3 Artists Who You Probably Didn’t Know Worked With Phil Collins

There is really nothing that drummer and artist Phil Collins can’t do. Here are three artists you probably didn’t know that the ex-Genesis frontman collaborated with.

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Eric Clapton

Collins worked with Eric Clapton on two main projects. First, his 1985 studio album, Behind The Sun; then his 1986 album, August. Clapton also played guitar for Collins on the song “I Wish It Would Rain Down” on his …But Seriously album.

Collins once spoke in an interview about having admiration for the musician, even though they’re close friends. “With Clapton, well, Eric has been one of my best friends for some time, and one day he just called me up. I was blown away by it,” he shared. “My God, Eric Clapton wants me to produce him. Even though we’re best mates, he’s still Eric Clapton. I used to play Cream songs in my school band.”

George Harrison

Even Beatles fans might not know this, but Phil Collins actually worked with George Harrison on a recording for his solo album All Things Must Pass. Collins was just a young teenager at the time who idolized The Beatles. However, he had never played congas before, so when he was recruited to play the instrument in a session for Harrison, it didn’t quite go as planned.

After that initial session, Collins got a tape from Harrison, which included a recording of his way-too-loud conga part, followed by The Beatle saying, “Hey, Phil, can we try another without the conga player?”

Collins told the rest of the story to Classic Rock.

“Then Jackie rings and says, ‘I’ve got someone here to speak to you…’ and puts George on and he says, ‘Did you get the tape?’ And I said, ‘I now realize I was fired by a Beatle.’ And he says, ‘Don’t worry, it was a piss-take. I got Ray Cooper to play really badly and we dubbed it on. Thought you’d like it!’ I said, ‘You f***ing bastard!’”

At the end of the day, Collins was able to see how funny Harrison’s gesture really was.

Robert Plant

After Led Zeppelin’s drummer, John Bonham, passed away in 1980, the band made the decision to break up. This left Robert Plant, the group’s lead singer, uncertain of what direction to take musically. That’s when he consulted Collins to work with him on his first solo record. Collins also played drums on Plant’s follow-up record, The Principle Of Moments.

“After John passed away and there was no Led Zeppelin,” he told Vulture. “There had to be a way to go. I floundered around a lot because until I was 32, I was in some kind of wild and absurd adventure… Phil Collins especially was a driving force and had positive energy with the first record, Pictures at Eleven. It wasn’t a difficult job to get together with other people, it was just whether or not we could cook it properly.”

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