Phil Collins Timeline

Phil Collins 54

1951 Phil Collins born in Chiswick, London 30 January 1951 Philip David Charles Collins was born on 30 January 1951 in Chiswick, west London (some sources say Putney). He began playing drums at the age of five, practising along to music on the radio and television.
1956 Receives his first drum kit Age five Was gifted a toy drum kit at the age of five — a Christmas present from an uncle — and immediately began teaching himself by playing along to records and television theme tunes.
1960 – 1964 Drama school & early acting roles Attended the Barbara Speake Stage School in London and took early acting roles, including a part in the original London stage production of "Oliver!" as the Artful Dodger.
1964 Extra in "A Hard Day's Night" The Beatles film, age 13 At age thirteen, appeared as an extra in the audience for The Beatles' film "A Hard Day's Night" — an early brush with the music world that he would recall fondly throughout his life.
1965 – 1967 Early bands: The Real Thing, The Freehold School bands Formed and played in early school bands including The Real Thing and The Freehold — influenced heavily by The Beatles, Motown and Stax soul, alongside jazz drummers such as Buddy Rich.
1968 – 1969 Flaming Youth & session work Played drums in the band Flaming Youth, who released the concept album "Ark 2" in 1969, alongside other session and band work including the Cliff Charles Blues Band and Hickory — paying his dues across London's late-1960s music scene.
1970 Auditions for Genesis Answered an advertisement and auditioned for the progressive rock band Genesis — reportedly arriving early and being asked to help by playing drums for other auditionees while he waited, which helped land him the job.
1970 Joins Genesis as drummer Joined Genesis as drummer, also contributing backing vocals — beginning a 26-year association with the band, alongside founding members Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Peter Gabriel and (initially) guitarist Anthony Phillips.
1970 – 2022 Over 150 million albums sold Solo and with Genesis Across his work with Genesis and as a solo artist, Collins has sold over 150 million albums worldwide — one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
1971 – 1972 "Nursery Cryme" & "Foxtrot" Progressive rock era Recorded "Nursery Cryme" (1971) and "Foxtrot" (1972) with Genesis — elaborate progressive rock albums featuring Peter Gabriel's theatrical stage performances and lengthy compositions like "Supper's Ready".
1975 – 1976 Joins jazz fusion band Brand X While continuing with Genesis, also joined the jazz fusion band Brand X as drummer — a parallel project that showcased his technical drumming chops in a very different musical context.
1975 Peter Gabriel leaves Genesis Frontman Peter Gabriel left Genesis to pursue a solo career. The remaining members auditioned around 400 singers to find a replacement before deciding that Collins — already singing backing vocals and occasional lead — should become the band's lead vocalist.
1976 Becomes Genesis lead singer "A Trick of the Tail" Became the lead singer of Genesis, fronting the album "A Trick of the Tail" (1976) — a commercial and critical success that proved the band could thrive without Gabriel and marked the beginning of Collins's transformation into a frontman.
1978 "And Then There Were Three" Genesis as a trio Released "And Then There Were Three" with Genesis now reduced to the core trio of Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford — the band's sound continued shifting toward a more radio-friendly style, with the hit single "Follow You Follow Me".
1979 – 1980 First marriage breaks down His first marriage broke down around 1979-1980 — a deeply painful period that became the emotional foundation for his debut solo album, written largely in isolation as he processed the separation.
1980 – 1989 Most US top-40 hits of the 1980s Solo, Genesis & collaborations combined Across his work with Genesis, his solo career, and collaborations with other artists, Collins achieved more US top-40 singles than any other artist throughout the 1980s — an extraordinary run of commercial success.
1981 "In the Air Tonight" Iconic gated-reverb drum sound "In the Air Tonight" became one of the most instantly recognisable songs of the era, famous for its tense atmosphere and explosive gated-reverb drum break — a production technique (discovered partly by accident) that would influence countless recordings.
1981 – present Gated reverb's influence on pop production The gated reverb drum sound popularised by "In the Air Tonight" became one of the defining sonic signatures of 1980s pop and rock production, used by countless other artists and producers in the years that followed.
1981 Genesis: "Abacab" Released "Abacab" with Genesis — continuing the band's move toward a sleeker, more contemporary pop-rock sound that mirrored Collins's solo direction.
1981 Paint-can performance on Top of the Pops "In the Air Tonight" Performed "In the Air Tonight" on Top of the Pops with a paint can and brush placed beside him — a pointed, wry reference to the painter with whom his first wife had had an affair.
1981 "Face Value" Debut solo album Released his debut solo album "Face Value" — written in the aftermath of his divorce and steeped in soul influences, it included the international hit "In the Air Tonight" and established him as a major solo artist independent of Genesis.
1982 "Hello, I Must Be Going!" Second solo album Released his second solo album, "Hello, I Must Be Going!", featuring a cover of The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love" which became a major hit.
1983 Genesis: self-titled album "That's All", "Mama" Released the self-titled "Genesis" album (1983), featuring the hits "That's All" and "Mama" — the band's commercial peak as they fully embraced their new pop-rock identity.
1984 "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" First US #1 "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)", written for the film of the same name, became his first solo chart-topper on the US Hot 100 — the first of seven US #1 singles he would achieve as a solo artist.
1984 – 1991 Acting roles: Miami Vice, Hook Pursued acting alongside music, with a memorable guest role on "Miami Vice" and a part as Inspector Good in Steven Spielberg's "Hook" (1991) — one of several film and TV roles across his career.
1984 – 1990 Seven US #1 solo singles Achieved seven US Hot 100 #1 singles as a solo artist — including "Against All Odds", "One More Night", "Sussudio", "Separate Lives" (with Marilyn Martin) and "Two Hearts" — placing him among the most commercially successful solo artists of the decade.
1985 "No Jacket Required" Multi-Grammy-winning album Released "No Jacket Required" — his most commercially successful solo album, featuring "Sussudio", "One More Night" and "Don't Lose My Number", and winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
1985 "Sussudio" reaches #1 A song about a girl with a funny name "Sussudio" — famously a song built around a nonsense word Collins improvised and kept because it fit the music — became a US #1 single, holding the top spot for one week.
1985 Performs at both Live Aid stages 13 July 1985, London & Philadelphia On 13 July 1985, performed at both Live Aid concerts — at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia — flying across the Atlantic by Concorde between the two shows, the only artist of more than seventy acts to perform at both venues that day.
1986 Genesis: "Invisible Touch" Five US top-5 singles Released "Invisible Touch" with Genesis — the band's biggest commercial success, spawning five US top-5 singles including the title track "Invisible Touch" and "Land of Confusion".
1988 Stars in "Buster" Plus "A Groovy Kind of Love" Starred in the film "Buster", playing real-life Great Train Robber Buster Edwards — also contributing the soundtrack hits "Two Hearts" and a cover of "A Groovy Kind of Love", both of which became major hits.
1989 "...But Seriously" "Another Day in Paradise" Released "...But Seriously", featuring "Another Day in Paradise" — a song addressing homelessness that became a US and UK #1 and won the Grammy for Record of the Year.
1990 – 2010 Critical re-evaluation "Uncool" reputation fades Despite immense commercial success, Collins faced a reputation in some rock circles during the 1990s and 2000s as emblematic of "uncool" 1980s pop excess — a perception that softened considerably in later decades as critics and musicians reassessed his catalogue and influence.
1991 Genesis: "We Can't Dance" Fifth consecutive #1 album Released "We Can't Dance" — Genesis's fourteenth studio album and their fifth consecutive UK #1 album, taken on a massive 55-date tour the following year.
1996 "Dance Into the Light" First post-Genesis solo album Released "Dance Into the Light", his first solo album following his departure from Genesis.
1996 Leaves Genesis March 1996 Announced in March 1996 that he was leaving Genesis after 26 years, saying "Having been in Genesis for 25 years, I felt it time to change direction in my musical life" — ending one of rock's most enduring partnerships (Banks, Rutherford and Collins had been the constant core since 1970).
1999 – 2000 "You'll Be in My Heart" — Academy Award Disney's Tarzan Wrote and recorded songs for Disney's animated film "Tarzan" (1999), including "You'll Be in My Heart", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 2000 ceremony — adding an Oscar to his collection of accolades.
1999 Inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame 15 March 1999 Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on 15 March 1999, recognising his songwriting catalogue across both Genesis and his solo career.
2002 "Testify" Solo album Released "Testify", his eighth solo studio album.
2007 Genesis "Turn It On Again" reunion tour Reunited Genesis with Banks and Rutherford for the "Turn It On Again: The Tour" — a celebration of the band's history believed at the time to be their final tour with Collins as frontman.
2007 Spinal injury during reunion tour Dislocated vertebra, nerve damage Suffered a serious neck injury during the Genesis reunion tour, dislocating a vertebra and causing severe nerve damage to his hands — the beginning of health problems that would profoundly affect the rest of his career.
2008 – 2015 Steps back from music Years of declining health Largely withdrew from public musical life for several years as nerve damage in his hands made drumming increasingly difficult and painful — describing being unable to hold drumsticks without taping them to his hands.
2010 Inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Genesis Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 as a member of Genesis — the first of his two inductions, sixteen years before his solo recognition.
2010 – present Lake Geneva home Switzerland In his later years, Collins lived in a home on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, with a personal recording studio — though by his own admission, his health no longer gave him the drive to make new music.
2015 Emergency back surgery Develops drop foot Underwent emergency back surgery in 2015 after waking up unable to move his right foot — an MRI revealed serious spinal and hip damage. The surgery left him with "drop foot", a condition causing muscular weakness that makes walking difficult.
2016 "Not Dead Yet" autobiography October 2016 Published his candid autobiography "Not Dead Yet" in October 2016 — covering his rise with Genesis, his solo career, his marriages and divorces, his struggles with alcohol, and his health issues with characteristic humour and honesty.
2017 "Not Dead Yet" tour begins Royal Albert Hall, 4 June 2017 Began the "Not Dead Yet" tour — his first tour in over a decade — opening at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 4 June 2017, performing seated and supported by a cane due to his ongoing nerve and mobility issues. His son Nicholas Collins took over drumming duties.
2017 Falls at hotel, cancels shows June 2017 Tripped over a step in his London hotel room after a Royal Albert Hall concert and was taken to hospital, forcing the cancellation and rescheduling of upcoming concerts — a vivid illustration of his fragile physical state even while touring.
2018 – 2019 "Still Not Dead Yet" tour continues Through October 2019 Continued the tour as "Still Not Dead Yet Live" through 2018 and 2019 — eventually 97 shows across Europe, North America, Oceania and South America, grossing over $200 million and seen by 1.5 million fans, with Collins occasionally playing cajón.
2021 – 2022 Genesis: "The Last Domino?" final tour Reunited with Genesis for "The Last Domino?" tour — explicitly billed as their final tour, with Collins performing seated and his son Nicholas on drums.
2022 Announces retirement from music Announced his retirement from music following the conclusion of the Genesis tour, citing his health issues and a desire to focus on family — bringing to a close one of the most successful careers in popular music history.
2026 First solo Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination Received his first-ever solo nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2026 — having already been inducted as a member of Genesis in 2010, this marked recognition of his solo career on its own terms.
2026 Reveals 24-hour live-in care January 2026 Ahead of his 75th birthday, revealed in a BBC interview that he requires a 24-hour live-in nurse due to ongoing complications from his 2007 spinal injury, alongside type 2 diabetes, kidney issues from past alcohol use, and mobility problems.
2026 Inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (solo) Peacock Theater, 14 November 2026 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist — sixteen years after his first induction with Genesis, becoming a double inductee. The ceremony at the Peacock Theater on 14 November 2026 came amid uncertainty over whether his health would allow him to attend.