesis with enormous success.

Legal name

Philip David Charles Collins

Type

Person

Born

Jan 30, 1951

Born in

Hounslow

Country

United Kingdom

IPI code

00059746436
00121924204
00463117864

Rating

Socials

External Links

BBC Music Page

www.bbc.co.uk

Official Homepage

www.philcollins.co.uk

Secondhandsongs

secondhandsongs.com

Soundcloud

soundcloud.com