Photo: Raph_PH / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What fascinates me about Phil Collins is that he never should have worked as a frontman, since drummers are supposed to stay in the back, yet he became one of the defining voices of the 1980s. The gated drum explosion in In the Air Tonight is still, to my ears, the single most dramatic moment in pop production. I also admire his range: stadium balladeer, Motown interpreter, and a Disney songwriter with an Oscar to show for it. Critics loved to mock his ubiquity, but ubiquity is just success viewed with envy. For me, Collins represents craft over cool, and craft is what survives.
Overview
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, drummer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis and had a successful solo career, achieving three UK number-one singles and seven US number-one singles as a solo artist.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Phil Collins
- Name (Japanese)
- フィル・コリンズ
- Reading
- ふぃる・こりんず
- Born
- January 30, 1951 (age 75)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Rabbit
- Origin
- Putney Hospital, United Kingdom
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 2 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / singer / voice actor / singer-songwriter / composer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1997 MusiCares Person of the Year
- Silver Clef Award
- 2002 Disney Legends
- 2010 Johnny Mercer Award
- Royal Victorian Order
- 2010 German Radio Award
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
- 2000 Academy Award for Best Original Song
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | In the Air Tonight | — | |
| Notable work | You'll Be in My Heart | — | |
| Notable work | Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) | — | |
| Notable work | Another Day in Paradise | — | |
| Notable work | A Groovy Kind of Love | — | |
| Notable work | You Can't Hurry Love | — |
6. Links
Actor — see all → · Singer — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.