Phil Collins: I’ll never forget how Macca mocked me when I asked for an autograph
THEY have both sold more than 100million records and played to stadiums around the world.
But Phil Collins says he was made to feel like a worthless fan when he met his hero Sir Paul McCartney.
Collins, 65, has revealed how Sir Paul, 74, mocked him with ex-wife Heather Mills, dubbing him ‘little Phil’, after the former Genesis drummer asked him to sign a biography of the Beatles.
He said: ‘I met him when I was working at the Buckingham Palace party thing back in 2002. McCartney came up with Heather Mills and I had a first edition of The Beatles by Hunter Davies and I said, “Hey Paul, do you mind signing this for me?”
‘And he said, “Oh Heather, our little Phil’s a bit of a Beatles fan.” And I thought, “You f***, you f***.” Never forgot it.’
Speaking to the Sunday Times magazine, Collins added: ‘He has this thing where he makes you feel …[putting on a condescending Scouse accent] “I know this must be hard for you, because I’m a Beatle. I’m Paul McCartney and it must be very hard for you to actually be holding a conversation with me”.’
Sir Paul and Collins, along with Michael Jackson, are the only musicians ever to have sold over 100million albums worldwide both as solo artists and separately as members of a band.
Collins is set to go on tour next year for the first time in a decade, with a five-night residency at the Royal Albert Hall followed by two dates in Paris and two in Cologne. The father-of-five looked frail and required a walking stick during a press conference at the London venue to announce the tour yesterday.
He is suffering from ‘foot drop’, meaning he is unable to feel or lift his right foot due to nerve damage caused by a back operation last year. He hopes it will improve as the nerves regenerate. ‘I had back surgery because 60 years of drumming really messed my back up,’ he said.
Collins has also recently recovered from a battle with alcohol after turning to drink following the break-up of his marriage to third wife Orianne Cevey. The couple are now back together.