The 1983 song Phil Collins knew was “completely stupid” to make
Phil Collins was no stranger to making a few decisions that would have had any other prog musician shaking their head.
No one would have blamed him for wanting to chase after fame as much as he could, but even after becoming one of the biggest solo artists in the world, there were many times when people were a little bit confused when he started making tunes like ‘Sussudio’. There was a line as far as hardcore fans were concerned, and even if Collins wasn’t afraid to cross it, he knew that there were some collaborations that would have been unthinkable for him to take on.
Then again, no artist likes the idea of being told what to do. The last thing you can give the artist is complete freedom, because while no one should have those guidelines around them, the fact that there are guidelines at all usually makes the more devious artists find ways around them to find out what else they can do. But in the case of Collins, he was more than happy to do anything and everything when he was free from Genesis.
Performing with Philip Bailey? Sure. Getting a boost from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony? Very strange, but he could definitely pull it off. Working with Led Zeppelin at Live Aid? Okay, so maybe that one was a step too far, but you get the idea. Collins was willing to work with anyone that he could, but considering the other stars that were sharing the spotlight with him at the time, it’s not like he fit into every single music scene.
He was always looking to make something that had a steady groove to it, but hooking up with Adam Ant for an album was definitely a change of pace. Collins is the kind of guy who looks like he could either be a badass drummer or someone who will help you do your taxes, depending on where you catch him, so to see that guy get together with one of the more theatrical musicians of the 1980s was definitely a change of pace.
But Collins was never discouraged to work on one of his records, either. He had already worked magic for a bunch of his friends, and even when he started covering Bob Dylan songs later in his career, the drummer defended his decision to work with Ant in some capacity, saying, “You know people don’t think of me and Adam Ant working together – a completely stupid idea. I just thought after I’d done it, ‘Well, this will be strange. I wonder what people will make of this?’”
And it’s not like he’s terrible at this style of drumming, either. He wasn’t going to be layering the same kind of massive percussion that he heard on some of his own records, but when locking into a groove on a song like ‘Strip’ doesn’t require the same kind of drumming discipline that every other Collins record did.
He knew when to serve the song and play what was needed, but that didn’t mean that Collins was dumbing himself down by any stretch. He wanted to help give other artists a boost where he could, and when looking through a lot of the biggest names that he worked with, getting his name on an ABBA solo outing was a good way for him to bring a more sophisticated approach to the drums that no one had ever heard before.
So while every purist would have been happy to call Collins completely stupid for taking on projects like Adam Ant, it was never about trying to be the coolest artist in the world. Collins only wanted the opportunity to play the best songs that he could, and if he could help a few up-and-coming stars do the exact same thing on half of their projects, that was always an extra bonus.
