The real reason why Phil Collins didn't see eye-to-eye with Paul McCartney

17 April 2026, 12:08 | Updated: 17 April 2026, 12:13

Let's face it, most musicians have an ego.

When you've created some of the most culturally impactful music known to mankind and sold millions upon millions of records, you're entitled to blow your trumpet a bit, I guess.

Mix drugs and alcohol into any situation and you've more often than not got yourself a fully fledged narcissist.

Despite many on the outside believing that the music world is one big love-in, sometimes, personalities clash.

We all know bands break up – creative differences, suffering from burn out, being on the road with a bandmate for too many years can tend to turn things sour.

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But some musicians just don't see eye-to-eye, even when it's a hero of theirs.

Remember that old adage of 'don't meet your idols', as it'll inevitably lead to disappointment.

That's exactly what happened with Phil Collins after he first met Paul McCartney, in an incident that sparked a years-long, one-sided feud.

Given his exploits with The Beatles (heard of them?) as well as an illustrious career after that with Wings and as a solo musician, Paul McCartney is one of the most venerated musicians of all time.

Not only is he universally respected, he's also overwhelmingly adored for being a bloody lovely bloke.

There are few people in the world that would disagree with that statement. Even Yoko Ono is chums with him now.

But Genesis' drummer and soft rock phenomenon Phil Collins can count himself as an outlier.

His path crossed with McCartney when he was only a wee lad, after auditioning for A Hard Day's Night and winning a role to star in the 1964 movie.

Even then he achieved more than many teenagers of his era, getting to appear beside his idols when they were proverbially bigger than Jesus.

Though, it wasn't during his stint as a budding actor which caused his disliking of Macca.

The moment when he turned from hero to villain in the eyes of Phil Collins happened years later when he himself was one of the world's biggest names in rock.

Having worshipped McCartney as a youngster, Phil Collins met him as an equal at an event held at Buckingham Palace in 2002.

He left feeling slightly less than equal however, given the way he perceived Paul McCartney attempted to belittle him.

In a 2016 interview with The Sunday Times, Collins revealed: "I met him when I was working at the Buckingham Palace party back in 2002.

"McCartney came up with Heather Mills and I had a first edition of The Beatles, by Hunter Davies, and I said, 'Hey, Paul, do you mind signing this for me?'. And he said, ‘Oh, Heather, our little Phil's a bit of a Beatles fan’."

"I thought, 'You f**k, you f**k’. Never forgot it," Collins added, clearly not impressed by McCartney's supposed superiority complex.

"He has this thing when he's talking to you, where he makes you feel [like], 'I know this must be hard for you because I’m a Beatle'," he continued. "'I'm Paul McCartney and it must be very hard for you to actually be holding a conversation with me'.”

Naturally, news made way of Collins' grievances to McCartney, who emailed him in attempt to bridge the divide.

Phil told Billboard shortly after that Macca expressed he was "upset", but "I certainly didn't get any flowers from him; I got more of a 'Let's just get on with our lives.'”

“And I'm sorry he's upset that I kinda said something nasty about him — well, it wasn't really nasty."

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"If people don’t tell people that sometimes their attitude could be a bit better then you're not gonna get any better, y’know?”

In all likelihood, Paul McCartney probably meant nothing by his comment. But the damage was already done.

These rocks stars and their egos, you never know how they'll react – even when it's meeting their heroes.