The one song that made Phil Collins leave Genesis: “I just couldn’t get up on stage”

Posted On October 15, 2025October 15, 2025

In the 1980s, Phil Collins was a superstar in his own right and could sell out stadiums without the assistance of Genesis. It might baffle us today that perhaps one of the dorkiest-looking singers of all time could be globally renowned, but that only speaks to how highly talented Collins is.

For 15 years, he balanced these two ventures before informing his bandmates of his decision to leave the group in 1996. There was no fight or dispute, but Collins needed to leave Genesis if he was going to stay true to his musical compass. It was a decision that likely plagued him for years, and it can all be summarised in his distaste for one track, in particular.

Following the departure of Peter Gabriel, Collins was front and centre of the band. For the most part, singers are often thought of as the group’s leaders, and that might well be the case for Genesis, too, but he didn’t call all the shots. They were still a democracy, with Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks having a prominent say in their musical direction. Therefore, over the years, various songs that Collins didn’t particularly like were released.

An example of this is the 1978 track ‘Burning Rope’, which he later said was one of the reasons why he decided to leave Genesis. The song was only ever played live by the band in the year of its release before being scrapped on all future tours, which shows what Collins feels about the track.

While Collins didn’t leave Genesis for almost 20 years following the release of ‘Burning Rope’, his damning comments about the track show that he was already considering his exit that far back, even before his success as a solo artist. However, his loyalty to his bandmates meant he was willing to stay with the band until it became clear he could no longer continue.

During a conversation with Modern Drummer in 1997, shortly after he departed the band, Collins was asked about a series of tracks from his career and his thoughts on them. He spoke glowingly about several Genesis songs, including the 23-minute epic ‘Supper’s Ready’. He said: “This is one of my all-time favourite Genesis pieces. I used to love playing this one on the road, because I could go way out with it. I have some tapes of us performing it in concert from around this time that make this version sound simplistic. A great piece of music and great fun to play”.

However, he spoke less favourably when the conversation turned to ‘Burning Rope’. Collins said of the creation: “It’s a cruel thing to say, but it’s a song like this that made me leave Genesis.” It was clear that Collins and Genesis were going different ways. It’s to be expected when so many talented musicians join forces and attempt to stay aligned for decades. Eventually, artists will want to go their separate ways.

For Collins, it was clear that the direction his bandmate wanted to go in simply wasn’t for him: “Tony Banks will never talk to me again after this is published – this is one of his sons – but to me, this song is a period piece. It doesn’t make it in the twentieth century. I know there are people who like this music, but I just couldn’t get up on stage and play or sing this kind of material anymore.”

“The fill just keeps going down and down and down. I think I played this kind of thing back then because I didn’t like some of the material, and I was trying to come up with ways to make it interesting,” the drummer added.

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