It’s not as if he recorded Say Say Say and The Girl Is Mine, is it? He didn’t cowrite either Do They Know It’s Christmas? or We Are the World. He hasn’t been accused of abusing women or children; and at no point did he step in as a replacement lead singer for Queen, Deep Purple or INXS.

It’s strange in 2016 to think of Phil Collins as an artist at risk of overexposure. He’s rarely recorded, toured or made any public appearances in the past decade, and doesn’t do many interviews.

Phil Collins was the King Midas of pop in the 1980s. Love him or hate him, he was a musical tour de force whose signature pipes and ear for memorable hooks resulted in a series of multiplatinum albums and an unparalleled string of chart hits.

The summer of 1986 brought Genesis their first No. 1 hit in the United States — and former frontman Peter Gabriel reached the same milestone the very next week.

Phil's back, baby. In 2011, Phil Collins officially announced his retirement after quietly retreating from major touring some years earlier.

‘We knew each other well and weren’t afraid to make lousy noises. There was a good percentage of crap’