Phil Collins - Interview November 1974 

What a fantastic historical document !!! It is wonderful to listen to a very young Phil about his musical adventure with Genesis at the time, his instrumentation, his drum references, his musical tastes. He was such a technical, sophisticated, and brilliant drummer at the time. And he was also humble. It is easy to understand how his references were in fusion. He cites Cobham and Gadd several times. A great pleasure to listen to him.

I'm kind of stunned at how casual Phil is when discussing the music of Genesis. Sounds like he was thinking of leaving but since Peter had announced that HE was leaving, the rest of the guys looked at is as a musical challenge. Phil actually stating (in the book) that they could do a whole instrumental album. That shows where his mind was musically. He wanted to open things up a bit on the drums. Los Endos was his baby and of course Brand X started up soon after.

Absolutely love this. The whole conversation was so relaxed, and Phil sounds completely at ease as he talks freely about his contemporaries. Very interesting to hear him say back then that he thought Bruford was not "adaptable as a drummer" two years before asking him to tour with Genesis. I agree with his assessment of Bruford and have thought it for decades.

Early Genesis used to hang out with everybody at the time, you see here Phil spending time with aspiring musicians, In Italy they played soccer with the Kids before the concert, After the concert you could go in their dressing room having a chat and wouldnt be strange that Tony would put down some of his chords or stuff on musical sheet if you asked him; bruford once said that he was surprised to see that they are really down to earth without any snobbery at all, at least before the big success.

This is amazing! i think of 1974-75 Phil Collins drumming as his artistic peak -- he had the ideas, the technique, the rich variety of "The Lamb" music, and the expanded drum kit/percussion to play at his most artful and musical. (The first Brand X album also represents "peak Phil" for me.) That peak saw Phil at the zenith of his playing less as a time-keeper and more as a percussive melody-maker -- an approach that implies the beat instead of stomping it, providing a less martial, more lyrical feel. So, to hear this world class drummer, who can make a drum set dance and sing like few others, just chatting with with another musician in such an intimate and open way about his views on music, drumming, fellow musicians, and the like -- it's a dream come true. Thanks so much for posting this

Wow, what an amazing document, priceless. Phil's real views at an unofficial interview. Thanks so much and for the subtitles too!

Great interview, Back in the seventies I used to play with a band (16 years olds) in Ealing , where Phil lived with his family, I used to bump into him after he'd been shopping with his wife Andy (their kids went to the same nursery school as my nephew) I asked Phil if he'd like to come along for a jam, He said yeah where do your jam, Oxford road Ealing (on Saturday afternoon) where he parked his car while shopping, we were standing in Oxford rd at the time, Weeks went by and Phil didn't show, Oh well never mind maybe he forgot. But NO months later I saw him again and he said he came down the following Saturday couldn't remember the house number so walked up and down the road listening if he could hear music coming from any of the house's, we rehearsed in a friends house, (most of the neighbours liked our music luckily) but that Saturday my friends mum had a party that afternoon and we rehearsed on Sunday ! Guess it was never to be.

Thanks so much for not only uploading this interview, but also taking the time to transcribe it and add the photos-great job!

This makes life complete.

Love these interviews, thank you. I get the real scoop on things, instead of internet rumors and falsehoods. And speaking of just that (but it's 100% true), Phil once called the Lamb Tour his "grass tour' - and he wasn't talking about the front lawn.

I can only Say thanks. This Is a source of Life for all Seventies Lovers. Not Just a Genesis essential

Great to hear him talk about Herbie Hancock's influence. Talking about restraint....Phil was the best at that. Playing just what was needed to enhance the music but not overpower it. Then wailing away when it was appropriate. Strong yet sophisticated. Supremely confident. Just what you would want in a drummer. He reminds me of Billy Cobham often. Genesis was an incredible combination of musicians with the 5 of them all together. Magical.

It's as though Phil didn't quite realize at the time how Fucking Amazing he was as a Drummer! From "The Fountain of Salmacis" through "Cinema Show" to "What Gorilla?" - the 2 Brand X albums, and his drumming for Eno on "Another Green World", and "Before and After Science" - Phil Collins pretty much set the benchmark...as did Bill Bruford - with King Crimson, in the incarnation with John Wetton. The thing with Bruford, though - He always knew that he was a great drummer... a bit "Cocky" about it too! But Phil - pleasantly Humble, while also working on polishing his Vocals. What a GIFT Phil Collins brough to the Music!

Holy cow this is amazing

This priceless gem right here is one of the things that makes the internet great.

This is an AMAZING interview! In no small part because it's more of a casual conversation than an official interview. Phil is being a lot more candid about his opinions of people (Bruford, White, ELP, etc.) than I think he would be if he knew it was going into print. Great stuff.

What an amazing bit of history!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to that. Thanks!

Fascinating interview with Phil backstage in Cleveland 1974. Really amazing.

That's fcking sensational! I've been a huge Genesis super fan since forever and this was probably THE most honest and unguarded interview I've ever heard him give. As a musician myself, I found it fascinating to hear him discuss the back stories to all these great Genesis songs, the time signatures etc. Bravo!!!

Fascinating &insightful interview. I enjoy all prog rock(even some of the more guilty pleasure bands like Camel, Quasar, &a lot of the lesser known Italian/E. Euro/N. Euro prog bands Phil referenced). This talk makes me very glad the core trio of Banks/Rutherford/Collins stayed together(even w/notable alterations w/Phil singing, Chester drumming &Daryl doubling bass/guitar w/Mike live). We know what Bruford sounded like playing w/Genesis from the '76 tour. But it's rather hard to imagine post-Bruford Yes playing w/Collins. Collins playing w/Crimson even moreso. Not because he couldn't. But because Bank's/Rutherford's dedication to writing varied, lush &musically sound material then recording it exceptionally &commensurate to the themes of the particular LP, was something Phil would have found a lot less of, in Yes or Crimson. Tony focusing on being a pure writer &less concerned w/being a "lead keyboardist" &Mike being a multi-instrumentalist w/the rare ability to write/record guitar/bass near-flawlessly &w/true aptitude &creativity, really gave Phil more of an open &less tolerantly tight canvas to further explore &grow as a drummer, singer &eventual writer by the time Duke came around. This dynamic imo, cannot be overstated or any less yielding of truly great music Genesis made, that transcended the entire genre of prog; while bands like Crimson, Yes &ELP, stayed much more requisitely tethered to it. ELP/Crimson were obviously the first &foundational to the genre. But because of their dedication to virtuoso perfection &earlier germination, the through line of consistency, integrity to the music & sonic thematic consistency in recording it, could sometimes suffer. At the end of the day, we as prog fans like, love &get inspiration from all of the more known prog acts. But Genesis somehow intrinsically rose above all of them because in my estimation they survived their earlier changes of losing Gabriel/Hackett, then stayed true to the aims of writing/performing some if not the the most diverse &interesting music in existence, not just prog music.

I love that Phill mentioned "Peaches and Regalia". That's my favourite Frank Zappa instrumental.

This is fascinating. Thanks for posting this!

Phill was such a brillant drummer

Just wanted to say a massive thanks for posting this really interesting, behind the scenes interview from Collins. From a fans point of view it’s always great to come across stuff you’ve never heard before... great insight. Thanks once again...

Once again you guys give us absolute gold! Thank you so much!

I'm a huge Yes fan but I have to agree with Phil here. He was the right guy for Yes. Alan developed with Squire into a great unit though, and also Alan made Roundabout rock. I think they could speed up things because Alan kept it simple.

Wow this is phenomenal, thanks for posting!

What a piece of history.

If I remember correctly from Phil’s book and Mike’s book, it was in Cleveland where Peter finally informed the band he was leaving.

Incredible insight into a young Phil Collins, his likes/dislikes, his ambitions. Amazing this is almost 50 years ago.

Massive "thank you!" for sharing this amazing historical record. Awesome we can all get back in time and enjoy these jewels 🙂

Facinating interview......Fills in a lot of gaps....great history.....seems he would have left for Yes in a heartbeat....

Amazing !

This is incredible, astonishing. Pure History. Thanks!.

Thanks a lot it’s really informative and the quality is top notch! :)

Steve Gadd is so good. Glad Phil liked Gadd. lol Love him bringing up 'Hot Rats'. I think Phil was impressed (as anyone should be) that Thompson played with Zappa. Oh, and KC 'Red' IS a great album.

This is fucking great!! Thanks for sharing this! I was fortunate enough to see The Lamb in January of 1975 at The Shrine in LA. That one experience forever changed my whole approach to music.

This is great. Lots of information. I didn’t know that Mike Giles was in Yes’ short list after Bruford left!

Great listening...It’s a real insight into Phils true opinions at the time. I think you can hear his single mindedness and drive in the way he speaks about stuff. It’s clear he had his own ideas about how things should sound etc...and it’s not surprising he went on to dominate the world solo for a good solid ten years. His drumming development suffered for it though, too much focus on being a songwriter once the success kicked off. I think his chops stayed pretty much the same from ‘79 onwards...I’m his biggest fan but he could have become a monster drummer if he’d kept his focus there...

Man. This is the coolest dang thing. Thank you for sharing.

great job man, this is so interesting

Reminds me of something i know to be true: a lot of working musicians rarely listen to their contemporaries. Phil couldnt name a song or album from another peer group cause hes too busy in his own world.. He just had some early freebee cassette or something. The fans were well more educated on what was going down. Interesting to hear his comments on CP as well - ive always found his playing a but ponderous but cant put my finger on it. I saw him once and he seemed perpetually behind the beat. . .

Phil: "Will you take us to the hotel rather than the gig?" Steve: "Actually we were going to drive you to a warehouse on the outskirts of town and hold you for ransom at gun point." Phil: "Yeah, alright."

For what i understand, they kept playng alive with Peter, for more than half a year, after he announce leaving.

I love the style with which you present these interviews. Thank you so much :)

Damn ! Phil talking shit about ELP and Carl Palmers drumming. Savage !

This is a revelation. Amazing insight into this era.

This is pure gold.

Thanks for sharing! Really enjoyed this interview.

This is amazing. Thanks for sharing it!

Thanks for this gem

Thanks for this gem of an interview with one of my favourite drummers ever... I mean EVER! Don't quite agree with Phil's assessment of Alan White though - but I take it that in 1974, possibly pre "Gates of Delirium", no-one would've anticipated what a kick-ass rhythm section Alan would form with Chris Squire in the years to come. Creative, yet incredibly powerful and tight! Alan's more down-to-earth style was *the* anchor point for all the fiddly bits that were happening on top of that. Had he been even a tiny bit more "busy" player, it probably wouldn't have worked out the way it did.

Wow!! That was fantastic

Carl Palmer was and still is a powerhouse!

Thanks for sharing this! What an incredible listen!

Thank you so much for sharing this. Really interesting!!

Very precious ! Thanks !

Very cool to hear.

Thanks for posting.. Really enjoyed it!

Thanks 😍

Priceless bravo 👏

Love that he liked Herbie hancock's headhunters album. love that album.

Thanks!

Fly on the wall, indeed! Thanks!

Amazing! What’s amazing as well is that a lot of stuf sees daylight now. Did you see the polished Bataclan footage with Phil playing like a God.

Great piece of history !

Man that's crazy

This is great!!!

Just want to note there's a spelling error in the transcription at 12:46. Phil says "Ian Wallace" not "Ian Weiss". Ian Wallace was a drummer for King Crimson.

This is great thanks !!

+1 for me, too (ie. Thanks for posting this!); just wish he'd mentioned his session work with John Cale...though now that I think of it, it might have been a year or two later than this (Helen of Troy)...

Love the pronunciation of "Brufford" - back then he'd probably not heard Bill Bruford's surname spoken and only read it on the albums and in the music press, and thought it must have the same vowel sound as "Rutherford".

Now I'm gonna think about Peaches every time I hear the tambourine rolls on Lillywhite Lillith

christ, I was born that night down in Texas lmao!

LOL!! I totally get what he says about ELP and Carl Palmer's "neurotic" drumming.... Fascinating stuff!

Fantastique!##

yessssssssssssss

Small correction at 12:47. I think he says "Ian Wallace" (not "Ian Weiss"). Ian Wallace was King Crimson's drummer 1971-1972. He played with Jon Anderson in "The Warriors" (before Yes) I believe. At any rate, great interview!

Still hard to believe this is the same guy that wrote Sussudio....LOL

That was so interesting. I'd love to hear more of what Phil thought of the band members and their music. Have you got anymore?

Shows Phil’s influences, doesn’t match up well with other interviews he gave, I trust his private conversations. Bruford, Gadd, Cobham, nuff said!

Fascinating, historical interview! Quite surprising how he pronounces Bruford as “Bruh-ford” more than once!

Superb. Don’t let Carl P hear it tho🤣

6:00 "He shows such restraint, the drummer" CRASH BANG CRASH BOOM CRASH

Agree with Phil 100% about Palmer. All speed, no feel. Spot on about Bruford being non-versatile as well. His playing was no where near as “right” for Genesis as Thompson’s was

what a peice of gold. Did you get this from a tin box you dug up at the end of a rainbow? My Genesis experience and knowledge dissected once again. I couldnt agree more with Phil about ELP. I have the identical view. Clearly, Bruford never heard this tape before he joined them live.

When Steve says studio I heard Sussidio!!

“How could you leave Yes, man?” Yes really was the New York Yankees of prog.

Funny thing is that after this gig Peter told the band he was leaving after the tour.

33:45 he mentions writing for his solo album (!)

This was apparently before Phil started jamming with Brand-X.

wow he was already thinking of writing his own stuff back then

12:48 Ian Wallace, drummer on King Crimson’s Islands LP, not ‘Ian Weiss’.

Alan White was GREAT..

Does anybody know what kind of Paiste Cymbals is he referring ? 602, Giant Beats?

Everything Happens For a Reason

Fascinating. I am glued to it right now. But, who is Steve and Ken?

Great interview,but just to clarify,Phil is talking about using 'Premier' drums,an English drum brand,not 'Premiere'

From this interview and others I've seen of Phil, though those are bit more mainstream so he has to watch what he says but he let's it slip out here and there and he even says it himself here. I truly believe that he always fucking hated singing unless it was just the odd backing track here and there and was a terrible song writer and in his later career covered it up by playing up his jokey personality to an insane level when he became a lead singer or as people would falsely call it "Charisma". He even admits it himself he was a prat in the 80s and 90s and hates his own success. Here he even flat out says he is just good at being a "Player" and he's perfectly right in that too. Of course he's got his legion of fans from the 80s onwards that will piss their pants from "In The Air Tonight" or "I Don't Care Anymore" but those songs are hollow, cheaply made for easy pleasing hits. Here he seems like he wants to actually be creative and try new techniques with his arsenal but over time, he just went with the flow and covered up his insecurity by just being an idiot on stage but honestly in his old age now he really comes across like he hates the last 50 years of his career. Money notwithstanding. Thanks again for this and I could be wrong but honestly there's a lot of evidence to support that Phil just wanted something completely different for his life.