Phil Collins jokes that becoming Genesis’ lead singer in 1976 was a big mistake.
He was asked about the career change in the new documentary Phil Collins: Drummer First, just released by Drumeo and available below.
He took over after Peter Gabriel decided move on in 1975. Collins said that bandmate Tony Banks actually “got wind of” the lineup change before they were told about it. “From then on, we knew that Pete could leave at any time – but we had a 150-show tour to do,” Collins explained.
READ MORE: Top 10 Phil Collins-Era Genesis Songs
“I was the one, when Peter left, who said, ‘Let’s do it instrumentally,’” Collins added, “and everybody jeered and told me to shut up and get back in my box. But I can see that they were right.”
For Collins, “it was not in my mind to become the singer; it was just that nobody else really wanted the job.” He continued: “We had a long search for a singer that didn’t amount to much.
“I used to sing all the songs … to the guys who were coming to audition. And I started, in general, to sound a bit better than they did.” Pointing out that Genesis songs were effectively the music he “grew up with,” he added: “My excuse was always, ‘My voice has been there in the background, whether it’s backing vocals or the odd lead vocal here and there.’”
A former actor, Collins fronted Genesis for the first time in London, Ontario in March 1976. “The theatrical experience definitely helped me get up on stage and not be nervous,” he said. “I went on and I didn’t let go of the mic stand. That became my drum kit!
How Phil Collins Dealt with Peter Gabriel’s Live Drumming
“It was eerie. … I always missed being behind the drums. I thought I was better at that than I was singing.” But Collins accepted that “it just looked so dull if I was singing the whole show from behind the drums. I didn’t find it physically difficult. But especially with the cymbals [it’s like] you’re putting a screen up. We didn’t want to go there, really.”
He said, “You know in a second if it was a mistake or not.” Asked if it was, he joked: “Yeah! It was awful!”
Looking back on the five years he spent performing alongside Gabriel, Collins noted: “Peter just had this aura of the costumes and the drama, some of which he didn’t do naturally. He did it because there was a lot of instrumental stuff. What do you do? You either go offstage or you stay on and do something.”
Collins noted that Gabriel “was a drummer as well. … When I was there on stage, he’d be wild with his bass drum.” Since it was a distraction, action was taken: “It gradually got filled with carpet so you couldn’t hear it!”
Watch ‘Phil Collins: Drummer First’
Phil Collins Albums Ranked Worst to Best
For seven years beginning in the early ’80s, Collins racked up seven No. 1 singles in the U.S. – plus three more in the U.K. Here’s how their parent albums stack up.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso