Noel Gallagher has made many enemies over the years. One is Phil Collins, who he called "the antichrist of music" in the '90s. But the musicians will cross paths at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame this fall when Gallagher (with Oasis) and Phil Collins (for his solo work) will both be inducted, and Collins is looking forward to it.
In the documentary Supersonic, in footage from before Definitely Maybe was released, Noel said, "I want the severed head of Phil Collins in my fridge by the end of this decade." (He had been talking about how the former Genesis frontman makes "junk food" music.) In later years, having not acquired Collins’ head, Gallagher said, "People fucking hate Phil Collins and if they don't, they fucking should."
Before the 2005 election, Gallagher said he supported Labour because "Phil Collins is threatening to come back and live here [if the Tories win] and let's face it, none of us want that." Later that year Collins addressed all the hate in an appearance on the BBC show Room 101. Here's what he told host Paul Merton:
They’re just horrible. Horrible guys. They’re rude, not as talented as they think they are. Well they actually — I mean, I won’t mince words here — they’ve had a go at me personally… They keep having a go at me, which is, I find strange. He’s actually called me the antichrist of music. Which surprised me… If you can stomach their behavior, then the music is okay, you know? I’m not having a go at Oasis the band actually, ‘cause there’s some good songs, and I love the Beatles, and it’s a great nod to that. I heard the music long before I knew what these guys were like.
Talking to Zane Lowe in 2006, Gallagher weighed in again: "It was some flippant comment about him being the antichrist that he got the arse with. You know, these old fellas, they'll take offense to anything." Gallagher eventually revealed he's a fan of Genesis — but only their music before Peter Gabriel left.
In a new interview with Mojo, Collins said, "The [Hall Of Fame] inductees have all been invited to a lunch before the ceremony. Which will be interesting, as I'm sure to bump into Oasis." Collins explained that he's come to something of an understanding of the diss after Gallagher informed a writer that Collins' performance had scared him when he went to a Genesis show "completely out of it" in the '80s. "Now I've thought this through," Collins said, "and although Noel didn't specify what song it was, I reckon it was 'Mama,' where I go, 'Ha-ha-ha… Oww,' with the light under my face."
"I think 'Mama' is why Noel called me the antichrist," he continued. "But I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here, and assuming he doesn't really think I'm the antichrist."
He also revealed that his daughter, Emily In Paris star Lily Collins, confronted Liam Gallagher backstage at a gig in 2007: "She went up to him and said, 'Why do you hate my dad?' And apparently Liam said, 'I don't hate anybody, love.'"
The Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony goes down Nov. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, and we'll see if it was all some misunderstanding. It won't be the first time the musicians meet, however; in the '90s, they found themselves at the same bar while vacationing in Mustique, and Collins described the awkward encounter in his 2017 memoir Not Dead Yet.
In other Phil Collins news, he's announced Face Value (Full Value), a 45th anniversary 4xLP box set of his debut album. It includes rare and unreleased live recordings, demos, and outtakes.
Finally... ???
