Phil Collins Quotes:

Love can make you do things that you never thought possible

Topics: Love, Strength And Love

In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.

source: - Song: Son Of Man

Topics: Inspirational, Education, Teacher, Inspirational Learning, Good Teaching

I'm not a singer who plays a bit of drums. I'm a drummer that sings a bit.

source: - "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

Topics: Play, Singers, Drummer

Put your faith in what you most believe in.

source: - Song: Two Worlds Finale

Topics: Believe, Tarzan Movie

It's actually come as quite a shock to learn just how many people don't like me.

source: - "Biography/Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

Topics: Music, People

You know, I've released some great records and I've released some dogs. But frankly, the fun is in creating the thing.

Topics: Dog, Fun, Creating

When I go on Japanese Airlines, I really love it because I like Japanese food.

Topics: Travel, Journey, Goes On, Japanese Food

When destiny calls you, you've got to be strong. I may not be with you, but you've got to move on.

Topics: Strong, Memories, Moving, Got To Move On

The world is in your hands, now use it.

source: - Song: Dance Into The Light, Album: Dance Into The Light, 1996

Topics: Positive, Hands, World

There's no magic for getting into the groove... just banging away at it. Sometimes the lyrics come first, sometimes the music.

Topics: Magic, Firsts, Sometimes

I know it shouldn't make a difference, but crossing the dateline, we weren't sure what day it was - it was very strange. Now, I seem to cope with it better.

Topics: Differences, Making A Difference, Strange, Crossings

I usually hang around the room listening to a bit of last night's show. If there's one available, I go to the steam room every day for my voice. I spend half an hour there and then I eat, because I can't eat later than four o'clock. Then I go for a soundcheck. That's my day.

Topics: Night, Voice, Listening

That's going to be on my headstone: 'He came. He wrote 'In the Air Tonight.' He... died.'

Topics: Air, Tonight

I grew up in the day when the Beatles sold 1 million singles in a week. And all you've got to do now is sell about 10,000 singles and you're in the charts.

source: - "Phil Collins goes "Back" to Motown favorites". Interview with Craig McLean, www.reuters.com. September 10, 2010.

Topics: Week, Singles, Grew

Everything has added up to a load that I'm getting tired of carrying. It's gotten so complicated. It's the three failed marriages, and having kids that grew up without me, and it's the personal criticism, of being Mr. Nice Guy, or of divorcing my wife by fax, all that stuff, the journalism, some of which I find insulting.

Topics: Nice, Tired, Kids, Failed Marriage, Fax

I never stopped thinking about the Alamo from that day to this. I'm a huge collector of memorabilia. I've got Davy Crockett's bullet pouch. I've got Colonel Travis's belt.

Topics: Thinking, Bullets, Alamo, Colonels, Dodging Bullets

You can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been, it's all been a pack of lies.

Topics: Lying, Infidelity, Wipe

Each thing leapfrogs. I do a Genesis project - like now, we're just finishing off an album - and then by the time the album is doing its thing, I could do nothing or I could do a film.

Topics: Albums, Finishing, Film, Genesis

When we're touring America or Europe, we use our own plane and a great advantage of that is it cuts out an awful lot of time checking in. You literally drive up to the plane, get on and then drive off at the other end.

Topics: Cutting, Europe, America, Aeroplanes

I'm much happier just to write myself out of the script entirely...

Topics: Writing, Scripts

Would you respect me if I didn't have this gun? Cause without it, I don't get it, and that's why I carry one.

Topics: Philosophy, Gun, Causes

Often there's a BA crew, because half the time we stay at the same hotels, especially in Australia. I can remember spending quite a lot of time with crews around the pool there. They always make themselves known to us.

Topics: Australia, Half, Remember

I suppose Phil Collins offers something for everybody, and in hipdom that's not cool. But in the real world, there's no shame in that at all.

Topics: Real, World, Shame, Real World

You know, a song is like a kid. You bring it up. And sometimes something you thought was going to be fantastic, by the time it's finished, is a bit of a disappointment...Beyond a certain point, the music isn't mine anymore. It's yours.

Topics: Song, Disappointment, Kids

Deep inside us we're not that different at all.

source: - Song: You'll Be In My Heart

Topics: Diversity, Different, Deep Inside

I'm not trying necessarily to become a movie star; that wouldn't be bad but that's not the aim. I'm just trying to do interesting things and go into areas where I've not been before.

Topics: Stars, Interesting, Trying

I'm writing new songs for a Broadway version of Tarzan, which is very interesting. I think what I learned from the Brother Bear score side of things, I've brought into the new Tarzan songs. Thinking outside just guitar, bass, drums and keyboards.

Topics: Song, Brother, Writing, Drum And Bass

If Miles Davis hadn't died it would have been interesting to do an album with him, but there wasn't much else that would have got me into the studio... although Herbie Hancock has just been in touch about doing something and that would be an interesting combination.

Topics: Interesting, Albums, Would Be

It's always been easy with Mark, he's a rock fan and we speak the same language. He's a big Beatles fan too. We worked a lot via CLI calls, though only meeting up once every couple of months.

Topics: Couple, Rocks, Months

No seriously... when there's families, you tend to go back to your room after the gig rather than go for a drink with the other guys. But there's always someone who's got something going, like the tour manager.

Topics: Guy, Gigs, Rooms

There were 'big stars' at the Alamo! Bowie, Crockett! It is a huge political event because it, and the events at Goliad and San Jacinto, changed the look of a map of America. America would be a very different place if Texas had remained Mexican.

Topics: Stars, Texas, America, Alamo

To see a lot of the smaller labels disappear or get gobbled up by the bigger labels, that's a shame. It was a bit of a shock at first to see the demise of the record stores.

Topics: Records, Demise, Firsts, Record Stores

Before you write - remember that every speech has something of 'you' in the writing. Don't take that away when you write. Be yourself. Be comfortable in your own skin.

Topics: Being Yourself, Communication, Writing, Comfortable In Your Own Skin

'Urban Renewal' was sweet because I've been - unfairly, I would say - plonked in the middle of the road because of a handful of songs. It came at a good time for me, because you do take a bit of a browbeating and, as you get older, you become better at accepting it and realizing why it happens.

Topics: Song, Sweet, Urban, Middle Of The Road, Urban Renewal

I never said I was at the Alamo. Someone else said I was at the Alamo. Now I'm a nutter. I don't think that's fair.

Topics: Thinking, Said, Alamo

I don't really listen to music.

Topics: Listening To Music

I don't really belong to that world and I don't think anyone's going to miss me. I'm much happier just to write myself out of the script entirely.

Topics: Writing, Thinking, Missing, Miss Me

I don't own an ABBA album, and I never had the urge to go and buy one. If you're just talking about well crafted pop songs, they were fantastic.

Topics: Song, Talking, Albums, Pop Song, Abba

I do that in whatever language of the country I'm in, because the audience appreciate it.

Topics: Country, Appreciate, Language

I can't remember much about the early flights, except that it was ages before we got into First Class.

Topics: Class, Age, Firsts, First Class

I am stopping so I can be a full-time father to my two young sons on a daily basis.

Topics: Father, Son, Two, Young Sons

Genesis fans are a religious group!

Topics: Religious, Groups, Fans

The day Tarzan opened in London, I sat in a hotel room and discussed the project in detail.

Topics: London, Rooms, Details

Another time, we had three days off in Australia, so we went out of our way to fly to Ayres Rock.

Topics: Australia, Rocks, Three, Another Time

And, you know, I never wanted to be a singer.

Topics: Singers, Wanted

I'll have the music, and then I'll just turn the microphone on, press Play and Record and sing. And whatever comes out ends up being the melody.

Topics: Play, Records, Microphones

I just don't think of myself as a star. This is what I do for a living; I'm fortunate that I make ends meet.

source: - Source: collider.com

Topics: Stars, Thinking, Ends

Beyond a certain point, the music isn't mine anymore. It's yours.

Topics: Certain

I'm just trying to do things that are interesting for me.

Topics: Interesting, Trying

I can't play anywhere near like I used to, and I was a hot drummer. It doesn't bother me, because frankly, if you get to that point where you can't hold a drumstick properly, there are many other things in life which are far more important, like cutting a loaf of bread or a piece of cheese.

Topics: Cutting, Play, Important, Drumsticks

As soon as you start making a record, things start getting lined up: the promotion, possibly even a tour.

Topics: Records, Promotion

And I would like to marry and have more children. I would like to try and do it right.

Topics: Children, Trying

I prefer black music in general.

Topics: Black, Black Music

All I set out to do was to earn a living playing drums, you know? And as luck would have it, I've surpassed that.

Topics: Luck, Playing Drums

We stayed in some pretty shabby places in Europe.

Topics: Europe

Take a look at me now, cause there's just an empty space. And you coming back to me is against all odds and that's what I've got to face.

Topics: Space, Odds, Looks, Against All Odds, Look At Me Now

I joined Genesis when I was 19. I've earned the right to actually do nothing. I don't want to be a shadow of what I was, so I've kind of just quite willingly stood back.

Topics: Shadow, Want, Kind, Genesis

Wait for it, wait for it! Anticipation is half the fun, So I've been told...

source: - "Live at Wembley Stadium". DVD concert footage, 2003.

Topics: Fun, Waiting, Half

When children see Michael Jackson they see a human being. When adults see him they see money.

Topics: Children, Adults, Humans

Many people think of me as a perfectionist, someone who polishes and shines each song and performance. I've always been bothered by that assumption.

Topics: Song, Thinking, People

Many of the articles printed over the last few months have ended up painting a picture of me that is more than a little distorted.

Topics: Littles, Lasts, Months, Painting A Picture

It's not often that an English drummer gets an Oscar. So I'm very, very proud of that.

Topics: Oscars, Proud, Drummer

I've spent the last year and a half going through a very public separation, hiding in hotel lobbies.

Topics: Years, Half, Lasts, Hotel Lobby

I've got one of four known Davy Crocket rifles. It's fantastic just to know it's one of the rifles that he actually used. His cousin had it.

Topics: Cousin, Four, Rifles

I'm usually going to make a record, finish a record, start a record or start a tour or between tours.

Topics: Journey, Records

I'm sorry that it was all so successful. I honestly didn't mean it to happen like that. It's hardly surprising that people grew to hate me.

Topics: Sorry, Hate, Mean

On the day of the show, I sit down with someone that speaks very good English and someone who speaks the local language very well and work out what I'm going to say.

Topics: Good Day, Work Out, Language

I'm fascinated by what people will do to each other. Actually, I'm sort of interested in the gory details of life.

Topics: People, Details, Details Of Life

My only saving grace is that I actually collect things that nobody else is interested in.

Topics: Grace, Saving, Saving Grace

They're the only ones brave enough to give me these opportunities [on being offered a soundtrack!]

Topics: Opportunity, Giving, Brave

In 1977 we played America and Europe three times, and Japan - my marriage suffered as a result. My then wife took the kids to Canada to be near her parents

Topics: Kids, Japan, Europe

To be honest, producing records interests me less at the moment and I really don't want to get involved in album projects that are going to take up a lot of time

Topics: Records, Want, Albums

You'll regret the day you ever messed with Philadelphia Collins and sons

Topics: Regret, Son, Philadelphia

In Genesis we saw ourselves as song-writers. After Peter Gabriel left I was the first to say: 'It's OK - we can just do instrumentals.'

Topics: Song, Gabriel, Saws

I wish I could just make you turn around, turn around and see me cry There's so much I need to say to you, so many reasons why You're the only one who really knew me at all So take a look at me now, 'cos there's just an empty space And there's nothing left here to remind me, just the memory of your face Take a look at me now, 'cos there's just an empty space And you coming back to me is against all odds and that's what I've got to face

source: - Song: Against All Odds

Topics: Song, Memories, Space, Against All Odds, Look At Me Now

Perception determines insanity.

Topics: Insanity, Perception, Determine

Think twice; it's just another day for you and me in paradise.

source: - Song: Another Day In Paradise, Album: ...But Seriously, 1989

Topics: Thinking, Another Day, Paradise, Think Twice

Considering yourself selflessly selfish is a principle of all great thinkers

Topics: Selfish, Principles, Thinker

Find a way to my heart, and I will always be with you.

source: - Song: Find A Way To My Heart, Album: ...But Seriously, 1989

Topics: Heart, Way, My Heart

Things happen, but things happen and you follow... your heart is too dramatic, but you follow.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Heart, Dramatic, Happens

As I've got older, I've got more understanding of relationships and how they work - but every single relationship has different dynamics, so you can't paint everyone with the same colour.

source: - "Phil Collins webchat - your questions answered on prog rock, self-doubt and Miami Vice". www.theguardian.com. October 19, 2016.

Topics: Understanding, Different, Dynamics, Single Relationship

The answer is inside your head; it's easy to find if you take it logically.

Topics: Answers, Easy, Ifs

Testimony is contingent on experience, that's why we're all free spirits

Topics: Free Spirit, Spirit, Testimony

The binding of reason and intuition is the fundamental crisis of the era we call humanity. Transcedence of duality is the key.

Topics: Keys, Humanity, Intuition

I didn't become a commercially successful artist by design, and actually I think that commercially successful just means, if you analyse it, that a lot of people like you. It's become a dirty word, and I don't necessarily think it needs to be.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Dirty, Mean, Successful, Dirty Words, Successful Artists

This stupid sensitivity! But then women like sensitivity.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Stupid, Sensitivity

We're all turkeys! Some of us are running around with our heads cut off, some of us are flapping our wings that hard we're close to flying. But nothing is an eagle bar God.

Topics: Running, Cutting, Eagles, Flapping

I'm glad that the lyrics reach people and make them understand that we're all the same, really.

source: - "Phil Collins webchat - your questions answered on prog rock, self-doubt and Miami Vice". www.theguardian.com. October 19, 2016.

Non-physicality may soon come to dominate our reality. Thanx Quatum Mechanics!

Topics: Reality, May, Mechanic

As I've gotten older and learned more, I realise that Hollywood has not told the truth.

source: - "Phil Collins webchat - your questions answered on prog rock, self-doubt and Miami Vice". www.theguardian.com. October 19, 2016.

Topics: Hollywood, Realising

I remember flying with Air India to New York quite a few years ago now and I love Indian food, so the fact that I had a curry on board was fantastic.

Topics: New York, Air, Years, Indian Food, Curry

I was talking to Australian press earlier, and they said: we never stopped playing you. I tended to forget about that. It brings a smile to your face that there is this continuing thing, that people like what you do.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Talking, People, Faces, They Said

To be honest, I couldn't hold a conversation with anybody in any language other than English - and that's a struggle sometimes!

Topics: Struggle, Honest, Language

Why did I like simpler songs? Just times change. This is one of the repeated things I hear: even though people will read different kinds of books, they don't read Lord of the Rings when they're 30 even though they did at 15.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Song, Book, People

As a writer, author, creator of something the fact that people are still interested, is fantastic.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: People, Facts, Fantastic

We all have the same problems in relationships.

source: - "Phil Collins webchat - your questions answered on prog rock, self-doubt and Miami Vice". www.theguardian.com. October 19, 2016.

Topics: Relationship Problem, Problem

That's the trouble with wishing you were somebody else. As much as you may want it, you know it'll never happen, at least not in this lifetime.

Topics: Wish, May, Want

If it's the beginning of something - like an album, I'm working on the lyrics and I take a walkman and headset.

Topics: Albums, Headset, Ifs

I don't want to preach, but I really think the rudiments are very important to developing your drumming skills. Many of the patterns I've recorded came from things like paradiddles, flam paradiddles, flam triplets... They might be boring to sit down and practice, but not when you apply them to the drums.

Topics: Thinking, Practice, Skills, Triplet

Of course you can't please everyone all the time. It's just something that I've got to get over, and I'm better at it now.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Please, Get Over, Courses

To me, groups of musicians playing together, not fighting each other, but playing a groove together is one of the most exciting things to listen to.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Fighting, Together, Musician, Playing Together, Fighting Each Other

God is a spa-bath of water and we are all individual bubbles

Topics: Water, Baths, Individual

Prog rock, with a little good taste, is ok. I tried to bring some of it into this century, I guess.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Rocks, Littles, Taste

The stereotypical rock-star-trashing-a-hotel-room thing? Those days had passed by the time I was in a band big enough to do it.

Topics: Stars, Rocks, Band

I used to go to my local pub and it was like a sanctuary, nobody dared ask for an autograph. You went in there for a ploughman's and a pint, and you went home and watched TV. Believe me, there's more to watch on British TV than American, except for CNN right now. But yeah, I miss it.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Believe, Home, Cnn

I've been a long-distance father.

Topics: Father, Distance, Long Distance

I feel terrible for women that have had Phil Collins tattoos. Their poor husbands have to deal with.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Tattoo, Husband, Poor

There's something perverse isn't there, if you're playing in front of 100,000 people and there's 2000 people down the front who don't like, you think: what is it that they don't like?

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Thinking, People, Like You

When you're young you want to show people what you can do, no matter what the cost. Whereas when you're older, and you realise that maybe a drum machine is better than you playing, then use the drum machine.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: People, Cost, Machines

I'm not sure at all about the current prog rock scene.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Rocks, Scene, Currents

I think I was the best drummer!

source: - "Phil Collins webchat - your questions answered on prog rock, self-doubt and Miami Vice". www.theguardian.com. October 19, 2016.

Topics: Thinking, Drummer

I can't consider myself a drummer any more.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Drummer, I Can

Tattoos don't impress me. For me it's just another awkward part of fame. It's extraordinary - tattoos in basketball and soccer, it's quite extraordinary.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Tattoo, Basketball, Soccer

Believe it or not, Japanese is actually easier than some European languages!

Topics: Believe, Language, Easier

I very rarely listen to the in-flight stuff.

Topics: Stuff, Flight

I suppose you can't take kids into consideration all the time, but I just wish there could be a bit of flexibility.

Topics: Kids, Wish, Consideration

Everyones a hypercrit and if you don't agree you're a liar as well

Topics: Liars, You Re A Liar, Wells

Catering on planes, like on British Rail, is a standing joke, but I don't really have a problem with it. I don't quite know what people expect.

Topics: People, Problem, British, Catering

As a composer I approached the drums differently than a non-composing drummer. I embraced drum machines.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Machines, Drummer, Composer

Drummers get bored. You tell them to play something simple, and it gets more complicated as they do it. If they're not a composer, if they don't have any kind of investment in the music, they'll just add a bit there and another bit there, and you think no! Don't do that. So you end up using a drum machine.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Simple, Thinking, Play

I just figured if I'm going to call myself a songwriter throughout my life, then writing for most genres of music is something I should at least attempt.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Writing, Genres Of Music, Should

I'd love to work with Disney again.

Like last night I had a sequence with a gun and, to be honest, for me to be threatening with a gun and not be comical is quite hard.

Topics: Gun, Night, Lasts

The whole having records and selling records and being on TV, that was something that I didn't ever think would be for me. I thought that would be for other people. All I wanted to do was make a living playing the drums.

source: - "Phil Collins on his solo career, Live Aid, and The Ultimate Warrior". Interview with Will Harris, www.avclub.com. March 21, 2016.

Topics: Thinking, People, Would Be

I do miss things about Britain. I think there was a misconception, there definitely was, that I left because of bad press, and being pilloried. I left Britain because I fell in love with someone who lived in Switzerland - that was the main thing.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Thinking, Missing, Switzerland, Bad Press

You leave a country, they stop playing you on the radio.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Country, Radio

I have some rhythms on my computers, that are actually called "trance", they go from 1-30 or 40. They're grooves that come on the synth. If I could somehow use them, I would.

source: - Source: www.theguardian.com

Topics: Use, Computer, Groove

God is a spa-bath of water and we are all individual bubbles

Topics: Spas