Phil Collins in the 1980s

Phil Collins was everywhere in the 1980s. He had more top forty singles in the US than any other artist during the 1980s: fourteen as a solo artist and eleven with Genesis, along with two number one albums. Add to this, twenty-five solo / group hit singles and eight number one albums in the UK. He also recorded with artists as diverse as Peter Gabriel, John Martyn, Frida, Robert Plant, Mike Oldfield, Marti Webb, Al Di Meola, Adam Ant, Eric Clapton, Phil Bailey, Band Aid, Marilyn Martin, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Chaka Khan and Tears For Fears - another thirty-five albums or standalone singles, some of which were massive global hits.

He also found time, somehow, to tour with Plant and Clapton in addition to his extensive in-concert duties with Genesis and as a solo artist. And perform at Live Aid. At both concerts. That’s around six hundred live concerts in total between 1980 and 1989. There’s no doubt that the guy was busy in that period! Amidst the overwhelming commercial success and ahead of any other career plan Phil Collins was and is a musician. His ubiquity between 1980 and 1989 hides ten years of magnificent music and this book examines Phil Collins’ musical output through these ten tumultuous years.

About the Author

Andrew Wild is an experienced writer, music collector and film buff with many books to his name including recent publications about Queen, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits and Crosby, Stills and Nash. His comprehensive study of every song recorded and performed by the Beatles between 1957 and 1970 was published by Sonicbond in 2019. He lives in Rainow, Cheshire, UK.