Phil Collins would have joined The Who if he had been asked.
The 65-year-old star was the drummer and lead singer of Genesis when Keith Moon – the drummer for The Who – died in 1978, and now admits he would have thrown in the towel with his group to take the late stickman’s place.
He said: "Absolutely, [I] would have joined The Who. I would have left Genesis to join The Who. But they’ve got a great drummer now in Zak Starkey, he’s fantastic. Someone with the balls that Keith Moon had."
The ‘In The Air Tonight’ hitmaker counts the late rocker as one of his drumming idols, because he had "balls and attitude" which he says is key to being a successful stickman.
Speaking in a webchat with The Guardian, he said: "John Bonham I admire. Chad Smith, Taylor Hawkins. And Keith Moon. They’ve all got balls. And attitude. Those two things are essential."
Phil’s comments come after he left Genesis in 1996 to pursue a solo career.
And his hopes of joining rock legends The Who could well be over, as he recently revealed he can no longer play the drums like he used to because of a "mystery" affliction.
He said previously: "I’ll never play the way I used to. Something happened on the Genesis reunion tour. At the end of each show, I had a drumming duel with Chester Thompson, and one night something happened.
"It just went. I tried everything – bigger drumsticks and so on, but it just never came back.
"It’s a mystery what happened, I just couldn’t get it back. But I’m 65 and I played drums since I was five. I’d like to have the choice about being able to play, but I’m not going to cry myself to sleep about it."
Earlier this week, the ‘Sussudio’ musician announced he would be returning to the stage for the first time in 10 years with a nine-date European tour – entitled the ‘Not Dead Yet: Live 2017 Tour’ – in June 2017, including a five-night residency at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Phil Collins would have quit Genesis to join The Who
