Phil Collins is overdue for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Phil Collins is overdue for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

That’s not a claim, not an opinion, just a fact.

Phil Collins’ name is instantly recognizable across generations. The prog era fans who bought up all the Genesis albums. The kids who discovered a live performance of “In the Air Tonight” during the pandemic. Everyone who picked up the Tarzan soundtrack because it went so hard. And the heartbroken kids of the 80s who just needed music to tell them they weren’t alone.

Phil Collins is a prolific songwriter, incredible performer, remarkable singer, and loveable curmudgeon. A British goof in dad jeans.

And he’s way overdue for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Because even with all of this qualifying evidence, I still haven’t mentioned that he’s a virtuoso at the drums.

In fact, the 80s don’t sound like the 80s without Phil Collins.

Let’s digress for just a moment… Prince is an undeniable Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performer. His style, his guitar prowess, prolific songwriting – including songs he wrote for others to perform.

Prince went beyond just guitar, though. His iconic Minneapolis sound that came from the synths he constantly tinkered with and modified. The pulse of the electronic drum rhythms. And the sound of the gated reverb coming from the drums behind him that made the toms and the kick sound huge.

That gated reverb sound? Invented by Phil Collins and producer Hugh Padgham.

You can find the stories of the happy accident online – there are many accounts. Peter Gabriel was writing music for his next solo album, invites Phil to handle the drums with the challenge: No symbols, no hi-hat. Just drums.

Padgham flips on the talk-back mic on the board to talk with Phil in the studio, but what comes out is this huge, dramatic sound – unlike anything else on the radio. Peter Gabriel releases the song “Intruder” with the first instance of gated reverb on a record. A little later, Phil Collins puts out “In the Air Tonight” with the world’s most famous drum fill.

The rest is 80s history.

If you’re unfamiliar with Phil Collins drum prowess, his duets with fellow drum virtuoso Chester Thompson are legendary. While on tour with Genesis, the two were known to create rich rhythm soundscapes while the rest of the band took a short break. They matched polyrhythms, challenged each other with wild flights of fancy, and made silence deafening. A great example of this is the performance of “Drum Duet/Los Endos” from the 1987 tour. Time signatures come and go like subway riders through a turnstile. Yet they remain locked in sync through some trance-like rhythmic alchemy.
“Drum Duet/Los Endos”

But what’s really insane is when Phil Collins starts at the front of the stage with a microphone in hand, singing with intensity and remarkable vocal control, then slides back to the kit for ten minutes of intense percussion work, then back to the front of the stage to croon a finale. Any question about his talent or remarkable capabilities would be immediately answered by watching the athletic performance of the “In the Cage/Afterglow” medley from the 1984 Genesis “Mama” tour. “In The Cage/Afterglow”

We shouldn’t have to vote for Phil Collins to take his rightful place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but we do, so we must.

Fizz fans – let’s get behind the fan vote for Phil Collins to be an inductee in the 2026 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Send in your votes here: https://vote.rockhall.com/

Then let us know who else you think should be voted into the Hall of Fame with Phil in 2026, and why you think they’re worthy of the honor.