Phil Collins around 400 replies. After a lengthy auditioning process, during which he sang backup vocals for applicants, Collins became the band's lead vocalist during the recording of their album "A Trick of the Tail". "A Trick of the Tail" was a commercial and critical success, reaching number 3 in the UK charts and 31 in the U.S; "Rolling Stone" wrote that Genesis had managed to turn the possible catastrophe of Gabriel's departure into their first broad-based American success." For the album's 1976 tour, Collins accepted an offer from former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford to play drums while Collins
Phil Collins the lesser-known London band the Action, whose drummer he would copy and whose work introduced him to the soul music of Motown and Stax Records. Collins was also influenced by the jazz and big band drummer Buddy Rich, whose opinion on the importance of the hi-hat prompted him to stop using two bass drums and start using the hi-hat. While attending Chiswick County School for Boys, Collins formed a band called the Real Thing, and later joined the Freehold, with whom he wrote his first song, "Lying Crying Dying". Collins began a career as a child actor while at the