Phil Collins’ proudest drum break: “Nobody had ever heard anything like that”
It is fair to say that Phil Collins has perhaps struggled to be taken seriously. After all, he once famously remarked, “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?” Such a question is not one that a revered great should have to ask. However, there is just something about the former Genesis man that has constantly had him straddling high praise for his abilities and punchlines in equal measure.
The pinnacle of the praise he receives usually pertains to his drumming. In fact, he may well be the greatest pop drummer in history. Ozzy Osbourne has hailed him as “the best ever”, and the lads in Led Zeppelin saw him as the only man who could ever truly fill John Bonham’s shoes. His chops in that department are undeniable, but they are bolstered tenfold by the fact that drumming is just one string to his bow—this holistic overview of music means he understands percussion’s place in the mix perfectly, as well as being able to adroitly pull off the ideal fill.
There is one occasion in his discography where he thinks he absolutely nailed this feat. While recording his debut solo album, Face Value, an ironic title given the earlier quote, Collins knew he needed a stand-out track. It was 1981, and music was going through a rapid transition, quickly making fools of its old heroes in a new wave of synth. Collins decided to join in on the innovation and offer something fresh rather than be rendered as a gargoyle of the past.
In order to do so, he hired the best hands in the business. With a crack team assembled, he unleashed his most iconic signature, ‘In the Air Tonight’. “When we had Eric Clapton and some of his guys come up to the studio, we played ‘In the Air Tonight’ for them. When the drums came in, everybody said, ‘F—ING HELL! What the f— is that?’ Nobody had ever heard anything like that,” Collins recalled.
It was a perfect ’80s moment. In an age of reinvention, here he was not only delivering a stunning fill but reimagining its place in the mix. “Frankly, drums were never that loud. But it was my album, and it worked. We were playing with psychological things. The audience is there going along with you, and then suddenly you knock them on the head with this thing: Bvoom-bvoom,” he told Digital Trends.
Genesis had always been about pushing boundaries, but here was Collins entering a potentially perilous solo patch and instantly thundering his way towards a Promethean feat. He had proudly established himself as not only a popstar in his own right but as a pioneer.
“It was born of passion,” he told David Sheff. “I honestly don’t know where it comes from, exactly what it’s about.” But it certainly proved thrilling enough to resonate with the masses as Collins took the sense of loss he felt during his divorce out on his drum kit in a particularly funky fashion.
