Recap of Phil Collins’ First Full Concert in Eight Years
After nearly a decade away from the road, Phil Collins returned over the weekend, opening his “Not Dead Yet” Tour on Friday (June 2) in Liverpool, England.
It was Collins’ first full-length show since 2009, when he played a handful of dates to promote his 2009 covers album Going Home; the 21-song set, which featured Collins’ teenage son Nic on drums, was delivered in two halves and began with a trio of hit ballads — “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now),” “Another Day In Paradise” and “One More Night.”
The show also included Collins’ favorites “Sussudio,” “Easy Lover,” “In The Air Tonight,” “I Don’t Care Anymore,” “I Missed Again” and his rendition of the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love,” as well as the Genesis hits “Follow You, Follow Me” and “Invisible Touch.”
Collins has 16 more shows in England, France, Germany and Ireland through a June 30 blowout in London’s Hyde Park with Mike + the Mechanics, Blondie and more, and Collins tells us that how this tour goes will determine what more he does, including possible North American dates:
“I’m back a bit. I mean, we’re doing these…cities and Nic’s gonna be playing drums and we’re basically taking it as it goes. I certainly don’t want to go back on tour again, but I think, you know, two or three weeks of shows, then a month off, then two or three weeks of shows, that kind of thing might work. So I’m hedging my bets here. I’m just taking baby steps.”
Collins released expanded editions of all his solo albums last year, as well as a new compilation and a memoir, also entitled Not Dead Yet.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
