Happy 75th Birthday Phil Collins: "There’s a reason people are going back to get inspiration from that specific era of music"

Simon Collins

Musician / Phil Collins' son

"I grew up on tour with Genesis, so I had a very early introduction to progressive rock. I knew what I wanted to do by the time I was 10. I knew I wanted to keep doing music.

"Genesis had a deep impact on my life. Growing up around such amazing musicians, and such kind and lovely people, definitely got me in the mood for prog. When I was eight years old, my dad bought me a drum kit for my birthday. And that was the beginning of it all. He started throwing me albums to play to – Pink Floyd, Yes, and bands like that."

(2021)

Paul Charles

Agent / Author

"Talking about decent blokes, one year for some reason or other I’ve never been fully able to recall or understand, I ended up hanging out at the artist’s entrance at the Reading Festival. I don’t know why I was there, or who I was waiting for. I imagine I had most likely been stood up. During the process of standing around with both my hands the same length, someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around only to find Phil Collins.

"Phil was the drummer with Genesis and apart from his band being the main act of the day, they were also a band, which my band, Fruupp, frequently supported on the circuit. Being the gent he is, he came across to me to say hello and we chatted for ages about our bands and eventually, “he walked me in” [an euphemism for someone with a pass, getting someone who hasn’t, into an event.]"

(2018)

The 1975's Matty Healy

"The thing I’ve always connected with is artists at their peak. Most of the ones that I idolised and grew up with were at their peak in the ’80s – Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Paul Simon etc. That was a time when pop music wasn’t so encumbered by irony and cynicism."

(2013)

Suede's Brett Anderson:

“It’s very important for us to get through to people who don’t just read the music press, it really is. If you can get through to people the way Phil Collins does... It is really important, because then you’re making real music, you’re not just making theoretical music."

(1994)

Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos:

“I really like Kate Bush, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel and people like that, forward-minded pop makers. Something about those people has always stuck with me. There’s a reason people are going back to get inspiration from that specific era of music. You see, people do want pop music but they want that pop music to be done in a more interesting fashion..."

(2009)

Scouting for Girls' Roy Stride:

On Phil Collins inspiring the band's 2021 album Easy Cover:

“[The idea for the album] came about from a very late night after gig party on a tour bus, whilst driving to Ireland. We were listening to Phil Collins’ live album, partying and dancing. There are some videos which must never be shown of us dancing...

“That's when we came up with the idea of 'Easy Cover' being an album of 80s hits. We had to have 'Easy Lover' on there by Phil Collins, because the whole premise for the album is because of that song.”

(2021)