Chester's performance and recording experiences have influenced over three decades of music and musicians. Still love to practice. Yes, some of his ballads are cheesy. I probably heard more Elvis than anything in the Fifties. Again, as humans, we adapt. There was no getting around it. Again, I think its fantastic that hes playing with his son. Get out of here., Turns out, he went to the hospital and he really had broken his finger. You did four sold-out nights at Wembley Stadium. But not only did Thompson stick with Genesis all the way through their Turn It On Again reunion tour of 2007 Collins also brought him over to his solo career in 1981 and used him for nearly all of his tours between 1981 and 2010. A lot of well-known names. Her parents are now in her band. I was okay one-on-one, but they speak much, much faster than we do. That's pretty much the zest of it. I worked with him during a really happy period in his life. My audition consisted just of jamming. What happened with the Calling All Stations period with Genesis? And Id known Daryl for years. Yeah. Almost a tradition? But he still had that American stuff; it was a big part of his background, and we just hit it off immediately. Just listen to Brand X andlive Genesis. It was something called Kung Fu. Unfortunately, it never got released. No. Turns out they had hired Jaco. Turns out it was purely a union thing. He told me what he had in mind. And Ill never forget. I also had an older brother in the military. Unfortunately, somehow Ike or his people lost the master tape. Peter says that Stevewrote things they all liked but quite a lot that they didnt like. It was not at all unusual for all the families to be on tour together. They were having a little congratulations party for Tony [Smith] to celebrate 30 years of management or something. He was a guitarist that was comic relief, almost. For lack of a better word, they are really, really British. I didnt see it coming. I had to use oxygen tanks after every take. Hed then go off to a studio and work on whatever he had in the can. Those early prog-rock records? PHIL COLLINS: ON AMERICAN DRUMMER CHESTER THOMPSON DRUMMING - YouTube First, a great interview. As a matter of fact, we had already been told what dates to hold for 2008. It was amazing. But you have read him saying that anything after Fragile is crap, and that was a literal quote. According to what Chester said in an interview, he had offered his services as a drummer, but Mike and Tony were looking to make a fresh start and looked for different musicians to play with the band. There was a lady with the band I kind of had a crush on and we were very much in touch. He would have subdivisions within a bar. It was a lot. The whole interview is a really good read. They are like 15 feet away and everyone is wearing masks. Always wondered what happened to Chester. I got to play some really cool stuff. "This album is dedicated to Richard MacPhail who left April, 1973.". Theyve got a studio. Im sure if you spent time with him one-on-one it would be different. He passed away [in 2002]. I think that Bruford said that in 1992-93 for the "Notes of the Edge" website. At the same time, there are artists Id love to play with as well. Too bad Vinnie couldn't make it. Hes sort of a quiet guy. Serious Hits Live! - Wikipedia Again, Ive got no grudge. IvanI think we have reached the end of our discussion wether Phil is nasty or not. How was that? Billy Cobham: a very good drummer who shimnes mostly as soloist. It was just there. Did they audition you? That happened because of ODonel Levy. You guys did a drum duet at that first Genesis show in 1977 and it never left the set list after that. And Id been doing it long enough at that point that I didnt have any expectations beyond knowing, Im here to do what he did [on the records]. When we played together, it was like he was the guy and Im there as the backup, to support him. With Weather Report, I had to learn which ones to leave out. Phil was not sure family-wise and he hasnt had the easiest of times there. Heres the crazy thing, man. They were great writers. He also has composed good music, not only elevator music, as you say. The amount of music he made in that time is just remarkable. Yeah. Yes, it`s true, but none of them became the permanent lead singer in their bands like Collins. most great drummers won't ever do that, because they live for their drums. And again, if you werent busy enough, you joined the Bee Gees for a tour in 1989. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/llins-frank-zappa-weather-report-1122064/amp/, https://ultimateclassicrock.com/chester-thompson-phil-collins-solo-tour/. I want to go back here and talk about your life. Oh, my goodness! I thought, That probably isnt a great idea. But it had gotten to the point where the front row at the L.A. Forum was all Hollywood celebrities as opposed to your fans. And even though Im not doing it anymore, Im glad that he decided to go back to work. But I understand a totally different thing from your quotes, but again it's only my opinion. As some of the other guys have said, a really great read. It pretty much broke me up. When my mom showed me that letter I wrote in fourth grade where I had outlined I hadnt done everything in that letter, but so much of it had already happened it kind of blew me away. It was the biggest adjustment Ive ever had to make, musically and culturally. Genesis Reunion 2020 - Phil Collins and Chester Thompson - Facebook Genesis, as soon as they could afford it, started chartering planes for tours. Carmine Appice, Cozy Powell: composers as soloists, mainly. Maybe once in a lifetime. How did he know you? I have mixed feelings about Phil Collins. He could really play. Genesis was very balanced. I was leaving straight from San Francisco. He was part of a band in Milwaukee that played a place that was the place to stop and jam when you were on tour. I just love the adventure of life. Die DVD-Version zeigt ein ganzes Konzert vom 15. There were all these conversations going back and forth that Id try to track. In 2017, Collins revealed that he was a type-2 diabetic, undergoing treatment with a hyperbaric chamber after the condition caused obsesses on his foot which became infected. Still his guitarplay wasvery important to the music even if his composing didnt reach the albums. You could hear that it was something special. He basically played us these tunes hed come up with. Not the first day. Later on he became tourmanager for Genesis. All of the above. What are you talking about?. I could not follow a single conversation. Goodness. Phil helped survive Genesis. It was amazing stuff, absolutely. I was never in a teenage band. And of course, there was another drummer there and it was an audition. What a nice man, Don Van Vliet. We had this other guy jump in. I wasnt enough of a diplomat to just say, Oh, everything is wonderful. The Genesis stuff was more musically challenging and interesting to me. I got to be friends with some guys that managed an audio store. [Laughs] Its interesting, I probably absorbed more of their culture than they did anything I grew up with because I was really uncomfortable. Weve been healthy, fortunately. I checked with the manager. Im grateful. "It was quite an adjustment for me. Everything wasnt that, but a lot of the tunes went that way. Phil jokingly said, Well, were all together. But I was pretty surprised when he left. Drummers are kept in the background because DRUMS CAN'T MOVE AROUND THE SCENARIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hes passed away now, but we were in about 10 or 12 bands together growing up. Chester Thompson and Phil Collins Chester Thompson - From Jazz to Genesis Aug 17, 2018 by Bill King Comments Its been 42 years since drummer Chester Thompson, bassist Jeff Breeh, and myself were the backing/touring piano jazz trio for the Pointer Sisters. One day, he got pretty frustrated with me and literally cussed me out in front of everybody. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. So many songs, so many albums, so many concerts. And goodness, the emails I get! When I was 13 and able to go on my own, I pretty much went every other week. All three members of the trio Genesis played a part in the decision to simplifiy their sound, with Banks being the most in charge. At one point, he toured with us. IMO, those are two of Genesis' best albums, ATOTT more so than Seconds Out because Seconds Out isn't a true Phil Collins Genesis album because most of the stuff was originally recorded with Peter Gabriel singing. Phil Collins had to hire Chester Thompson and Bill Bruford. I like ballads like Lucky Man, Still you Turn me On, Redezvous 6:02, Soon, Lonely Wind, July Morning, Carpet Crawlers, and a lot more. [Laughs] Yeah. But at this point in life, if I could do my own stuff, Id really love that. Breaks Down His Killer White House Correspondents Dinner Set, Bernie Sanders: Many GOP Leaders 'Don't Even Believe in Democracy'. It sounds like ever thing thing is scripted and being read by a bad actor. I watched it a couple of times, but Bob hung out with us the whole time. And so we were doing Salt Peanuts at like 200 miles an hour. Also note that Onion Head didn't do much writting on the good Genesis LPs like: Foxtrot, Trespass, Selling England, Lamb, Nursery, Trick of the tail, EWnd and Wuthering. We all knew he was going to be a great player. I played every weekend from eighth grade until I graduated high school. I saw James Brown, an early Motown revue, Sam Cooke, Chuck Jackson, Jerry Butler, the Impressions, Sam and Dave, all the Stax artists. Steve and I always stayed pretty good friends. I saw everybody in those days. I didnt know, but he did step back for quite a while. Really cold of Phil to not reach out after 10yrs. I wish him nothing but the best. As it turned out, I wound up doing a little, brief drum-clinic tour down there in Australia. If you did your part, it was fun. This is why I don't think they sold out or did it for any other reason than that is what they wanted to do. They just edited in that other day of his recording. It was really disturbing because for the first two weeks. And theyd never had an American in their ranks. Phil Collins (onion head) <-nickname), is a great drummer and that is where i believed he should have stayed. You couldnt take yourself that seriously. It's just horrible. It was interesting because Tom Fowler, our bass player, had broken his hand on tour. Alan White studied a bit of piano, but he is mainly self-taught as a drummer. My wife had her own career when we met. [Laughs] He figured it out pretty quickly. Hed come home and always put on some Billie Holiday. The last solo thing I did ventured a little outside that format. Juli 1990 auf der Berliner Waldbhne, kurz nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer. Smart interviewer, letting an interesting subject just go. Basically, after the first day, I was like, The only way this is going to work is if you give me a list of which tunes you want to go over the next day Ill have them ready.. Exactly. Phil is not one of those artists. Chester Thompson on His Years with Genesis, Frank Zappa, and Weather Report He spent 30 years in Genesis as a touring drummer, but he had a falling out with Phil Collins in 2010 and they haven't spoken since During that particular run, there was none, ever. Did you see any concerts in your younger years? I seem to recall Chester had a falling out with the post-Collins duo too, when they rejected his request to become a full member in the band. Ralph and I had to watch each other like hawks and really listen carefully. Phil Ehart: owner of the name "Kansas", who also worked as their manager sometimes, he is not one of the main composers in the band. He's probably one of the nicest, most down-to-earth guys in music (and that should be a good thing). Well, its been quiet. Not at all. I cant do that.. Yeah. I said, Tony, in view of what Phil said in this interview, I guess I dont need to hold these dates any more? He said, What are you talking about? It was not fun. Before one tour, we sat there and listened to all the previous tours and everything we did. But what a great tour and what a great band. Carl Palmer: again great drummer but not a main composer in ELP or Asia. Frank had a blackboard onstage with all the note names on it. You didnt finish the tour, though. I mean to be keep in the background in their importance in the bands. I think Onion Head's communication skills are obnoxious. Has Phil talked to you at all in the past 10 years? Let me remember: Leee Kerslake. If you want the gig, its yours.. Then it got weird because they got comfortable with two drummers playing. I could track one guy, kind of, but then somebody else would jump in. What are your goals over the next few years? That is when we actually had soul music stations. During this time, the drummer somehow also found time to tour with Santana and the Bee Gees and maintain a solo career. At one point on that show, I was supposed to play a backbeat to go into the last tune. Phil Collins Takes The Drum Quiz | The Jonathan Ross Show 4.1M views 6 years ago IN THE AIR TONIGHT-PHIL COLLINS-THIS SONG MADE ME JUMP OFF THE COUCH!! Later that year, he also cancelled two gigs after falling in his hotel room and hitting his head, a result of the drop foot mentioned above. I never really toured with an R&B band, but Id played it all my life. Zidkyahu was used on the tour.]. We did European tour in a van. Ive done a couple of jazz trio albums that I really enjoyed. This new thing Ive been working on with my friends in L.A., its [bassist] Pee Wee Hill and [keyboardist] Michiko Hill, his wife. Napoleon Murphy Brock was auditioning at the same time for vocals and saxophone. Id say we agree on his drummingskills. I was like, Man, when you turned around and looked, it threw me off.. Well appreciated, keep up enjoying Phil Collins! But if youre a music-ed student, you need to learn a different instrument group every semester. Watcher of the skies is very good and solid vocals by John Wetton, Fountain of Salmacis is great with an acoustic guitar intro and Steve singing ections with vocodsr , but my favorite is the Orchestral version of Firth of Fifth, very beautiful. . Oh, my goodness. Weird. I had no idea. George and Napoleon were from San Jose and were living in Hawaii when Frank offered them the audition. Im really grateful and Im just excited to see what comes next. Basically, Phil flipped at Chester during the Going Back tour, for not playing exactly what he wanted to play, and they haven't spoken since.