B.C. group releases untold Phil Collins documentary

While millions of people all over the world know Phil Collins for his standout vocal performances – both as a solo artist and member of Genesis – he is at the core a drummer, which is something that is explored in the new documentary from Drumeo.

The Abbotsford-based company dropped a two-hour documentary on Dec. 18 titled "Phil Collins: Drummer First" which is an in-depth look at the drumming roots of Collins as the legend himself talks about his journey as a musician alongside his son Nic Collins.

Despite being located in Abbotsford, Drumeo content director Brandon Toews and other members of the crew travelled to Switzerland for the series of interviews with Collins in 2022, approximately six months after he performed his final show with Genesis.

In addition to extended interviews with Collins and his son, the documentary also features original interview clips with dozens of other famous drummers and musicians from all over the world, which posed a huge undertaking for the Drumeo team.

"There were moments when I wasn’t sure this project would ever cross the finish line," Toews said in a post. "There were many script rewrites, unexpected editing curveballs, and the challenge of working over 100 additional musician interviews into the story."

But the long hours of work were well worth it, Toews explained.

"Looking back now, I couldn’t be happier with the final result."

After nearly three years, "Phil Collins: Drummer First" is now available to see for free on YouTube and has already garnered nearly one million views in less than 24 hours.

"At Drumeo, we're here to celebrate drummers like Phil, and hopefully, his story inspires you to pick up the sticks for the first time or continue learning this amazing instrument," Toews said.

The documentary can be found at youtu.be/WdGmydR715Q.