DOB: January 30, 1951
Where: London, England
Genres: progressive rock, rock, pop, jazz fusion, R&B
Occupations: singer/songwriter, musician, actor
Years active: 1968-present
Associated Acts: Genesis, Brand X, Flaming Youth, Philip Bailey, Eric Clapton, The Phil Collins Big Band
Website: www.philcollins.co.uk
Best known for his role as drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock band Genesis and as a solo artist.
Collins is one of 3 artists(along with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson) to sell over 100 million albums worldwide as both solo artists and as members of a band.
Early Life
-Born in Chiswick, London, England, the son of June, a theatre agent and Greville Philip Austin Collins, an insurance agent. He was given a toy drum kit at age 5, and later on his uncle made him a makshift one he played frequently. As he grew, this followed with more complete drums sets given to him by his parents.
Early Career
-His professional training began at age 14 when he entered the Barbara Streake Stage School. He began a small career in acting as playing the Artful Dodger in the London production of Oliver! and in A Hard Day's Night, he made an appearance as a teen during the TV concert scene and is seen very close up.
Genesis Era
-In 1970, Collins answered an ad in Melody Maker for a drummer sensitive to acoustic music and 12 string guitarist. Genesis placed the ad after losing 3 drummers. The audition was at Peter Gabriel's parent's home. While waiting for his turn, he was swimming in the pool, memorizing the pieces because he arrived early.
-He won the audition. He sang on two songs: For Absent Friends from their Nursery Cryme album and More Fool Me from their Selling England by the Pound album.
-In 1975, Gabriel left the group to pursue a solo career. Collins became the new lead singer. And as for drummers, the band hired former YES and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford to play drums.
-Collins left Genesis in 1996 to follow a solo career. The last studio album with him as Genesis front man was 1991's We Can't Dance.
Solo Career
-In 1981, he did his 1st solo album, Face Value. In September of that year, he played at a benefit show called The Policeman's Other Ball at the Theatre Royal in London, performing 2 songs, In the Air Tonight and The Roof is Leaking.
-On his 1982 follow up album, Hello, I Must Be Going!, he did a cover of The Supremes song You Can't Hurry Love. This gave him a UK #1 and a Top 10 hit in the US.
Film & TV
-The majority of the work he's done has been music. And his song You'll Be in My Heart, which he sang with Glenn Close, which got him an Oscar for his work on the movie Tarzan
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| He's in the middle, brown suit, glasses |
-He had a cameo appearance in the Steven Spielberg movie Hook in 1991, playing an English police inspector, providing the voice of Muk and Luk in the 1995 movie Balto, and for the song You'll Be in My Heart he won an Academy Award. He also appeared on Miami Vice, playing a cheating con-man on an episode titled Phil the Shill.
Personal Life
Family
-Has been married 3 times. 1st wife: Canadian Andrea Bertorelli in 1975. Met as students in a drama class in London. Has a son, Simon Collins, and he adopted Bertorelli's daughter Joely Collins. Divorced in 1980. 2nd wife: Jill Tavelman, in 1980. Married from 1984-1996. Had 1 daughter, Lily Collins, born in 1989. 3rd wife: Orianne Cevey. Married in 1999, has 2 sons, Nicholas and Matthew.
IMDb. link.
Phil Collins
Height: 5'6''
Nickname: Little Elvis
Is of Irish and British descent
Was one of the guests at Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles wedding
Won the 1990 Brit Awards for British Male Solo Artist and British Single for Another Day in Paradise.
In 2009, it was announced he could not play drums anymore due to a spinal injury