Follow us
Add us as a favorite source on Google
Phil Collins accepted his personal honor at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame – and vowed his career wasn’t over yet.
Ahead of the ceremony, which follows his 2010 induction as a member of Genesis, the 75-year-old speculated that it might be a good time to call time on his artistic endeavors.
When he took the stage for his induction speech – which will be broadcast later – he used two canes for support. But he told the audience at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles: “Thank you very much. I’m really not as bad as I seem.”
Collins thanked his manager Tony Smith for his years of support, as well as the late Atlantic Records boss Ahmet Ertegun, saying: “They took me under their wing and saw something worth nurturing.”
He also named his friends Robert Plant and Eric Clapton and added: “I grew up just wanting to play drums. That’s always what I wanted to do. Everything else was a very happy accident.” Then he insisted: “You haven’t heard the last of me. I can promise you that.”
In recent interviews, Collins has mentioned that he still has a top-notch studio at home and stores a number of completed and unfinished songs there. “I can’t believe I won’t do something,” he said after the ceremony.
“I have to go back, because it was fun – it wasn’t work. For a few years, I walked a long way to not pass by.”
He also noted, “It’s not beyond the realms of possibility to do some shows. It’s a work in progress. The door is not closed.”
Collins was joined by his daughter, actress Lily Collins, and inducted by Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, who referenced the classic track In The Air Tonight in his speech: “I remember hearing those drums for the first time and being blown away. That sound changed everything.”
He added: “Thank you, Phil, for inspiring me and so many others to pick up a pair of drumsticks and never stop. »
