Phil Collins

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Phil Collins

Phil Collins' ascent to the status of one of the most successful pop and adult-contemporary singers of the '80s and beyond was probably as much of a surprise to him as it was to many others. Balding and diminutive, Collins was almost 30 years old when his first solo single, "In the Air Tonight" became a #2 hit in his native U.K. (the song was a Top 20 hit in the U.S.).

Collins made his debut solo album Face Value in 1981, which turned out to be a bigger hit than any Genesis album. It concentrated on Collins. Phil Collins' voice, often in stark, haunting contexts such as the piano-and-drum dirge "In the Air Tonight" which sounded like something from John Lennon's debut solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.

During the '80s, Phil Collins balanced his continuing solo work with Genesis with enormous success. In 1992, Genesis released "We Can't Dance" and began an extensive tour. Upon its completion, Collins released Both Sides in 1993, and the record became his first album not to produce a major hit single or go multi-platinum. In 1995, he announced that he was leaving Genesis permanently.

1 About
- 1.1 Awards
2 Discography
- 2.1 Chart Toppers
- 2.2 Singles
3 Tours & Concerts
4 External Links

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About

Philip Daved Charles Collins is an English rock and pop musician. He is best known as the lead singer and drummer of progressive rock group Genesis and as a Grammy and Academy Award-winning solo artist.

His international popularity transformed Genesis from a progressive rock group to a regular on the pop charts and an early MTV mainstay. Collins' professional career began as a drummer, first with obscure rock group Flaming Youth and then more famously with Genesis. In Genesis, Collins originally supplied only backing vocals for front man Peter Gabriel; it would not be until Gabriel's departure in 1975 that he became the group's lead singer. According to Atlantic Records, Collins' total worldwide sales as a solo artist, as of 2002, were over 100 million.[1]

Collins received a toy drum kit for Christmas when he was five. Later, his uncle made him a makeshift one that he used regularly, and his drumming skills improved. As Collins grew they were followed by more complete sets bought by his parents. [2]

He practiced by playing alongside the television and radio, and never learned to read and write conventional musical notation; instead, he uses a system he devised himself. Collins looked for every opportunity to perform. His professional training began at fourteen when he entered Barbara Speake Stage School. [3]

He began a career as a child actor and model, and won his first major role as The Artful Dodger in a London production of Oliver!. He appeared in The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night as one of hundreds of screaming teenagers during the climactic concert sequence. Although only an extra in this sequence, Collins receives a close-up all to himself: his mother was the person hired to cast the extras in this sequence, and she arranged for her son to receive a brief close-up in the film. [4]

He also auditioned for the role of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (1968). [5]

Despite the beginnings of an acting career, Collins continued to gravitate toward music. While attending Chiswick Community School he formed a band called The Real Thing and later joined The Freehold. With the latter group, he wrote his first song titled "Lying Crying Dying".[6]Collins' first record deal came as drummer for Flaming Youth, who released a single album, Ark 2 (1969). A concept album inspired by the recent media attention surrounding the moon landing, Ark 2 failed to make much commercial success despite positive critical reviews. Melody Maker featured the album as "Pop Album of the Month", describing it as "adult music beautifully played with nice tight harmonies". [7]

The album's main single, "From Now On", failed on the radio. After a year of touring, band tensions and the lack of commercial success dissolved the group.

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Awards

Year	Title
1985	Best MAle Pop Vocal Performance (Against All Odds)
1986	Album of the Year: No Jacket Required
1991	Record Of the Year: Another Day in Paradise
2000	Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (Disney's Tarzan Soundtrack (1999)), together with Mark Mancina

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Discography

Face Value Released:1981	Hello I Must Be Going Released:1982	No Jacker Required Released:1985	...But Seriously Released:1989
Both Sides Released:1993