Phil Collins believes he finally knows why Noel Gallagher calls him “the Antichrist”
Phil Collins has spoken about coming face-to-face with Oasis’ Noel Gallagher at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame amid the insults that have been flung his way in the past.
Both Collins and Oasis will be part of the Class of 2026 inductees at the upcoming ceremony, set to take place on November 14th, alongside Billy Idol, Sade, Iron Maiden, Luther Vandross, Wu-Tang Clan, and Joy Division/New Order.
In a 1994 interview, which featured in the 2016 documentary Supersonic, Gallagher says of his band’s ambitions, “We’re gonna get rid of Phil Collins and Sting — junk food music, McDonald’s music — we’ve got to get in the charts and stamp them out. I want the severed head of Phil Collins in my fridge by the end of this decade. And if I haven’t, I’ll be a failure.”
In the same interview, he also referred to Collins as “the antichrist of music” and has subsequently repeated the line on numerous occasions.
Additionally, Noel also encouraged the public to vote Labour in a general election to stop Collins returning from Switzerland, stating, “Another reason to vote Labour is if you fucking don’t and the Conservatives get in, Phil Collins is threatening to come back and live here. And let’s face it, none of us want that.”
Collins took these comments to heart, later putting Oasis in Room 101, stating, “They’re just horrible. Horrible guys. They’re rude and not as talented as they think they are. I won’t mince words here; they’ve had a go at me personally.”
He also refuted the claim that he was a Tory who had moved to Switzerland for tax reasons, before adding of Oasis, “There’s nobody they think is worth anything, apart from them.”
Now, it appears that Collins is ready to let bygones be bygones, telling MOJO, “The [Hall Of Fame] inductees have all been invited to a lunch before the ceremony. Which will be interesting, as I’m sure to bump into Oasis.”
He also believes he can trace back the moment that turned Noel, who, according to the MOJO article, was left scared after attending a Genesis concert “completely out of it” in the 1980s, against him, adding, “Now I’ve thought this through and although Noel didn’t specify what song it was, I reckon it was ‘Mama’, where I go (recites the lyric) ‘Ha-ha-ha… Oww,’ with the light under my face.”
Collins continued, “I think ‘Mama’ is why Noel called me the antichrist. But I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt here, and assuming he doesn’t really think I’m the antichrist.”
However, in 2023, Gallagher gave a different reason for the longstanding grudge, telling The Times, “He kept The Jam off No 1 with ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’. I thought, ‘Once I get there, I’m not going to let him get away with that.”
Noel has seemingly softened his stance in recent years, saying in a 2022 interview with Matt Morgan, “I don’t mind the Peter Gabriel-Genesis. They’ve got some good tunes. But when Collins took over, I wasn’t into that”.
Considering Noel was able to move on and leave his feud with his brother Liam in the past, let’s see if he will do the same with Collins on November 14th.
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