Phil Collins Working on His First New Music in Over Two Decades, per Report

While it has been over a decade since Phil Collins released new music, his contributions to the industry continue to echo throughout time. Outside of releasing eight studio albums, the singer also helped on the 1999 classic film Tarzan. He performed songs like “Son of Man” and “You’ll Be in My Heart.” Looking at his accolades, he holds numerous Grammy Awards and is only one of three artists who sold over 100 million albums as both a solo artist and part of a band. A member of both the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it seems the icon might be producing new music. 

Going back to 2010, Collins released what would be his last album, at the time. Titled Going Back, the album featured songs like “Some of Your Lovin’” and “Do I Love You”. But now, at 73 years old, Collins supposedly retired from music a few different times. According to the fan site Genesis-News reports, producer Simon Napier-Bell is currently working on a documentary surrounding London’s Marquee Club. He shared in a Facebook post, “He was in top form, full of wicked stories, hugely fun. And he’s just had his studio revamped. For sure, before too long we’re going to hear some new music.”

[RELATED: Phil Collins Scored His First No. 1 ‘Billboard’ Hot 100 Hit with “Against All Odds” 40 Years Ago]

Phil Collins Discusses Iconic Drum Solo For “In The Air Tonight”

While Collins hasn’t confirmed or denied the claims, the hitmaker made a comeback several times over the years. Not able to get away from the studio and music, Collins once discussed some of his early work like “In the Air Tonight.” Accompanying his debut album, Face Value, back in the early 80s, the singer revealed the iconic drum solo was nothing more than a surprise. 

Back in 1985, Collins spoke with Musician & Recording World about the Air Tonight drum solo. He explained, “I was playing around in the live room while Hugh the engineer was mucking around with some noise gates and compressors, and this drum sound started developing and I was hearing it through the headphones.”

Letting the music take control, Collins added, “I started playing with the sound and playing [the In the Air Tonight pattern] because that was the tempo being set by the gate’s cutting off. Pete [Gabriel] was in the control room and said that was great, ‘just do that for 10 minutes’. So I started playing the pattern. I knew it was good and I said to Pete afterwards, ‘If you don’t want it, I do’.”

(Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)