“I just wish he didn’t think he was amazing”: the drummer Phil Collins thought was arrogant
Calling Phil Collins a drummer seems like a gross understatement of the songwriter’s CV. From fronting progressive rock giant Genesis to becoming one of the most successful pop artists of the 1980s, Collins certainly has a lot to boast about. Throughout his extensive and celebrated career, however, the London-born songwriter has always remained, at his core, a drummer. As such, if anybody is qualified to give their opinions on the landscape of pop and rock drumming, it is Phil Collins.
Collins made his breakthrough into the mainstream musical consciousness during the early 1970s as the drummer and later vocalist of Genesis. While the group found both a cult following within the progressive rock sphere along with a commendable degree of commercial success, which only seemed to increase as the years went by, Genesis did not have the all-encompassing mainstream appeal to keep Phil Collins in pop culture indefinitely.
So, when Collins went solo in 1981, he was free to explore a range of influences and genre styles that would not have fit within the repertoire of Genesis. With that newly available sound, the drummer immediately established himself as a pop powerhouse. To his credit, though, the colossal level of success and acclaim garnered by Collins never stopped him from keeping an eye on emerging young artists within Britain.
After all, the 1980s was an incredibly productive time for British pop, with countless young artists breaking into the mainstream with uncompromisingly inventive sounds. Among those bands, The Police were among the most recognisable. Born from the back end of the punk explosion, the Sting-fronted outfit found favour by blending elements of reggae, new wave, and even jazz. At the core of their appeal, however, was drummer Stewart Copeland.
Almost in defiance of The Police’s mainstream success, Copeland managed to employ a wide range of drumming techniques and sounds that are rarely found in pop music. In particular, the Virginia-born musician has always been adept in the use of syncopation within his playing style, often employing polyrhythms and jazz-influenced improvisation in his work. This unique playing style added entirely new layers of originality and appeal to the sound of The Police.
As you might expect, for a drummer as inventive and original as Copeland, the mainstream success of The Police soon gave the musician a hefty ego. While there is nothing out of the ordinary in this – the vast majority of popular musicians have colossal egos – Copeland’s coupling of quality and ego seemed to annoy Phil Collins. During an interview with Playboy in 1986, Collins admitted being a fan of The Police, saying, “A great band. That is, I think they’re still together.”
“They have a love-hate relationship,” he continued. “Depending on who you talk to, one of them is always leaving the band.” Explaining his ire with Copeland, Collins revealed, “Stewart Copeland is an amazing drummer. I just wish he didn’t think he was amazing.” Whether or not Collins is accusing his fellow drummer of arrogance, it sounds as if his problem with Copeland lies within his quality, which is at risk of eclipsing the Genesis drummer.
Battling egos is a constant feature of the pop music industry, but the fact that Phil Collins was able to recognise the brilliance of Copeland’s drumming is telling of his undeniable quality. In all honesty, Copeland has earned the right to be at least a little arrogant, given the fact that he was able to completely redefine expectations of pop-rock drumming, inspiring countless future drummers in the process.
