News Exploring the feud between Phil Collins and Jimmy Page
There is always a buzz when different iconic artists collaborate for a one-time-only live performance. Every year at Glastonbury, half of the coverage seems to not focus on who performed but who they performed with, as surprising duos like Elton John and Brandon Flowers, Olivia Rodrigo and Lily Allen, and Run The Jewels and Jeremy Corbyn have graced the festival. With such collaborations gaining everyone’s attention, it’s hardly a surprise that the crowd went wild when Phil Collins joined Led Zeppelin on stage for Live Aid 1985. However, the gig would end up being one of the band’s worst to date, leading to an ongoing feud between Jimmy Page and Phil Collins.
One of the reasons Led Zeppelin became such a cultural phenomenon was their individuality as musicians and how well all those different aspects came together. No one in Led Zeppelin was there to fill a hole; every member was unique in their approach to playing and an expert at their chosen instrument. As such, when John Bonham passed away in 1980, the band knew they would never be able to replace him.
Instead, Led Zeppelin hung up their hats. John Bonham was more than a drummer; he was the drummer. Frequently referred to as one of the best to bang two sticks together, his mastery over rhythm was a quintessential part of what made Led Zepplin tick, so without him, the band would never be the same.
That doesn’t mean Led Zeppelin would never play together again, though. They have done a couple of reunion shows over the past few decades, one of which was for Live Aid 1985, where they got drummers Phil Collins and Tony Thompson to fill in for their departed friend. It was the first time Zeppelin had performed together in years, so the gig was built up with massive anticipation and expected to be one of the best shows in recent history. The opposite occurred.
Instead, Led Zeppelin hung up their hats. John Bonham was more than a drummer; he was the drummer. Frequently referred to as one of the best to bang two sticks together, his mastery over rhythm was a quintessential part of what made Led Zepplin tick, so without him, the band would never be the same.
That doesn’t mean Led Zeppelin would never play together again, though. They have done a couple of reunion shows over the past few decades, one of which was for Live Aid 1985, where they got drummers Phil Collins and Tony Thompson to fill in for their departed friend. It was the first time Zeppelin had performed together in years, so the gig was built up with massive anticipation and expected to be one of the best shows in recent history. The opposite occurred.
The two drummers viewed their shared performance as a competition, which means exaggerated versions of the songs that sounded like the antithesis of harmony were played. Meanwhile, Robert Plant’s voice wasn’t up to scratch, and Page played the whole show out of key because his guitar wasn’t in tune. All of these factors weren’t considered on the day, though, as Zeppelin had always been one of the most prolific live bands on the planet; as such, the blame for the shoddy performance landed wholly on the two new members, Collins and Thompson.
Page always blamed Collins for their poor performance that day, saying he hadn’t practised enough and wasn’t taking the gig seriously. “Robert told me Phil Collins wanted to play with us. I told him that was all right if he knows the numbers,” he said. “But at the end of the day, he didn’t know anything. We played ‘Whole Lotta Love,’ and he was just there bashing away cluelessly and grinning. I thought that was really a joke.”
Collins rebutted, saying he didn’t enjoy the performance and thought the entire band underperformed, not just him. “If I could have walked off, I would have done,” he said. “It was a disaster, really. Robert wasn’t match-fit with his voice and Jimmy was out of it, dribbling. It wasn’t my fault it was crap.”
It shows that just because something looks good on paper doesn’t mean it will work. The perfect collaboration is a fine art, and just because two things are good in their own right doesn’t mean they will mix well. For their live aid performance, Led Zeppelin and Phil Collins were the musical equivalent of orange juice and toothpaste. Both are undoubtedly important in their own right, but it would have been better if they were kept apart.
