- I'm not a singer who plays a bit of drums. I'm a drummer that sings a bit.
- I don't own an ABBA album and I never had the urge to go and buy one. If you're just talking about well crafted pop songs, they were fantastic.
- I prefer black music in general.
- We're (Genesis) tarred with a brush we don't deserve... like Grateful Dead - now, I've never even heard a Grateful Dead album, but they're there in that corner, the same as we are to people who have never heard us! Maybe if I listened, I might like them. But it's frustrating, when we started, we used to got compared with Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Yes and the Floyd (Pink Floyd), because we used mellotrons and synthesisers, and were quite theatrical, but no one's put me in the same area as The Human League because they use drum machines.
- [to a music journalist in 1982] You put Genesis over there in a corner with Yes, ELP [Emerson Lake and Palmer], Moody Blues [The Moody Blues] and the Floyd [Pink Floyd] because that's the period we happened to come up in. I don't like any of those groups - so it angers me and frustrates me when we get compared to them.
- Apart from Hugh Fielder, I can't think of any journalist who actually likes Genesis.
- I was keen to meet some of the people who have slagged me off, people like Paul Morley at NME and Paul Colbert at Melody Maker just to show them that I'm not actually what they think I am.
- I just don't think of myself as a star. This is what I do for a living; I'm fortunate that I make ends meet.
- The difference between the American version of Live Aid (1985) and the British one - in England, if you wanted a cup of tea, you made it yourself. If you wanted a sandwich, you bought it. In typical American style, at the American concert, there were laminated tour passes and champagne and caviar. I don't doubt anyone's moral commitment to the cause, but the caviar and the cause just didn't jibe for me.
- [about his Academy Award] Ever since I can remember, I've watched the Oscar shows. Watching all those great actors, writers and directors receiving the Holy Grail. I never thought in a million years that I'd get a nomination. As years rolled by I was lucky enough to be included a couple of times. When my third time came with Tarzan (1999), I truly didn't believe it would be me. When Cher opened the envelope and said "Ph..." you could have knocked me down with a feather. It really was, and is, an incredible feeling. Of all the awards I've been fortunate to collect over the years, the Oscar is the most treasured.
- If people listened to Genesis' back catalogue they might be surprised.
- It's very strange, when you live in London or live around London and get the music papers you are led to believe that there is a certain type of music that is popular and everything else is not.
- I like Weather Report, I like Stephen Bishop, I like John Martyn. I just like all different kinds of music and artists.
- I recently saw a TV program in which a young, radical journalist was interviewing Ice-T at his home. And the guy asked, "What do you got in the record collection, Ice?" And lo and behold, all my albums were there. The guy said, "Aw, come on, man, what is this bullshit?" And Ice-T jumped on him and said, "Don't mess with Phil, man. Don't you fucking mess with my Phil". What can I say? I was flattered that the guy even knew I existed.
- [on bands copying Genesis and referring to the band's frequent criticism in the music press] I wouldn't wish it upon anybody to try and be successful in this day and age being a parody of a band nobody likes anyway.
- Many people think of me as a perfectionist, someone who polishes and shines each song and performance. I've always been bothered by that assumption.
- The stuff that really gets me is the comments about my physical appearance. I guess it's easier to write about than the kind of songs I play. I mean, I was called the ugliest man since George Orwell. What's that got to do with the music? And, by the way, how ugly was George Orwell?
- I get kicked around by critics all the time. I can count on one hand the amount of really good reviews I've had for anything I've done - in 25 years of Genesis, 30 years of my own career - people have dismissed it out of hand.
- There's a lot of stuff there that music critics just don't go for. To them, I'm some kind of landmark of middle-of-the-roadness, or I'm not edgy enough, or I've been around too long to be taken seriously.
- I won't/can't take the glory or the blame for what Genesis did musically. We wrote as a band and we lived with that music for 4/5 months working on it together. I'd like to see someone try to push Tony Banks into doing something he doesn't want to do! Just doesn't happen. Same with all the records actually.....all responsible for everything broadly speaking.
- [in 2005] I have to say that the whole thing that has arisen in recent times of me being the epitome of "the great musical evil", and to be avoided at all costs, is both curious and disturbing to me. Why I have been chosen for this role is a little beyond me. It seems that it's started by an anonymous voice and seconded by others without question. Somehow, some way, I have become "worse" than Cliff [Cliff Richard] or Barry Manilow.
- [on The Beatles] They are without doubt the yardstick by which I judge modern songwriting. Forget that it's "old" . . . it has rarely been equaled and even with the Great Pretenders Oasis vying for their crown . . . it's not happening. It's not that I'm a nostalgia freak . . . they were just great writers, with a great producer, at the right time, with the right noise. I have bought many CDs of the '60s bands because I wanted to have those songs but all of them pale in comparison when you put them next to The Beatles' stuff.
- [speaking in 2005] I've been amazed at how I was so welcomed by Jonathan Ross for example on his shows.... at the Brits.... winning time after time..... I find it weird to have ended up being the brunt of crap from the same people that welcomed me so many years ago.
- It should go without saying I suppose that looked at through British media eyes circa 2004, my appearance anywhere on anything will be open to ridicule and instant dismissal. Please don't get me wrong . . . I really don't expect everyone to like what I do, but it's the sheer predictability of it all. I just don't understand why suddenly there is this tidal wave of abuse !! It seems it's impossible to open a newspaper without reading some crap or other. I know too that it shouldn't all be believed but . . . I keep out of the way and am good with children, I play well with others! I know I've never been hip, and most critics have had trouble with the music, but now it seems everyone out there who writes for a journal actively hates what I do! Quite disturbing and mystifying and it's pissing me off . . . sorry about that.
- [in 2004] I'm an easy target, especially nowadays. You'd be hard-pressed to find many in the media or the music business who'll own up to liking me and my music. Especially in the UK. Although I have met a lot of R&B singers in the States who are very kind about what I've done. Generally speaking, though, it's just one of those things that cannot be reversed now. One has to be philosophical about it and try to move on . . . that's not easy for me, but I am trying!
- [commenting in 2005 on Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher of the band Oasis, following a series of adverse comments made about him in the media by Noel] I like a fair bit of what the Oasis do. They remind me of Beatles... a great band and I like being reminded of Beatles. If you were there the first time around, you might think the Oasis were a bit similar, what with that Liam and his attitude and his brother Noel... thinking they are as good as them Beatles. Fact is... they are a bit pale compared to them Beatles... I am, we all are... Now Liam is just a clot... bop him round the head, and wake him up... Noel is smarter... but only just... Just because they write a tune or two that reminds us of Beatles we swoon a bit and reminisce... but it's only nostalgia, really. I don't care if Noel Gallagher likes my music or not... I do care if he starts telling people I'm a wanker because of my politics... an opinion based on an old misunderstood quote.
- [in 2005] I'd like to grab an opportunity to finally lay to rest a much quoted untruth about my political leanings. I have never been a Conservative, or at least not since being a young teenager. My father voted Conservative, and even his doing that was a hangover from the '50s and '60s, which may have been an influence on me. I'm sick and tired of being thrown in that same old box . . . "he's got money . . . so he must be . . . " I once said that if taxes were put up to a level where the government took home more than me, then I would consider moving out of the country. The Conservatives were in at that point and I mentioned Labour... if Labour had been in, I would have mentioned Conservative. It was said to make a point over 15 years ago. No one's asked me since. I live outside the UK purely because my wife lived here when we met. End of story.
- [on Peter Gabriel] As far as I'm concerned he is a far more intellectual writer and person than me, and I have a directness that maybe he hasn't. I love this man and his music very much. Comparisons don't do either of us any favors, and in fact if we hadn't been in the same band for four years 30 years ago, no one would even think of making a comparison.
- When I'm playing a song I'll often think about how another drummer might play it, and try to be that player in my performance of the song. Often I'll think, "How would Keith Moon play this?" And I'll don my Keith Moon hat. For another song I'll think about John Bonham, or even on occasion Stewart Copeland, but more often than any other drummer I think about Ringo [Ringo Starr]. "That's All", from Genesis, is a Ringo Starr drum part. "Thru These Walls", from "Hello, I Must Be Going", is a Ringo drum part.
- I'm tired of defending the fact that we [Genesis] wrote three and four minute songs and had a bit of success.
- It's actually come as quite a shock to learn just how many people don't like me.
- I've been playing drums for 50 years, I've had to stop. My vertebrae have been crushing my spinal cord because of the position I drum in. It comes from years of playing. I can't even hold the sticks properly without it being painful, I even used to tape the sticks to my hands to get through.
- There'll always be people out there like Noel Gallagher who firmly believe I'm the Antichrist.
- The greatest surprise for me is how some of my songs have had this amazing afterlife. Often when I bump into strangers on the street, they won't speak to me; they'll just act out the drum sequence from "In The Air Tonight". That song just won't lie down. When the chocolate company first rang up about the advert, they asked whether I'd have any objections about a gorilla playing my drum parts. My attitude was, "If you can make that mad idea work, then good luck to you." Then it goes on to become one of the most popular ads of all time. I knew nothing about the song being used in The Hangover (2009). Then a friend asked me, "Have you seen that movie where those guys steal Mike Tyson's tiger during a stag night in Vegas and they all end up singing 'In The Air Tonight'?" When I saw it I thought it was hilarious.
- I never used to think of myself as a workaholic. I used to work non-stop because I couldn't believe my luck that I was able to do all these things that I loved. I was everywhere, and I can see why that must have been annoying to some people. Then I reached a point where I no longer felt the need to go zooming around the world and attend the opening of every envelope. Basically I stopped. I've got a nine-year-old and a five-year-old. I take them to football. I like to take them to school and pick them up. That's my life now. I love doing the things that other people probably find tedious because they've been doing them for so long. I never did those things in the past, as I was always working flat out. That was my loss. Now I'm able to do all that and also have time to indulge my passions.
- [on the story that he divorced his second wife by fax] Complete nonsense. There might have been a few faxes exchanged about access to my daughter, but that's not how the marriage was ended. But it doesn't matter what I say. That untruth will still be carved on my headstone.
- I moved to Switzerland because I'd fallen in love with a woman who lived on Lake Geneva. As I said at the time, I'd have moved to Grimsby if she happened to live there. Inevitably everyone in Grimsby turned around and said, "Why's he having a pop at Grimsby?" If you're Phil Collins it seems you just can't win.
- If my missus hadn't left me I suppose I'd have gone off and made an obscure jazz album that nobody would have bought and that's the last you'd have heard from me. Instead I started writing the songs that ended up on "Face Value". Nobody was more amazed by my solo success than I was. It took me completely by surprise. Everything I touched turned to gold at that time. Looking back, the only mistake I made was getting trapped in a persona. Maybe I became a parody of myself. A lot of people saw me as this middle-of-the-road kind of guy, a family entertainer like Cliff Richard. They judged me based on a handful of songs that were played to death on the radio. In the Eighties there was an awful lot of vitriol coming my way. Some of the criticism hurt and I would respond by writing letters and telephoning journalists to have it out with them. With hindsight I can see that I was oversensitive. But I felt I was being disliked for the wrong reasons, reasons that often had nothing to do with the music. There are still people who hate me for reasons that have nothing to do with the truth.
- In the 1970s, Genesis did three American tours a year, three European ones and a trip to Japan. My first wife, Andrea, told me if I toured like that, the marriage wouldn't last. When I got back, she'd left me. If I'd known touring would cost me so dearly, I wouldn't have done it.
- I'm happy being at home. I've said yes to things all my life. Now I'm learning to say no. I stay in Switzerland, as Orianne is there, and we share the care of the two boys. I'm not totally happy being on my own, though. I'd rather still be married and I think Orianne feels the same. She's re-married, but we have a fantastic relationship. I get on well with all my ex-wives. They also get along with each other and my girlfriend. It's a picture I never thought I'd see, but it works well.
- Genesis always wanted hit singles. I can assure everybody that from the very word go, before I joined the band and when Peter [Peter Gabriel] was the singer, all they wanted was a hit, which we eventually got but that was by accident, not design.
- My life has never been revolved around money. I've loved what I've done and fortunately, as it happens, people have been shoveling money in the bucket behind me, but I've never really done anything from a financially motivated point of view.
- [on the American hip-hop stars that have stated their admiration for his work] They're not aware of the faux pas of saying: "I like Phil Collins" ... "What???!!!" It's just good music ... bad music to them. They don't read the tabloids. They just live in another world that you either like the music or you don't.
- It's hardly surprising that people grew to hate me. I'm sorry that it was all so successful. I honestly didn't mean it to happen like that! I look at the MTV Music Awards and I think, "I can't be in the same business as this." I don't really belong to that world and I don't think anyone's going to miss me. I'm much happier just to write myself out of the script entirely. I'll go on a mysterious biking holiday... And never return. That would be a great way to end the story, wouldn't it?
- I know that when I did interviews it came across like I could do everything, but I've never actually felt like that. I went through all my own VHS stuff recently and found mountains of old interviews with me and it was very, very hard to watch. I barely recognized the person I saw from that time. I'm a very different person now. I saw some of this show of mine from 1985 and I was on-stage and I never stopped running, never stopped talking. The fact that people got so sick of me wasn't really my fault. Yes there was a lot of me to dish out - there was me, me and 'Earth, Wind & Fire''s Philip Bailey, me and Genesis, me and that movie I was in, Buster (1988) - there was a lot of stuff. But I only made those records once.
- [on his retirement in 2011] I've decided to write this in response to the articles that surfaced last weekend regarding my retirement. Why they were printed at all is a mystery, as I haven't spoken to anybody in the press for a few months. However, many of the articles printed over the last few months have ended up painting a picture of me that is more than a little distorted. Therefore, I would like to add my comments and try to explain again my reasons for calling it a day. I'm not stopping because of dodgy reviews or bad treatment in the press. I'm not stopping because I don't feel loved, I know I still have a very large fanbase that loves what I do. Thank you. I'm not stopping because I don't fit in, this was proved with "Going Back" reaching No 1 in the UK, and doing incredibly well worldwide. I'm not stopping so I can dive full time into my interest for the Alamo. I am stopping so I can be a full time father to my two young sons on a daily basis. Some of the things mentioned above have been said by me in various interviews, but said as asides with a smile on my face and in passing. They were not meant to be "headlines", they were small parts of a conversation. This clearly doesn't come over in print and I should know better. However, the result is that I have ended up sounding like a tormented weirdo who thinks he was at the Alamo in another life, who feels very sorry for himself, and is retiring hurt because of the bad press over the years. None of this is true. Thanks for all your messages on the Forum regarding this stuff, it means a lot that you care. But there's no need for the straitjacket!
- I'd be all for a reunion of the original band. The concept of playing the drums and being a backup singer sounds rather enticing, to be honest with you. The only one I'd worry about committing is Peter [Peter Gabriel]. He always overthinks ideas such as this and ends up talking himself out of it. I think sometimes he just needs to let go and do something for the simple reason that it's fun.
- The split-up of the band was always overexaggerated. There were some issues early on, but for the most part, Tony [Tony Banks], Mike [Mike Rutherford] and I stayed in close touch with Peter [Peter Gabriel] and Steve [Steve Hackett] and vice-versa. We were there to support each other professionally and personally over the years and all of us stayed good friends. However, to the media that's boring and doesn't sell magazines, so they made up stories of feuds and fights that never happened. We all continue to be close with each other to this day.
- It's been a bit of a handicap not being able to read music but, on the other hand, other parts of your senses come in.
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