“I was a huge fan”: The Genesis song that saw Phil Collins channel John Bonham
Percussion came on in leaps and bounds throughout the 20th century, fuelled by technological advancements and the commercialisation of music. Early drumming heroes, such as Buddy Rich, mainly hailed from jazz pastures, but rock ‘n’ roll was poised to take the limelight in the mid-century decades. Intriguingly, much of the 1960s’ instrumental virtuosity seemed to emerge from the psychedelic rock wave.
With the gradual collapse of The Yardbirds, the band’s guitar-playing alumni, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, went on to prosper in separate projects. This trio is frequently ranked among the finest players of all time and was only challenged in their time by the London-dwelling American Jimi Hendrix.
This nucleus of string-borne talent synchronised perfectly with one of the finest generations of drummers: Jimi Hendrix fell on his feet with Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, Clapton joined Cream with Ginger Baker and Jimmy Page founded Led Zeppelin with John Bonham at the toms.
Teenagers who grew up through the late 1960s were truly blessed as far as inspiration is concerned. Among said teenagers were several imminent prog-rock icons, including Neil Peart, Bill Bruford and Phil Collins. Collins, the Genesis drummer who went on to lead the band and enjoy a successful solo career, became fascinated with several drummers through the 1960s, but few captured his imagination quite like John Bonham.
Collins saw Bonham for the first time during a pre-Led Zeppelin performance with Tim Rose at London’s Marquee Club in the mid-60s. “I had never seen anything like it,” Collins reflected during a 2016 appearance on BBC Radio 6. “He had the best bass drum of anybody I’ve ever seen, and I became a convert there and then. So I started to follow him wherever he was going to be playing in a band. Next time I saw him was with Led Zeppelin.”
Competitive and driven, Collins challenged himself to surpass his idol’s virtuosity, leading to a friendly rivalry of sorts following his rise to fame with Genesis. During a live performance several years ago, Jason Bonham remembered when Melody Maker ranked Collins one place ahead of his father in a 1979 “drummer vote”. As one can imagine, this didn’t sit particularly well with the Led Zeppelin percussionist.
In response to the vote, John Bonham turned to his son. “He made his 13-year-old son play one of these Genesis songs at home,” Jason said, referring to himself. “After I did it, he went, ‘I don’t see what the big deal is… My 13-year-old son can play that song'”.
As far as Bonham was concerned, once Jason could handle Collins’ most difficult Genesis song, he was back on the podium. “That was my dad’s mentality,” Jason added. “I had to play it until I got it right, and then he was like, ‘Yeah, no big deal'”.
Collins would never claim to have surpassed Bonham’s abilities himself. In fact, he leant on the late master’s skills on several occasions to bring life to his own creations. Speaking to John Edginton in 2014, Collins remembered ‘Fly on a Windshield’ as a highlight from the 1974 Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway.
In his analysis of the track, Collins recalled that the song’s initial working title was ‘Pharaoh’ because of its “ships down the Nile” aura. He also admitted to borrowing from Bonham’s sinister, attacking style in tracks like ‘Immigrant Song’. “I was a huge Bonham fan, and that’s really me putting that hat on and just playing that kind of solid thing,” Collins noted.
Listen to Genesis’ ‘Fly on a Windshield’ below and see if you can hear that John Bonham influence.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.