Post by laristotle on Nov 19, 2021 0:06:16 GMT
On March 26, 1976, though, Collins was 25 years old and the band was opening a new chapter in its history on the first night of the Trick of the Tail tour. On that now-legendary night, Genesis took the stage at London Arena, a rickety relic of a bygone era in central Ontario’s so-called Forest City.
In an interview with the National Post, then-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett said Collins’ biggest challenge that night was impressing a judgemental fan in the front row who was dressed in Gabriel’s iconic “Watcher of the Skies” costume, almost as if to taunt the band and suggest they would never live up to their former glory. It was the prog equivalent to having a David Lee Roth look-alike standing front and centre at a Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen show, but with way more phosphorescent face paint.
Bill Bruford, the prominent prog drummer whom Collins had tapped to take his place on the tour, said Collins was, at his core, a brilliant mimic, making the emerging talent blossoming before Bruford an unsurprising element of the tour.
“His early gigs were modelled on Peter Gabriel’s singing till in later years he found his own voice,” said Bruford, formerly of King Crimson and Yes, adding: “Generally, I think, there was astonishment that Phil had done such a great job replacing Gabriel.”
Bill Bruford, the prominent prog drummer whom Collins had tapped to take his place on the tour, said Collins was, at his core, a brilliant mimic, making the emerging talent blossoming before Bruford an unsurprising element of the tour.
“His early gigs were modelled on Peter Gabriel’s singing till in later years he found his own voice,” said Bruford, formerly of King Crimson and Yes, adding: “Generally, I think, there was astonishment that Phil had done such a great job replacing Gabriel.”
