Phil Collins Calls Seated Performances a ‘Positive’ Experience
Phil Collins has to sit down during the concerts on his comeback tour because of back injuries. In a new interview, he talked about how that's a change from his past shows and that he wasn't sure how fans would react to him sitting down onstage.
"In the old days, I ran around like crazy," he told Rolling Stone. "I was worried that is what people would expect. Actually, there was an English reviewer that pointed out there’s a kind of growing-old-gracefully thing to it. I go onstage and I stay seated the whole night. The band picks up some of the slack in terms of the energy. It means that people are focused on the music and I am too. So far it hasn’t been a problem at all. It’s been very positive, if anything. It’s kind of a little bit different to me, but it’s physically impossible for me to stand for two and a half hours without going through real pain. It’s all gone well."
Collins noted that "in general, the health is good," apart from a paralyzed right foot -- the result of a back operation -- that keeps him from playing drums. He's turned the drum stool over to his teenage son Nicholas, who, he said, has helped make the shows "great fun."
"He’s been totally accepted by this band of hard-knocks, like [bassist] Leland Sklar and my group of musicians," Collins said. "They all accept him as an equal. They’ve all been very proud and supportive. It’s all gone according to plan. As long as we can think of somewhere to go and we get a few breaks, we’ll keep doing it.
'I’m very lucky to have got him playing drums. When he’s playing kit drums, he sounds a lot like me. He’d say he’s got a lot of Chad Smith and John Bonham in him, but he’s also got the attitude that I had. He brings the sound out of the drums. Everyone in the band is constantly surprised. They kind of look back, and it sounds like I could be there playing. All that helps me from not having to turn around and say, “Don’t do that. Do this.” He’s got it all. He gets it."
Collins' tour hits arenas across North America beginning Oct. 5 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and runs until Oct. 28 with a show in Los Angeles. You can see all the dates here.