Noel Gallagher has made many enemies over the years. One is Phil Collins, who he called "the antichrist of music" in the '90s. But the musicians will cross paths at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this fall when Gallagher (with Oasis) and Phil Collins (for his solo work) will both be inducted, and Collins is looking forward to it.
In the documentary Supersonic, in footage from before Definitely Maybe was released, Noel said, "I want the severed head of Phil Collins in my fridge by the end of this decade." (He had been talking about how the former Genesis frontman makes "junk food" music.) In later years, having not acquired Collins’ head, Gallagher said, "People fucking hate Phil Collins and if they don't, they fucking should."
Talking to Zane Lowe in 2006, Gallagher was asked about the remarks: "It was some flippant comment about him being the antichrist that he got the arse with. You know, these old fellas, they'll take offense to anything." Noel eventually revealed he's a fan of Genesis — but only their music before Peter Gabriel left.
For his part, Collins once admitted "if you can stomach [Oasis’] behavior then the music is ok," but recounted a awkward near encounter with Gallagher in his 2017 memoir Not Dead Yet.
In a new interview with Mojo, Collins said, "The [Hall Of Fame] inductees have all been invited to a lunch before the ceremony. Which will be interesting, as I'm sure to bump into Oasis." Collins explained that he's come to something of an understanding of the diss after Gallagher informed a writer that Collins' performance had scared him when he went to a Genesis show "completely out of it" in the '80s. "Now I've thought this through," Collins said, "and although Noel didn't specify what song it was, I reckon it was 'Mama,' where I go, 'Ha-ha-ha… Oww,' with the light under my face."
"I think 'Mama' is why Noel called me the antichrist," he continued. "But I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here, and assuming he doesn't really think I'm the antichrist."
He also revealed that his daughter, Emily In Paris star Lily Collins, confronted Liam Gallagher backstage at a gig in 2007: "She went up to him and said, 'Why do you hate my dad?' And apparently Liam said, 'I don't hate anybody, love.'"
The Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony goes down Nov. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. We'll see if it was all some misunderstanding. Revisit "Mama" below.
