When Phil Collins definitely stood up for Genesis
Whether you’re looking at his work with Genesis or as a solo artist, there’s no escaping that Phil Collins is a defiant drummer who stands strongly behind everything he’s ever made. He is proud of the music that he puts his name to, and doesn’t take any criticism that he thinks isn’t fair. That’s exactly what happened after a show in Los Angeles, when he confronted a critic for a harsh review of a previous show.
The criticism came during a period of transition for Genesis. Peter Gabriel was the band’s original vocalist, but when he left, it was down to Phil Collins to take on the singing duties. While Collins was more than happy to do this, he struggled to sing to the best of his abilities and play drums at the same time. As a result, even though Collins continued drumming in the studio, the band decided they needed to hire a new member to play during their live shows.
Stepping for a prog rock band can be incredibly tricky. The songs are a lot more complicated than standard rock songs, time signatures are less predictable, and tracks in general are more difficult to pick up if you haven’t been working on them for a while. Luckily, Collins was already in touch with the person he was keen to replace: Chester Thompson.
When it comes to prog rock drummers, there were few who came close to Thompson. Why was he so ready for the gig? Simply put, he had had one of the best teachers in music. Before he played with Genesis, he had earned his stripes with Frank Zappa, who really put the drummer through his paces and brought him to the top of his game.
“People thought Zappa was some kind of freak-out hippy, but he was seriously dedicated,” said Thompson. “That was my first introduction to practising for 40 hours each week. It was eight hours a day and there was no time wasted. Every time we finished a rehearsal, I felt that my brain was sweating. It was really intense music, really difficult music, and I always say it was the best school I ever went to.”
After having one of the most intense introductions to prog ever, Thompson was well equipped to join Genesis. He and Collins have similar tastes in music, so the two of them clicked right away, but it’s a shame the same couldn’t be said for the sound. It would have been naïve for Thompson to think he would go on stage with Genesis and kill it the first time around, but he was still disappointed with how their first show went. Luckily, over the course of the next few nights, he managed to work it out.
“The third night was very rewarding to listen to,” recalled Thompson, “The first night, because I’m probably my worst critic, it was not good.”
Thompson might be his worst critic, but there were also other critics who didn’t like his performance on the first night either. Some of the words of reviewers were so harsh that Collins had to stand up for his bandmates and defend Genesis.
“I can’t remember which guy, but one of the big rock critics over there….man, I mean, he just shredded me to no end on that first show,” said Thompson, “He gave me just a horrendous review, so bad to the point that the first time we played L.A. maybe a year later, Phil grabbed the guy by the collar and made him apologize to me.”
Turns out you can always count on Collins to defend his music and the people who help bring it to life.
