Do we like Phil Collins?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Nothing harmful found and some real charity, but the record is thin on LGBTQ+ issues and he's a bit snippy about Oasis.
Phil Collins went from Genesis drummer to the frontman who took over from Peter Gabriel, then to a solo run of 1980s hits that made him one of the biggest names in pop. He was already in the Rock Hall with Genesis (2010), and this year's induction is for the solo career. It's the 'In the Air Tonight' and 'Against All Odds' catalogue that most of us grew up hearing.
His best-known stoush isn't a scandal so much as a long-running feud. Noel Gallagher has called him the “antichrist of music”, and Collins has said Oasis are “Horrible guys”. Lately he's softened, telling MOJO he's “giving him the benefit of the doubt” and expects to bump into Oasis at the Hall of Fame lunch. Petty, a bit funny, and not remotely harmful.
On the harm check, the search came up empty. I found nothing from him against LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or the planet, and no slide into conspiracy theories. That's absence, not an endorsement, and nothing I read had him working with anyone pushing harm. What I did find went the other way: in 2020 his lawyers sent the Trump campaign a cease-and-desist over his song being played at rallies.
The recent thing is that Piers Morgan interview. Collins said he's “not a political person” but can see right from wrong, called Trump's manner “unattractive” and said that “when someone like Trump is as nasty as he is” you end up disliking him. He also floated a song idea called “Fat People With Guns”, about America. Where you land on that depends on whether you read it as a bloke speaking plainly or an old rocker taking a swipe, but it's his own words and it's not harm.
On the personal side he's been frank about his marriages ending. He said he regrets them falling apart, and that “one time I jumped, two times I was pushed”, while blaming his Genesis touring for the first split. That's honest rather than a full reckoning. Away from that, he co-founded the Little Dreams Foundation, which gives scholarships and matches talented kids with teachers and coaches in the arts and sports.