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Philip David Charles Collins (born January 30, 1951), better known as Phil Collins, is a British rock/pop musician. He was born in London, England. His
showbusiness career began early, as a child actor and model. In 1970 he joined the already successful group Genesis as their drummer.
In 1975, when lead singer Peter
Gabriel left Genesis, Collins took over as vocalist. The band enjoyed its most commercially successful period with Collins as
vocalist, and in 1986 Invisible Touch topped the album charts. By this time they had several hit singles
under their belt to go with the string of successful albums. Collins finally announced that he was leaving Genesis in 1996.
During the 1970s Collins also played drums for the jazz fusion band Brand X.
In the 1980s he did session drumming for such high-profile acts as Robert Plant and Tears for
Fears. He also has collaborated with well known musicians, such as George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton,
Mike Oldfield, and several others.
In 1981, Collins had embarked on a simultaneous solo career with the album Face Value. Collins was tapped for his
producing skills for Adam Ant in 1983 for the album "Strip," on which he also
played drums. In 1985 he was one of the stars of the Live Aid concert during which he was jetted from Britain to the USA on the Concorde to take part in both parts of the programme. He also took up acting again, taking the lead in the
1988 flop Buster, in which he played
train robber Buster Edwards.
Collins' most successful studio albums were No Jacket
Required and But
Seriously. His record sales decreased greatly since the release of Both Sides in 1993; subsequent releases never reached the levels of his 1980s albums. Collins' total worldwide album sales,
including Genesis albums, are approximately two hundred million.
Collins is a successful songwriter, and was asked by The Walt Disney Company to produce the score for the
animated film Tarzan in 1999. His song "You'll Be in My
Heart" won an Academy Award. Disney again hired Collins in 2003 for the soundtrack to another animated
feature film, Brother
Bear.
Collins does not read and write conventional musical notation but uses a system of his own devising. In recent years he has
reportedly been losing his hearing in one ear, and in 2003 announced a farewell tour.
Ironically, Phil Collins closely resembles the lead singer of the band Keane, "Tom Chaplin".
Discography
This discography does not include live albums and film soundtracks.
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