We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably did not know about Phil Collins, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more fascinating facts about the wildly talented artist that you definitely (probably) did not know below. You might be surprised by what you learn!
Number Eight: He Taught Himself How to Play Music. As a child, Collins wanted to play music so badly that he taught himself how to play the drums, and he even developed his own system of musical notation.
Number Seven: He Is Multi-Talented. Collins not only taught himself how to play drums, but he also can sing (duh), and he plays piano, can act and is an accomplished producer. He is also an actor! He played the lead in 1988’s Buster, and he has also appeared in Calamity the Cow and The Jungle Book 2.
Number Six: He Made Some Cameos Where You Might Expect. Though you might have been surprised to hear the films he was in above, did you know he was also in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a child? He appeared in The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” as well.
Number Five: His Fist Record Deal Was With a Group. Collins first got a record deal as a drummer with a group named Hickory. The group soon changed their name to Flaming Youth by 1969.
Number Four: He Answered an Ad That Genesis Put Out. The band Genesis had put out an ad looking for “…a drummer sensitive to acoustic music, and 12-string acoustic guitarist.” Collins answered the ad, and the rest is history.
Number Three: He Auditioned at Peter Gabriel’s Parents House. The audition for the part of the drummer in Genesis was held at Peter Gabriel’s parents’ house. He arrived early and let other people audition before he did. By the time his audition rolled around, he had memorized the songs.
Number Two: He Also Sang Lead Vocals. Though Collins landed the role of the drummer in Genesis, he also sang lead vocals on two songs. Those songs are “For Absent Friends” and “More Fool Me.”
Number One: He Worked With ABBA. In 1982, Collins works with ABBA member Frida’s solo album, which was titled Something’s Going On.