The frontman Phil Collins called a “one-off”
It was really the moment that Phil Collins stepped up to the mic that an icon was made.
Having been playing the drums since the age of five, Collins probably thought that would be the thing that made his name. To a degree, it was, as it opened doors and got him in bands, but it was when Peter Gabriel quit Genesis that things stepped up.
Part of that obviously comes down to the simple fact that his vocals are strong. He can carry a power ballad like no one else, so it’s no wonder that his most rousing hits succeeded. But part of it came down to the rarity of a talent like his.
Ask any sound technician at any venue what their worst nightmare is, and it would probably be a singing drummer. Back when Collins was merely Genesis’ drummer but also contributed backing vocals, micing up his kit must have been a nightmare on the road, as obviously vocals and loud, thundering percussion don’t mix too well in close proximity.
But Collins could do both. When Gabriel quit and the band were looking for a replacement, it hit the band like a lightning strike moment as Collins was singing backing vocals for each audition and outshining them – so why were they looking elsewhere?
Even though he seemed to be born and raised on the drums, beginning playing at a very young age, he always had a love for the role of the singer. In particular, he had a love for the role of the frontman and the various powerful frontmen who shaped and inspired not only his taste in music, but his whole ethos towards performance.
They encouraged him to not only play his drums with flair and theatricality, ensuring that eyes were still drawn to him even when he was in the back, but they influenced his shy decision to move up to the mic, and then his development to being shy no more.
There are many that come to mind – Collins had early run-ins with The Beatles, so he was obviously inspired by the Liverpudlian Fab Four. He loved The Who and the frantic presence of Roger Daltrey just as much as his love for Keith Moon. But overwhelmingly, Collins thought no one could hold a candle to Freddie Mercury.
To him, Mercury was a singular strike of talent, calling him a “one-off”. He remembers a personal meeting he had with the singer, recalling, “I was on my tour in Australia and happened to cross paths with Queen. I went backstage, he was leaving, it was backstage before the show.”
But this isn’t so much a story of victory, but a story of everything going wrong. “That night when I saw the Queen show none of their lights worked. The computer had gone out,” Collins remembered. Mercury’s mic wasn’t working at all, meaning that no one could even hear his voice, but what struck Collins was that it made no difference.
That’s not a blight on his vocal ability, but instead is the ultimate compliment for his showmanship. “The thing that struck me was that as I was going backstage and I said, ‘Please believe me, everybody didn’t notice it’. They had everything that could possibly go wrong and still was a good show,” Collins said as Mercury managed to pull it off regardless.
To him, that’s the absolute pinnacle. That’s the ultimate sign of success and talent as a frontman, as Mercury proved himself to be unfazed and unflappable in the face of problems, trusting that his presence alone could do that job and having that proven by his adoring crowd.
