Simon Collins | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Simon Philip Nando Collins |
Born | Hammersmith, London, England | 14 September 1976
Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
Genres | |
Occupation |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 1999–present |
Labels |
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Formerly of | Sound of Contact |
Website | simoncollinsmusic |
Simon Philip Nando Collins (born 14 September 1976) [1] is a British-Canadian drummer and the former lead vocalist of the progressive rock band Sound of Contact. Collins is the son of English drummer and singer Phil Collins and Collins' first wife, Andrea Bertorelli. [2] He is the adoptive brother and half-brother of actress Joely Collins [3] and paternal half-brother of actress Lily Collins. [4] [5] Reviewers have compared his vocals to those of his father. [6] [7] [8]
Collins was born in Hammersmith, London, England. He is the eldest son of English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins and his first wife, British-Canadian citizen Andrea Bertorelli. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1984, when he was 8 years old, after his parents' divorce. [9] [10] [11] He lived with his mother, Andrea, and his sister, Joely, in nearby Richmond between the ages of 8 and 11. [3] In September 1987, they moved into an estate purchased in Vancouver's Shaughnessy neighbourhood with assistance from his father, a decision described by Andrea Collins as a means to a better education for Collins and his sister and for the sake of other lifestyle considerations. [12] [13] [14] In 1991, his parents were involved in a court battle at the Supreme Court of British Columbia to gain possession of the estate, owing to a misunderstanding of the terms of ownership of the home. [12] [15] His father had previously placed the estate in an irrevocable land trust in 1987, however, to be owned by both children jointly in adulthood. His father succeeded in retaining control of the estate until Simon's twentieth birthday, as the judge ruled in October 1991 he was not old enough to sign his half of the estate to his mother as she had intended. [16] [17] Collins completed his secondary education at Vancouver's Point Grey Secondary School. [18]
Collins first became involved with music when he was five after his father purchased for him a Tama drum kit. [19] [20] [21] He practised drumming by playing along with music albums in his parents' record collection as well as when accompanying his father while on tour with Genesis. [21] Collins' experiences on tour allowed him to be mentored by his father and by the band's touring drummer, Chester Thompson. [21] [22] Though he had a percussion instructor when he was ten, Collins preferred drumming to artists such as Stewart Copeland, Gavin Harrison, and Keith Moon over his formal lessons in jazz drumming. [21] Simon made his first onstage appearance alongside his father at the age of 12, performing drums on "Easy Lover." [23] He also appeared onstage for a performance during the Seriously, Live! World Tour. [23]
In his early teens, Collins learned to play the piano and began to develop songwriting and singing skills. [11] [24] While he played drums in numerous hard rock bands beginning at age 14, Collins wanted to pursue singing, songwriting, and diversity in music styles, including pop, progressive rock, rock and roll, punk, grunge, and electronica. [11] [25] [26] According to Collins, he did not wish to spend his life "drumming to other people's music." [27] His early compositions were rejected by the heavier rock bands he played for because of their pop style.
In his late teens, Collins worked part-time as a disc jockey in Vancouver's rave scene. [28] His experiences in rave culture inspired a collaborative documentary project with his sister Joely called Summer Love. [29]
Collins developed a passion for astronomy and social issues during his youth, and frequently revisits these themes in his music. [30]
Prior to the beginning of his solo career, Collins was a member of the local punk band Jet Set. [31] [32] Collins was signed by Warner Music Group following a release of demo tapes he had recorded in 2000. [11] [24] It was at this time that Collins moved from Vancouver to Frankfurt, Germany, where his debut album All of Who You Are was released. [11] [33] The album saw 100,000 copies sold in Germany and three singles were released off it: "Pride", "Money Maker" and "Shine Through". [34] The album's sales have been attributed to the success of the single, "Pride." [35] A second single, "Shine Through", was co-written by Collins and Howard Jones. [36] [37] [38]
In 2003, Collins left Warner Music and returned to Vancouver to start his own record label, Lightyears Music. [11] [39] On the Lightyears label two years later, Collins released his second album, Time for Truth . [11] He played a variety of instruments on the album in addition to providing the majority of the vocals. [2] In 2007, he recorded a cover of Genesis' Abacab track "Keep It Dark," as a tribute to Genesis, with keyboardist and co-producer Dave Kerzner. [35] During production of "Keep it Dark", Collins met Kevin Churko, who mixed and mastered the recording; [11] Collins later had Churko work with him on the production of his third album, U-Catastrophe . [40]
U-Catastrophe, released in 2008 on iTunes, became Collins' first North American recording project. The album's first single, "Unconditional", debuted on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart at No. 30 in September 2008. [7] It later peaked at No. 12 on Billboard in November 2008 [41] and charted on the Canadian Hot 100 in the same month. Kerzner, Kelly Nordstrom, and Steve Hackett were featured on "Fast Forward the Future"; Phil Collins appeared on "The Big Bang". [40]
In late 2009, Collins approached Kerzner with the idea of forming a new band. After bringing the idea to musicians Matt Dorsey and Kelly Nordstrom, the four of them began working together at Greenhouse Studios in Vancouver. [42] The band, known by December 2012 as Sound of Contact, included Collins on lead vocals and drums, Kerzner on keyboards, and Dorsey and Nordstrom sharing guitar and bass duties. The band's debut album, Dimensionaut , was released in May 2013. [42] Soon after the release of Dimensionaut, Nordstrom left the band; Kerzner left in January 2014. Both rejoined the group in April 2015 and, subsequently, Sound of Contact began working on their second album. [43] [44]
Collins left Sound of Contact in 2018. [45]
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
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CAN [47] ` [48] | GER [49] [50] | US AC [51] | |||
1999 | "Pride" | 41 | 31 | — | All of Who You Are |
2000 | "Money Maker" | — | — | — | |
"Shine Through" | — | 75 | — | ||
2005 | "Man on TV" | — | — | — | Time for Truth |
"Hold On" | — | — | — | ||
2008 | "Unconditional" | 99 | — | 12 | U-Catastrophe |
"Powerless" | — | — | — | ||
2020 | "Becoming Human" | — | — | — | Becoming Human |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Genesis were an English rock band formed at Charterhouse School, Godalming, Surrey, in 1967. The band's longest-existing and most commercially successful line-up consisted of keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford and drummer/singer Phil Collins. In the 1970s, during which the band also included singer Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett, Genesis were among the pioneers of progressive rock.
Philip David Charles Collins is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis and had a successful solo career, achieving three UK number-one singles and seven US number-one singles as a solo artist. In total, his work with Genesis, other artists, and solo resulted in more US top-40 singles than any other artist throughout the 1980s. His most successful singles from the period include "In the Air Tonight", "Against All Odds ", "One More Night", "Sussudio", "Another Day in Paradise" and "I Wish It Would Rain Down".
No Jacket Required is the third solo studio album by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released on 18 February 1985 by Virgin Records in the UK and by Atlantic and WEA internationally.
We Can't Dance is the fourteenth studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released on 11 November 1991 by Virgin Records in the UK and a day later by Atlantic Records in the US. It is their last studio album recorded with drummer and singer Phil Collins before his departure in 1996 to pursue solo projects full time. The album marked the return of band activity following an almost four-year hiatus after touring their previous album, Invisible Touch (1986).
Chester Thompson is an American drummer best known for his tenures with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Weather Report, Santana, Genesis and Phil Collins. Thompson has performed with his jazz group, the Chester Thompson Trio, since 2011.
Face Value is the debut solo studio album by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins, released on 13 February 1981, by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom and Atlantic Records in North America. After his first wife filed for divorce in 1979, Collins began to write songs during a break in activity from Genesis with much of the material concerning his personal life. The album was recorded from mid-1980 to early 1981 with Collins and Hugh Padgham as producers. Additional musicians include the Phenix Horns, Alphonso Johnson, and Eric Clapton.
Invisible Touch is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released on 6 June 1986 by Atlantic Records in the United States and on 9 June 1986 by Charisma/Virgin Records in the United Kingdom. After taking a break in 1984 for each member to continue his solo career, the band reconvened in October 1985 to write and record Invisible Touch with engineer and producer Hugh Padgham. As with their previous album, it was written entirely through group improvisations and no material developed prior to recording was used.
Genesis is the twelfth studio album by English rock band Genesis, released on 3 October 1983 by Charisma and Virgin Records in the UK and by Atlantic Records in the US and Canada. Following the band's tour in support of their 1982 live album Three Sides Live, Genesis took an eight-month break before they regrouped in the spring of 1983 to record a new album. It is their first written and recorded in its entirety at their studio named The Farm in Chiddingfold, Surrey, and the songs were developed through jam sessions in the studio with nothing written beforehand. Hugh Padgham returned as their engineer.
...But Seriously is the fourth solo studio album by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released on 20 November 1989 in the United Kingdom by Virgin Records and by Atlantic Records in the United States. After Collins finished touring commitments with the rock band Genesis in 1987, the group entered a four-year hiatus, during which Collins starred in the feature film Buster (1988). By the spring of 1989, Collins had written material for a new solo album, which addressed more serious lyrical themes, like socio-economic and political issues, as opposed to his previous dance-oriented album, No Jacket Required (1985).
Duke is the tenth studio album by English rock band Genesis, released on 28 March 1980 on Charisma Records. The album followed a period of inactivity for the band in early 1979. Phil Collins moved to Vancouver, Canada, in an effort to salvage his failing first marriage, while Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford recorded solo albums. Collins returned to the UK after his marriage ended and wrote a significant amount of material, some of which was used for Duke and some was later reworked for his first solo album, Face Value. Duke contained a mix of individually written songs and tracks that evolved from jam sessions in mid-1979, while recording took place at the end of the year. The break in activity rejuvenated the band, and they found the album an easy one to work on.
Abacab is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Genesis, released on 18 September 1981 by Charisma Records. After their 1980 tour in support of their previous album, Duke (1980), the band took a break before they reconvened in 1981 to write and record a new album. Abacab is the first Genesis album recorded at The Farm, a recording studio bought by the group in Chiddingfold, Surrey. It marked the band's development from their progressive roots into more accessible and pop-oriented songs, and their conscious decision to write songs unlike their previous albums.
"The Carpet Crawlers" is a song written and performed by the English progressive rock band Genesis, recorded for their sixth studio album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The song tells the section of the album's story where Rael, the lead character, finds himself in a red carpeted corridor surrounded by kneeling people crawling towards a wooden door. Rael dashes by them towards the door and goes through it. Behind the door is a table with a candlelit feast on it, and behind that, a spiral staircase that leads upwards out of sight.
"Follow You Follow Me" is a love song written and recorded by English rock band Genesis. It was released in February 1978 as the first single from their ninth studio album, ...And Then There Were Three... (1978). The music was composed by the band, and the lyrics were written by bassist and guitarist Mike Rutherford. The single became Genesis' first top 10 hit in the UK and first top 40 hit in the US, reaching No. 7 and No. 23 respectively.
U-Catastrophe is the third album by British-Canadian musician and singer-songwriter Simon Collins, son of Phil Collins. Phil plays on the track "The Big Bang", while another former Genesis member, Steve Hackett, plays on the track "Fast Forward the Future". It was first digitally available in August 2008 on iTunes.
David Nathaniel Kerzner is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and sound designer as well as founder of the sound sampling development company Sonic Reality Inc. Along with Simon Collins, Kerzner is the co-founder of the band Sound of Contact. He is also the co-founder of the band Mantra Vega. His debut solo album, New World, was released in December 2014.
Genesis Revisited II is the 22nd studio album by musician Steve Hackett, released on 22 October 2012 by Inside Out Music label. It is a sequel to his 1996 album Genesis Revisited and largely consists of reworked versions of songs originally by Genesis with a variety of guest vocalists.
Sound of Contact is a British-based progressive rock band currently consisting of Matt Dorsey and Dave Kerzner, with Simon Collins and Kelly Nordstrom previously being members. Formed in 2009, the band released their debut album in May 2013.
Dimensionaut is the debut album by British-based band Sound of Contact, and was released worldwide May 2013. Production of the album was a collaborative effort between Simon Collins and Dave Kerzner, two of the band's founding members. As of March 2014, two singles off the album have been released.
New World is the debut solo album by American musician, songwriter, producer and sound designer Dave Kerzner. This is Kerzner's first album since his departure from the band Sound of Contact, and was developed in 2014. The album features numerous collaborations with established artists such as Fernando Perdomo, Steve Hackett, Nick D'Virgilio, Durga McBroom and Keith Emerson. Two versions of the album were developed: a standard edition and a two-disc double album deluxe edition. The former was released in December 2014, and the latter was released in January 2015.
The Last Domino? Tour was a concert tour by English rock band Genesis, staged following the announcement of their reunion after a 13-year hiatus. It featured the core trio of keyboardist Tony Banks, drummer/singer Phil Collins, and bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford, the most commercially successful line-up in the band's history, with Daryl Stuermer on guitars and bass, and Collins's son Nic on drums.
While Simon has stepped smack-dab into dad's footsteps, his older sister Joely has chosen acting, a path her mother Andrea followed when she was younger.
Collins is 23 and he bears a vague resemblance to his father. Vocally, however, the resemblance is more striking." "The airy vocals may be nearly identical, but Collins marries his soft, pop melodies with a light groove and plastic '80s synth beat to create an impressive display of electronica ultra-light.
Collins, who moved here from London, England with his mother when he was eight, has been far more influenced by the punk revival and the grunge explosion than by his father's solo music.
Born in London, he moved to Vancouver at the age of eight, where he grew up with Phil Collins' first wife, Andrea.
'Ms. Collins wished to move to Vancouver as she had concern as to the quality of schooling in Richmond and 'other lifestyle considerations,' ' noted B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ronald Holmes.
He was born in London but moved to Vancouver when he was eight with his sister, Gemini-winning actress Joely, and mother Andrea, his father's first wife.
Pop singer Phil Collins won a court fight yesterday to keep the high-priced Shaughnessy house he bought for his two children out of the hands of his ex-wife. The British rocker bought the Vancouver home for his son and daughter in 1987 after ex-wife Andrea complained about living in Richmond.
The singer placed the property in trust in 1987 for his son Simon, then 11, and daughter Joely, then 15, who were to own the home jointly when they reached adulthood. 'Ms. Collins was apparently under the impression during the course of the property acquisition that she would be sharing in the ownership,' said Holmes. But when it became clear she was left out of the deal, she convinced her kids to sign the property over to her." "The judge said Simon, now 15, will have to wait four more years if he wants to sign his half of the home over. 'The decision to give up as substantial an asset as his interest in this trust is one to be reserved until he reaches the age of majority,' said the judge.
He put the title in an irrevocable trust, which the children will share when his 15-year- old son Simon is 20.
He attended Point Grey Secondary School in Vancouver with his older sister, Joely.
When most kids were banging on pots and pans with wooden spoons, five-year-old Simon Collins was working out rhythms on a miniature drum kit, a gift from his pop star dad Phil Collins.
Like his father, he learned his drumming skills at the age of five and could pound out songs with his dad and the Genesis crew quite early in life.
'I've played drums for him onstage many times; the first time when I was 12 and I did Easy Lover, and on the But Seriously tour (in 1990), that was really cool.
In his mid-teens, Mr. Collins began drumming with bands in Vancouver." "Even Mr. Collins won't deny the influences his father's band, Genesis, has had on his music. 'My influences from very early on would be Genesis – quelle surprise.
Collins, who moved here from London, England with his mother when he was eight, has been far more influenced by the punk revival and the grunge explosion than by his father's solo music." "'I've always been influenced by punk and electronic stuff, so it was a natural progression.' Simon has been surrounded by electronic music influences, including the DJ music at the Summer Love raves his sister Joely has produced and his own DJ gigs." ""I'm writing with guitar now, so a lot of my rock 'n' roll, Oasis, punk influences are coming out," he considers.
I didn't want to spend my life drumming to other people's music," says Collins, who'd been playing with bands since he was 14 and had written a catalogue of pop songs.
In recent years, Mr. Collins made a name for himself in Vancouver's rave scene, working part-time as a DJ.
Last year, he collaborated with his sister on a documentary about raves called Summer Love.
He was born in London but moved to Vancouver when he was eight with his sister, Gemini-winning actress Joely, and mother Andrea, his father's first wife. It was there that Collins developed a passion for astronomy and social issues – themes that dominate his website, lyrics and liner notes for Time For Truth.
I didn't want to spend my life drumming to other people's music," says Collins, who'd been playing with bands since he was 14 and had written a catalogue of pop songs." "'Mostly I was the drummer and that wasn't enough for me, and they were not supportive of letting me express [my writing]...'
Before he began his solo career, Collins played drums (like dad) for Vancouver punk band Jet Set.
Collins, 29, recently moved from Germany to Vancouver, where he grew up, to promote his second album, Time For Truth.
And although Phil had produced Jones in the '80s, Collins recruited the former new waver on his own.
The 'psychedelic trance'-loving artist sings and performs all the synth-heavy instrumentals on the record and released it on his own label, Light Years Music in Vancouver.