‘Cause people have been talking that seem like friends but it seems to me there's a means to and end. But he don’t care anymore. Hello and welcome back to SMCD. Sorry if you were here last week and saw a lack of content, but there actually was. The story herein initially broke last weekend and needed some time to be reviewed.
Good thing, too, because it has also completely changed since then. What everyone thought was going on wasn’t really going on. Well, it was, but not for the reasons everyone thought it was. Then, there’s a-whole-nother story going on behind it that no one seems to have picked up on.
Confusing? Tell me about it! I’m the guy having to keep up with and notice all this! Let’s put it all together and see what sense we can make of it.
Last Saturday, it was announced that Phil Collins was retiring from the music business. The report came from an interview done with, of all places, FHM Magazine. That in and of itself would have been huge news, but the reasons he (supposedly?) gave for it almost overshadowed the announcement.
The quote that was attributed to Collins - and I have to use “attributed to” for reasons that will become clearer—via FHM Magazine by way of Time was:"I'm sorry that it was all so successful. I honestly didn't mean it to happen like that. It's hardly surprising that people grew to hate me ... I don't really belong to that world and I don't think anyone's going to miss me. I'm much happier just to write myself out of the script entirely."
For all the hate that Phil Collins has garnered for several years, this didn’t come so much as a surprise but rather a sad confirmation that the career of a legendary singer/songwriter/performer had the final nail put in his coffin thanks to public opinion. Personally, I’m not the biggest Phil Collins fan in the world, but I certainly don’t understand the vitriol he’s accumulated throughout the last several years. An inordinate amount of people ranging from South Park creators to your average joe hates Phil Collins, and it’s astounding to see.
However, none of that may have had to do with Collins walking away. Collins himself would have you believe that a lot of the comments attributed to him painting him as a suicidal recluse may be completely off the mark. With all of those rumors and the speculation about his emotional state reaching a fever pitch, Collins tried to put those rumors to rest himself, much to the chagrin of his PR people and music label.
Article comments
1 - Alan Kurtz
Thank you SO MUCH for this long-awaited and much-needed article "Hello, I Must Be Going: The Retirement of Phil Collins."
I say long-awaited and much-needed because it's been almost an entire week since Blogcritics' first article titled "Hello, I Must be Going?: Phil Collins Retires from the Music Business."
Making us wait nearly seven days for another "Hello, I Must Be Going" article about Phil Collins's retirement is really kind of cruel. Here's hoping Blogcritics' scribes can crank out "Hello, I Must Be Going" more frequently than once a week. Geez.
2 - grimmless
Excellent article. I wasn't even aware of this whole situation until recently. Freaky. I completely respect Mr. Collins decision to dedicate his time to his children. Fuck the haters.
3 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Ummm... I'm pretty sure he said that he was fairly done with his music career when he was doing interviews for the album "Going Back". At least, that's what he said when he spoke with Mark Hoppus on "A Different Spin". [can't find a clip of the whole interview]
BUT, if those people (and fans) who really care about his position only rely on the word from one source (FHM) - especially on the internet - then they deserve the confusion. Seriously, who wouldn't check his official website & wait for an official comment?! For example, when Mike Portnoy left Dream Theater, I searched DT's website, MetalSucks.net, Blabbermouth & Mike's own website before coming to the conclusion that it was true.... All this other speculation is freaking retarded!
4 - cherie g craighead
I love Phil collins music.He has given me and his fans many years of happiness. Phil'like the one line in The Blindside we got your back and respect your decision to be a full-time dad to Nicholas &Mathew