Phil Collins - the Godfather of pop?

Tricky Dicky · Dec 3, 2013

granny weatherwax said:
hey rich

still twanging away...I have an old Encore electric guitar, which is a bit naff, but sound ok through the amp and I have an accoustic coming via father christmas seemly....havent spent a huge amount, only £80 odd on it.

I can play Em, D, G, A and struggle a bit to play C but those 4 chords give me a hell of a lot of songs...keep practicing Johnny Be Goode...or at least the chords and its great. Justin Guitar is good as is Marty Schwartz and also some bloke who on youtube plays " songs to help you get laid" Again only 3 or 4 chords...so great fun.

Still in the stage where I have to stop whilst changing finger positions...but getting there

Yup, it will be tricky to start with, but stick with it, it WILL come. You are more than welcome to pop round and try any of my kit, if you want to. Added my 7th guitar to my collection this morning, so I'm a happy bunny at the mo.

I have heard good things about Marty Schwarz, in fact he and Justin have just made a video together.

Publius Ovidius · Dec 3, 2013

Tricky Dicky said:
Yup, it will be tricky to start with, but stick with it, it WILL come. You are more than welcome to pop round and try any of my kit, if you want to. Added my 7th guitar to my collection this morning, so I'm a happy bunny at the mo.

I have heard good things about Marty Schwarz, in fact he and Justin have just made a video together.

I may take you up on that mate.

Yes Marty also shows you how to play things the wrong way too ( just to get you playing a tune) I played Iron Man the wrong way for ages..LOL Cant get my head around power chords though!

tinycowboy · Dec 3, 2013

I think it's fair to say he inspired a lot of musicians, but the people he inspired do not tend to make the kind of music I like. The tax move didn't really enhance his credibility either.

Publius Ovidius · Dec 3, 2013

tinycowboy said:
I think it's fair to say he inspired a lot of musicians, but the people he inspired do not tend to make the kind of music I like. The tax move didn't really enhance his credibility either.

i tend to feel the same about all the F1 drivers who as soon as they start earning, up sticks and move to Monaco...Eddie Irvine, david Coulthard, etc etc

blue2 · Dec 3, 2013

I once was a fan of his music but his comments during the recession of the early eighties left me and many others feeling really let down, he only got where he had due to fans buying his music and here we were in a really deep recession and he f####d off somewhere tax free not paying his fare share towards getting the country back on its feet.
As someone who was a musical hero at that time to thousands of teenagers like me who were left behind worrying about the future I thought he was a complete **** and vowed not to buy any more of his records and never have, then to make matters even worst as if he could he cocks up the Led Zeppelin concert to such an extent the band refused to release any material from the concert

TheJasperCo · Dec 3, 2013

blue2 said:
I once was a fan of his music but his comments during the recession of the early eighties left me and many others feeling really let down, he only got where he had due to fans buying his music and here we were in a really deep recession and he f####d off somewhere tax free not paying his fare share towards getting the country back on its feet.
As someone who was a musical hero at that time to thousands of teenagers like me who were left behind worrying about the future I thought he was a complete **** and vowed not to buy any more of his records and never have, then to make matters even worst as if he could he cocks up the Led Zeppelin concert to such an extent the band refused to release any material from the concert

Be honest, if you were in his position, surely the idea of upping sticks on the banks of Lake Geneva sounds appealing? By living over there, he's no longer a burden on the UK, and whenever he played to sell-out crowds in Britain, the economy would have received a boost. Besides, in the grand scheme of things, of all possible scandals to hit celebrities over the years, is emigrating to a tax haven really the worst thing to happen? If you liked his music, isn't that all that matters in this case?

Icy Gull · Dec 3, 2013

Genesis with Peter Gabriel as the front man were one of my favourite bands. When Gabriel left Collins did a pretty good job replacing an integral member of the band and they made a couple of decent albums afterwards, Wind and Wuthering in particular,

When he went all commercial I must say I mostly lost interest but the man did write very good pop songs and had massive success because of it. This was not co-incidental and over play of his very good pop songs put a lot of people off. Think Bee Gees and Dire Straits, both of whom suffered the same over play problems and went from hero to zero because of it. I think that's probably why I turn most Queen songs off when I hear them, another good band who were played to death.

Phil Collins was very good at what he did, has a decent voice, wrote plenty of the songs himself and is also a damn fine drummer.

It became "uncool" to like Collins, it seems it still is.

Nibble · Dec 3, 2013

Very much of his time and very much a certain sort of bloke that likes him, hairy chest and overpowering aftershave and breath mints covering up the last double, communicates more in tongue clicks and winks than actual language. Bit of a Dennis Waterman type. That's who I imagine listen to him. I'm sure he's a good drummer though.

supaseagull · Dec 3, 2013

BRIGHT ON Q said:
Legend and anyone who says any different can DO ONE..

Why is he a legend?

What has he done to earn that title other than write and sing a few benign, middle of the road songs.

Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, Lennon & McCartney are legends.

Phil Collins is not, and never will be a legend.

Herr Tubthumper · Dec 3, 2013

There's a lot of nonsense in this article; some of it is simply incorrect . I will respond in full later.

Icy Gull · Dec 3, 2013

supaseagull said:
Why is he a legend?

What has he done to earn that title other than write and sing a few benign, middle of the road songs.

Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, Lennon & McCartney are legends.

Phil Collins is not, and never will be a legend.

Being the drummer and latterly singer of a band who were MASSIVE in their time would make him a legend wouldn't it? After that he was a worldwide "pop " star. He may not be a legend of the calibre of the names you have mentioned but he certainly could be considered a legend to some imo.

Pogue Mahone · Dec 3, 2013

I quite liked Genesis in the mid seventies, but it didn't last, and when Peter Gabriel left that was the end for me.

I hated, like really hated Phil Collins' solo music. He stood for everything that I abhorred, and his voice, that production and the songs basically grated. And he destroyed 'You can't hurry love.'

My mother-in-law has always been a big fan. This is one of the reasons I don't like visiting my mother-in-law. No reappraisal needed, I've never been able to escape his bombastic nonsense.

Trufflehound · Dec 3, 2013

Godfather of pap, maybe.

WATFORD zero · Dec 3, 2013

Last i heard, he was going deaf

which makes him the luckiest man at a Phil Collins concert

BRIGHT ON Q · Dec 3, 2013

Icy Gull said:
Being the drummer and latterly singer of a band who were MASSIVE in their time would make him a legend wouldn't it? After that he was a worldwide "pop " star. He may not be a legend of the calibre of the names you have mentioned but he certainly could be considered a legend to some imo.

Thanks for answering for me,saved me a bit of typing...

Dick Head · Dec 3, 2013

Phil Collins - the Godfather of plop!

TheJasperCo · Dec 3, 2013

supaseagull said:
Why is he a legend?

What has he done to earn that title other than write and sing a few benign, middle of the road songs.

Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, Lennon & McCartney are legends.

Phil Collins is not, and never will be a legend.

In your opinion, that is. He's actually sold more records than Hendrix. In a reunion tour with Genesis a few years back, they performed a free concert in front of 750,000 people in Rome. He played on three different continents in 24 hours for Live 8. If there aren't at least some fans who revere him, why is he so popular a choice on the radio?

In my opinion, his live singing and drumming is even better than the studio versions, and it's not often that is the case.

Herr Tubthumper · Dec 3, 2013

Herr Tubthumper said:
There's a lot of nonsense in this article; some of it is simply incorrect . I will respond in full later.

Phil pioneered minimalist electronica - No he did not. There is plenty of minimalist electronica from well before the birth year of 1981 which the article states.

The "Phil Collins drum sound" is a popular music staple - This sound has been around since the 60s and a famous example of its use is on Bowie's Low which pre-dates Collin's first use on the 3rd Peter Gabriel album.

Phil starred in one of the most pivotal pop films ever - Clutching at straws.

He ALMOST starred in one of the best-loved children's classics - The straw clutching is getting desperate now.

Phil is a godfather of avant-garde rock and ambient music - this is the most offensive part of the article. In short no ****ing way was he a Godfather or responsible for any of this. The article backs this statement by by saying he drummed on some Eno albums in '74. They were Eno's creations and any musical direction/style was from his lead. And besides Eno himself took a lot of inspiration for ambience from John Cage compositions prior to his own 'ambient' work. As for avant-garde rock go back to the 60s in the US and then go to Germany in the 70s. Again it all pre-dates Collins and it was very very popular; follower yes, Godfather no.

Phil's music has spanned a multitude of genres - So have numerous artists. No big deal.

I can only conclude that this article is a piss take or the work of his manager. Collin's has a place in the history of rock, prog-rock and pop. He's a fantastic drummer. There is no denying this at all. But to suggest he is a Godfather or a pioneer is rubbish.

Dick Head · Dec 3, 2013

TheJasperCo said:
In your opinion, that is. He's actually sold more records than Hendrix. In a reunion tour with Genesis a few years back, they performed a free concert in front of 750,000 people in Rome. He played on three different continents in 24 hours for Live 8. If there aren't at least some fans who revere him, why is he so popular a choice on the radio?

In my opinion, his live singing and drumming is even better than the studio versions, and it's not often that is the case.

Jimi hendrix died age 27 having only recorded three albums.

Herr Tubthumper · Dec 3, 2013

Dick Head said:
Jimi hendrix died age 27 having only recorded three albums.

I was thinking this as well. Did you see that wonderful BBC doc a few weeks back?

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