In the midst of rock’s changing landscape in the ’80s, Phil Collins found himself stuck on which musical path to take next. He eventually swapped his prog-rock sound for something a little more soulful. He looked to his peers to help shape this era of his career. While he sourced many different influences, two major contributors were Hall & Oates. The soulful duo was primed to work with Collins, but the former Genesis member had second thoughts after seeing Hall & Oates live. Find out why below.
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Why Daryl Hall Disappointed Phil Collins On Stage
Collins’ first impression of Daryl Hall was that he was “arrogant.” While watching the duo live in London, Collins got the immediate feeling that he and Hall wouldn’t be good collaborators.
“Well, Daryl Hall and l have talked about–doing something–I went to see Hall And Oates at Hammersmith recently, and when I first saw him on stage, I didn’t like him, because he seemed very arrogant and very smarmy, for want of a better word,” Collins once said.
Easy, ready, willin’, overtime
Where does it stop?
Where do you dare me
To draw the line?
Yeah, I, I’ll do anything
That you want me to
Yeah, I’ll do almost anything
That you want me to
How Daryl Hall Proved Phil Collins Wrong
[RELATED: This 1969 Concept Album by Flaming Youth Was Phil Collins’ First Major Recording]
Despite his bad first impression, Hall proved Collins wrong when they met in person. His private persona was far less “arrogant” than his public one, according to the “In the Air Tonight” singer.
“I was pleased when I met him because he’s not like that at all,” Collins continued.
Despite his change of heart, Hall and Collins never ended up collaborating. It was a missed opportunity in our book. The combined styles of these two rockers would’ve been a supergroup for the ages.
(Photo by Mickey Bernal/Getty Images)
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