Phil Collins gives update on 24-year rift with Paul McCartney
Phil Collins gives update on 24-year rift with Paul McCartney
Emlyn TravisMon, October 5, 2026 at 2:23 PM UTC
0
Phil Collins; Paul McCartneyCredit: Elena Di Vincenzo/Archivio Elena Di Vincenzo/Mondadori; Jim Dyson/GettyKey Points -
Phil Collins and Paul McCartney are putting their past behind them.
The pair has been engaged in a decades-long feud since 2002, when McCartney made an ill-fated remark about Collins.
The Genesis alum said that he and McCartney recently “kissed and made up” after all that time.
Phil Collins and Paul McCartney have decided to let their decades-long feud be.
During a recent visit to the Piers Morgan Uncensored podcast, the 75-year-old “In the Air Tonight” singer confirmed that he and the Beatles alum, 84, are on good terms these days. The update comes more than 20 years after McCartney made a remark about Collins at the 2002 Queen’s Jubilee Concert, sparking a serious rift between the rockers.
“We had a rehearsal at Buckingham Palace and I had a first edition Hunter Davies book [on The Beatles], which was very quite rare,” Collins explained of the inciting incident. “I took it to the rehearsal so Paul could sign it… Paul came up behind with Heather Mills, who he was married to at that point, and I said, ‘Paul, could you sign this?’”
Paul McCartney attends the UK Special Screening of Prime Video’s ‘Paul McCartney - Man on The Run’Credit: Prime Video/Shutterstock
The signing was going well… until McCartney made a comment that seriously rubbed Collins the wrong way.
“He probably didn’t mean it like it sounded, but he said, ‘He’s a big Beatle fan, is our little Phil,’” the Genesis musician recalled. “And I thought, ‘You a--hole.’ I couldn’t help it. That’s just what I thought.”
While Collins acknowledged that he “probably made more” of McCartney’s statement than it meant, he admitted that it still stung.
“I knew Paul. This wasn’t the first time I met him. I played on one of his albums. I played live with him with the Prince’s Trust,” he told host Piers Morgan. “I’d given him an award at an award show in London, so I kind of knew him. So I was kind of surprised at that particular tone of reply.”
Advertisement
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
Collins went on to detail the incident in his 2016 memoir, Not Dead Yet. He also discussed the moment while on its press tour, prompting McCartney to reach out via email to sort out what had occurred between them. However, the “Sussudio” singer said that he didn’t reply to McCartney’s email at the time.
In fact, it wasn’t until a few months ago that the pair got back on track. Collins revealed that McCartney got in touch after learning that he was collecting music memorabilia donations as part of a King’s Trust charity auction.
“He said, ‘While we’re on the phone.’ I thought, ‘Oh, here we go,’” Collins recalled. “So he said, ‘What is all this about?’ I said, ‘I wish I’d never said it, Paul. I wish I’d never said it.’ He said, ‘I thought we were good, you know.’”
While he declined to share specifics on what was said during their call, Collins explained that the two “kissed and made up” in the end.
“I said I was sorry, because I really didn’t wish him…” Collins trailed off. “I mean, obviously, this had been bugging him because he likes to be liked, as we all do! Maybe him more than some other people. But we all like to be liked. I understand that.”
Listen to Collins discuss the rift in the clip above.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
