When you think of Phil Collins you probably think of his daughter Lily Collins, and of course that hilarious scene in The Hangover where Mike Tyson sings Collins's song, "In the Air Tonight." But you probably don't know much about the massive forty-year career Collins has had as a rockstar or how he's racked up a $300 million net worth.
Over the years Collins has had the invisible touch and has had tons of number #1 hits, albums, and awards with his band Genesis and his solo career. Not only does he have the pipes to sing some of the best ballads and prog-rock songs in rock history, but he's also got immense skills as one of the best drummers ever.
Collins's career as a rockstar and as a humanitarian isn't over though, and he can easily add to his already impressive net worth if he keeps going. But let's look at how far he's come so far, how he got to $300 million, and how his best drum solo is still shocking people today.
He Was An Actor Before Going Into Music
Collins grew up accompanying his mother, who was a theatrical agent, on the sets of many productions, so acting interested him. His mother's connections and his experience at drama school helped him begin his acting career, and he soon scored roles as the Artful Dodger in a London production of Oliver! in 1964.
That year he also had a cameo in The Beatles film, A Hard Day's Night, and a small role in Calamity the Cow. After his appearance in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was cut, and he failed to secure the role of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Collins decided to go into music instead.
After answering an advertisement for a drummer in Genesis, Collins was hired to join the band in 1970. He wrote and sang a couple of the band's songs, toured, and also had a couple of other side-gigs with other prog-rock pioneers for five years until Genesis's lead singer, Peter Gabriel, left the band.
After that, Collins swapped the back of the stage for the front as he became the lead singer and the face of Genesis, and soon the band started to have successes in their next couple of albums, And Then There Were Three... in 1978, and Duke in 1980.
Collins Juggled His Solo Career and Genesis With Success
The '80s proved to be Collins most successful years, as he took on tons of projects with other artists, made Genesis internationally famous, and blasted the charts with hit after hit.
In 1981, Collins released his first solo album, Face Value, which became an international success. It debuted at No. 7 in the U.S. and No. 1 in the U.K. and its songs, "In The Air Tonight" and "I Missed Again" both hit the Top 20 in the U.S. Eventually, it was certified five-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.
After Face Value went on to sell five million copies, Collins had even more success on Genesis's album, Abacab, which was the first Genesis album to reach the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 at No.7. Just a year later Collins released his second solo album, Hello, I Must Be Going!, which sold three million copies.
Collins was very successful in 1985, having three U.S. No. 1 songs in the year. Collins released his third solo album, Diamond-certified, No Jacket Required, which was No. 1 in both the U.S. and U.K. It earned three Grammy's including Album of the Year. He also played at Live Aid amongst all of this.
Genesis later released Invisible Touch, which reached number one, a first for the band, and earned them a Grammy. Collins also had success on his fifth album, ...But Seriously, which again sat at number one on the charts. The single, "Another Day in Paradise", won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
In 1991, Genesis released We Can't Dance, but five years later, in 1996, Collins left Genesis for good and started Phil Collins Big Band.
Collins Gained Even More Success Combining Film And Music
In 1984, Collins started to write songs for film when he wrote "Against All Odds", for the film of the same name. It earned him a spot on the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and earned him his first Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Male.
Collins combined his love of acting and music when he starred in Buster, in 1988, and contributed four songs to the soundtrack, including "A Groovy Kind of Love" which was No. 1 in the U.S. and U.K. and "Two Hearts". He won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and an Oscar nomination.
Disney asked him to record a song for Tarzan, in 1999. He wrote "You'll Be in My Heart," which spent 19 weeks at No. 1. and earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe. He also wrote a song for Disney's Brother Bear, worked on the musical for Tarzan, and had a cameo in Steven Spielberg's Hook.
Collins Isn't Retiring
Genesis was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, and in 2011, Collins announced his retirement. But in 2016, Collins released his autobiography Not Dead Yet with a tour, which earned him $45 million. Now Genesis has a tour, The Last Domino? planned for the spring of 2021.
It's safe to say that Collins has had a truly remarkable career. He has had eight studio albums, eleven film credits, two books, seven Grammys, six Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and a charity called Little Dreams Foundation.
He has sold 33.5 million records in the U.S. and 150 worldwide as a solo artist, making him one of three artists in history to do that. Recently, sales of "In the Air Tonight" have spiked after a video of two twins, who filmed their reaction to the song, has gone viral. The video now has 6.5 million views on YouTube and is no doubt turned beneficial to Collins's wallet.
So it seems as if Collins's net worth will be getting even bigger. Either way, it's good to see a renewed interest in Collins great work and maybe they'll be a whole different fanbase going to see him and Genesis in 2021.