Phil Collins: See Trailer for New Documentary ‘Drummer First’
Phil Collins and his drumming is the subject of a new documentary from Drumeo.
Phil Collins: Drummer First is described as “Phil’s story, told in his own words.” Drumeo content director Brandon Toews said in a statement, “Over the last three years, I’ve been working with the Drumeo team on a documentary about Phil Collins – one of my drumming heroes. I spent a few days in Switzerland with Phil and his son, Nic Collins, and we filmed a series of brand-new interviews shortly after Phil and Genesis officially retired … Thank you, Phil, for letting us share your story!”
New interviews with Collins and his son aren’t the only interviews featured in this documentary. The trailer below features Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. Smith describes Collins’ drumming as “a unique sound and style that you know immediately when you hear it.” Meanwhile, Portnoy says Collins is “criminally underrated as a prog icon.”
Other drummers featured in the doc include Tommy Aldridge, Matt Cameron, Liberty DeVitto, Chad Wackerman, and many more.
Collins hasn’t been able to play the drums since 2007 due to various health issues, which is perhaps why this documentary is so essential in reminding people of his remarkable skill.
Collins bittersweetly says in the trailer, “If I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks then I will have a crack at it. I just feel like I’ve used up my air miles.”
Phil Collins: Drummer First premieres on Drumeo on December 18.
Robert Plant’s Sweet Tribute to Phil Collins
Collins’ birthday is on January 30, and on his birthday this year, Robert Plant shared an incredibly touching tribute to his friend.
Plant took to social media and shared a photo of himself with Collins. He captioned the image, “To my dear friend who gave me so much help at the beginning of life after John Bonham. I send love and birthday wishes.”
Collins famously drummed on Plant’s first two solo albums: 1982’s Pictures at Eleven and 1983’s The Principle of Moments. On the other side of the coin, Collins infamously sat in on drums during Led Zeppelin’s ill-fated reunion at Live Aid in 1985. Jimmy Page contests to this day that Zeppelin’s set was poor because of Collins. In Oct. 2021, he told U.K.'s The Times, “We had two hours’ rehearsal, not even that, and the drummer just could not get the beginning of ‘Rock and Roll.’ We were in real trouble so that was not very clever.”
Of course, there are two sides to every story. Collins told Classic Rock magazine in January 2020, “I didn’t rehearse when I got there, but I listened to ‘Stairway to Heaven’ on Concorde. I arrived and went to the caravans, and Robert [Plant] said: ‘Jimmy Page is belligerent.’”
