Back in the eighties (Phil Collins's so-called imperial period) I was a firm fan of PC's music and I remember being asked by someone who most definitely didn't like PC (I think he was into bands like Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Half Man Half Biscuit) why I liked his tunes so much. I replied that I liked the directness of the lyrics and that they were so relatable. "What, so you can relate to lyrics about people getting divorced?" he said. Well, he had me stumped there. At the age of eighteen I had not been divorced. Hadn't even been married. In fact, as a typical Genesis fan, I probably didn't even have a girlfriend!
Well, many years later I still haven't been divorced but I am married and I do have kids. And I do have skeletons in the closet and bridges that, apparently, refuse to burn. As a grown man I can relate much more easily to Phil's timeless lyrics, whether they concern ex-girlfriends (many of the songs on Both Sides) or - in particular - thoughts of my dad (All Of My Life*) and my own son (Father To Son).
Phil's strength has always been to say it how it is when it comes to his lyrics. So, are there any other fans for whom a specific lyric hits home?
*There's another lovely song about a man's relationship with his dad, it's Peter Gabriel's Father Son.