Chiswick to Philadelphia · 1964 to 1990

Phil CollinsAttack. Room. Gate.

Phil Collins singing into a microphone under pink stage light, one arm raised — Phil Collins with Genesis in Strasbourg, October 1981, the year of Face Value. Philippe Roos · CC BY-SA 2.0

Phil Collins on stage in a grey T-shirt, one arm stretched up, blue and red lights behind — Strasbourg, 28 October 1981: Collins reaching up under the lights. Philippe Roos · CC BY-SA 2.0

Phil Collins in black and white, holding a sheet of paper beside a microphone stand, looking at the camera — Soundcheck in Strasbourg, October 1981. Philippe Roos · CC BY-SA 2.0

Collins in Strasbourg, October 1981.

Photographs: Philippe Roos, Strasbourg, October 1981 · CC BY-SA 2.0. Credits in full under each photograph below.

Townhouse Studio 2 · Shepherd’s Bush · Before Face Value

Open the listen mic.

Hugh Padgham found the gated drum sound in Townhouse Studio 2 while recording Collins for Peter Gabriel’s Intruder, before the solo record.

Reverse talkback

Noise gate

Talkback closed. Hold the switch to listen to the room.

Its desk was one of the first SSL consoles, with a compressor and a noise gate on every channel. The reverse talkback mic, there so engineers could hear the players, was compressed and could not be recorded; Padgham had the desk changed that night so it could go to tape.

Padgham went on to co-produce Face Value with Collins. He says 90 per cent of the drum sound was the live room mics.

A busy stretch of Goldhawk Road with traffic under a railway bridge — Goldhawk Road, Shepherd’s Bush, 2015: the street, not the old studio. Jim Osley · CC BY-SA 2.0

Goldhawk Road, W12 · private

Townhouse Studios

The studio closed in 2008 and was turned into homes.

The studio is now private homes. Named here, never mapped; the photograph shows Goldhawk Road, not the building.

Sources

A drum kit in red light with Chester Thompson behind it and Phil Collins standing at a microphone — Two drummers: Collins and Chester Thompson in Strasbourg, October 1981. Philippe Roos · CC BY-SA 2.0

Black-and-white portrait of Phil Collins resting his chin on folded arms — Phil Collins in an Atlantic Records press photograph, 1986. Atlantic Records · Public domain

Face Value · 1980

Made at home.

The songs began in his own home studio, and the demos were never replaced: they became the masters. Step through where they went.

A Roland CR-78 pattern, a Prophet 5, a Rhodes and a grand piano. The demos are kept as the masters.

The demos and their journey

Mix: Classic Tracks, Phil Collins “In the Air Tonight” (Robyn Flans, 2005)

Phil Collins singing in a pool of green light on a dark stage — Strasbourg, 28 October 1981, in a green spot. Philippe Roos · CC BY-SA 2.0

Before the gate

A West London boy.

9 of the 12 places are in London. These three run from a school on Burlington Lane to a piano on Drury Lane.

CH 1 · 1964

A brick school building with tall windows behind a garden on Burlington Lane — The school on Burlington Lane, Chiswick, in 2011. GeorgesP · CC0

Chiswick School

Burlington Lane, Chiswick, London W4

Collins had a toy drum kit at five and a real set by twelve. At thirteen he left Chiswick Grammar School to play the Artful Dodger in Oliver! in the West End.

Chiswick’s county schools opened in 1916 for girls and 1926 for boys; the girls’ school became Chiswick Community School.

A working secondary school. Look from Burlington Lane; the grounds are not open to the public.

Sources

CH 2 · 1964

A theatre front on a wet night, lit blue, with people under the canopy — The Noël Coward Theatre on St Martin’s Lane, the New Theatre of 1964. Bryn Holmes · CC BY-SA 2.0

Noël Coward Theatre

85–88 St Martin’s Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2

Oliver! opened here, at what was then the New Theatre, on 30 June 1960.

The show launched the careers of many of its boys, Collins among them; his mother called him the loudest Dodger.

The New Theatre became the Albery in 1973 and the Noël Coward Theatre in 2006.

A working West End theatre. See the box office for what is on; the front is on St Martin’s Lane.

Sources

CH 3 · 9–12 September 1981

Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London WC2

The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball ran here from 9 to 12 September 1981.

Collins sat at the piano for In the Air Tonight and The Roof Is Leaking, both from Face Value: his first solo outing in a true concert setting.

A working West End theatre; the front is on Catherine Street.

Sources

St Martins Lane London

St Martins Lane

Covent Garden, London

A hotel designed by Philippe Starck at 45 St Martin’s Lane, on the same street as the Noël Coward Theatre, where Collins was the Artful Dodger. Book direct for noon check-in and a 3pm checkout, subject to availability.

See rooms

Live Aid · 13 July 1985

Two continents, one day.

It started at 12 noon in London, 7am in Philadelphia. Those five hours were the gap Collins flew through.

Noon in London

Wembley Stadium: About Live Aid

WEMBLEYPHILADELPHIA

5,692 km · 3,537 miles, stage to stage

Wembley, noon. Board the first leg.

The old Wembley Stadium and its twin towers in 2002, a year before demolition. David Howard · CC BY 2.0
01 · Noon at Wembley
Wembley Stadium
Live Aid began here on 13 July 1985: 12 noon in London, 7am in Philadelphia. It went out live to more than a billion people in 110 countries and raised more than £100 million.
Collins sat at the piano for Against All Odds and In the Air Tonight, and sang Long Long Way to Go with Sting.
Stadium tours are booked online through Wembley; on event days the stadium is for ticket holders.
Sources
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium Tour
Wembley, London
The stadium’s own tour, into the areas usually kept for the biggest names in sport and music. Booked online.
Book a tour
Concorde G-BOAF at Heathrow on 7 July 1985, six days before Live Aid. Simon Butler · CC BY 2.0
02 · Concorde
Heathrow Airport
From Wembley a helicopter took Collins to Heathrow, where he boarded Concorde for New York.
Cher was on the flight and asked him to get her on to the Live Aid bill. Hours later she joined the closing We Are the World.
Kal Rudman, publisher of Friday Morning Quarterback, was on the same flight.
A working airport, on the Piccadilly and Elizabeth lines. Concorde no longer flies from it.
Sources
G-BOAD on its pier at the Intrepid Museum, New York. EdChem · Public domain
Concorde G-BOAD at Heathrow, April 1985. The same aircraft now sits on Pier 86 in New York. Simon Butler · CC BY 2.0
03 · The aircraft
Concorde G-BOAD, Intrepid Museum
British Airways Concorde G-BOAD holds the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing: 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds.
The Concorde Experience takes you inside it for 20 minutes; you need not buy general admission as well.
Concorde Experience: a 20-minute guided tour inside the aircraft, every 30 minutes from 11am, $15 (members $5). Stairs only; age 5 and over.
Sources
Intrepid Museum
Concorde Experience
Manhattan, New York
Twenty minutes inside G-BOAD, the Concorde with the fastest Atlantic crossing, on the Intrepid’s pier. Every 30 minutes from 11am; $15, members $5. Stairs only; age 5 and over.
Book the tour
JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, 13 July 1985: Page, Plant and Jones with Tony Thompson and Phil Collins on drums. Squelle · CC BY-SA 3.0
Live Aid after dark at JFK Stadium, 13 July 1985. The stadium was demolished in 1992. Squelle · CC BY-SA 3.0
04 · Evening in Philadelphia
JFK Stadium site
JFK Stadium stood in South Philadelphia, where the Wells Fargo Center is now, and could hold more than 100,000.
That evening Collins played his two songs again, drummed through Eric Clapton’s set and played three songs with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, beside a second drummer, Tony Thompson.
He had not rehearsed with them, and said he felt like a spare part.
The stadium is gone. An arena stands on its footprint in the South Philadelphia sports complex.
Sources

The day, leg by leg

CNN: Phil Collins once pulled off an intercontinental Live Aid stunt (Lisa Respers France, 19 July 2025)

1982 to 1990

Running order.

Black-and-white photograph of three men in patterned jackets, Phil Collins in front — Genesis in 1986: Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins and Tony Banks. Atlantic Records · Public domain

1982
The Raymond Theatre in 1922, sixty years before it was Perkins Palace. Unknown · Public domain
Perkins Palace
129 North Raymond Avenue, Old Pasadena, California
Built as the Raymond Theatre and opened on 5 April 1921, it became Perkins Palace after Mark Perkins bought it in 1978.
Collins played here, and music videos of his were filmed with the theatre as backdrop.
His official live links list You Know What I Mean recorded live at Perkins Palace in 1982.
The building has been turned into apartments and shops.
Now apartments and shops. See the old front from North Raymond Avenue; there is no venue to go into.
Sources
2 October 1982
The Milton Keynes Bowl, still a concert field, in 2023. Mewhen123 · CC BY 4.0
Milton Keynes Bowl
Watling Street, Milton Keynes
On 2 October 1982 Genesis reunited with Peter Gabriel here for one show, Six of the Best, in a former clay pit about 55 miles north of London.
The proceeds went to WOMAD, the festival Gabriel co-founded, which had lost heavily that July. It rained all day.
An open-air concert field, open on show days.
Sources
Genesis on the Invisible Touch tour in Nancy, June 1987. Fredamas · CC BY-SA 4.0
5–6 June 1988
The Royal Albert Hall at dusk. David Iliff · CC BY-SA 3.0
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore, London SW7
The hall’s catalogue lists Collins at the Prince’s Trust Rock Gala on 5 and 6 June 1988, with Elton John, Peter Gabriel, Eric Clapton, the Bee Gees and others.
More than £2 million was raised for underprivileged children.
A working concert hall. See the hall’s own site for concerts and building tours.
Sources
30 June 1990
Knebworth House, whose park has held concerts since 1974. Heron2 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Knebworth Park
Knebworth, Hertfordshire
Knebworth lists Genesis on 24 June 1978 and the Silver Clef Award Winners Concert on 30 June 1990.
In 1990 MTV took Knebworth worldwide with a charity gig of British rock acts, Genesis among them.
House, gardens and park are £22.50 online; gardens and park £15.50.
House, gardens and park open on selected days from March to September: £22.50 online for the house, gardens and park, £15.50 for gardens and park.
Sources

Twenty-six years after the Dodger, Genesis closed the decade in a field in Hertfordshire.

Visit

Where it is now

11 places you can visit in London, beyond it and in America. The old Townhouse studio is now private homes: named, never mapped.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working secondary school. Look from Burlington Lane; the grounds are not open to the public.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Stadium tours are booked online through Wembley; on event days the stadium is for ticket holders.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working airport, on the Piccadilly and Elizabeth lines. Concorde no longer flies from it.

The school on Burlington Lane, Chiswick, in 2011. GeorgesP · CC0
Burlington Lane, Chiswick, London W4
Chiswick School
Collins had a toy drum kit at five and a real set by twelve. At thirteen he left Chiswick Grammar School to play the Artful Dodger in Oliver! in the West End.
A working secondary school. Look from Burlington Lane; the grounds are not open to the public.
Sources
The old Wembley Stadium and its twin towers in 2002, a year before demolition. David Howard · CC BY 2.0
Wembley, north-west London
Wembley Stadium
Live Aid began here on 13 July 1985: 12 noon in London, 7am in Philadelphia. It went out live to more than a billion people in 110 countries and raised more than £100 million.
Stadium tours are booked online through Wembley; on event days the stadium is for ticket holders.
Sources
Concorde G-BOAD at Heathrow, April 1985. The same aircraft now sits on Pier 86 in New York. Simon Butler · CC BY 2.0
Hillingdon, west London
Heathrow Airport
From Wembley a helicopter took Collins to Heathrow, where he boarded Concorde for New York.
A working airport, on the Piccadilly and Elizabeth lines. Concorde no longer flies from it.
Sources

Stay

A room on St Martin’s Lane.

St Martins Lane, on the street where Collins was the Artful Dodger.

St Martins Lane London

St Martins Lane

Covent Garden, London

A hotel designed by Philippe Starck at 45 St Martin’s Lane, on the same street as the Noël Coward Theatre, where Collins was the Artful Dodger. Book direct for noon check-in and a 3pm checkout, subject to availability.

See rooms

Go there

Concorde, Wembley and the West End.

Inside G-BOAD in New York, the Wembley Stadium Tour, and London music walks on the marketplace.

Intrepid Museum

Concorde Experience

Manhattan, New York

Twenty minutes inside G-BOAD, the Concorde with the fastest Atlantic crossing, on the Intrepid’s pier. Every 30 minutes from 11am; $15, members $5. Stairs only; age 5 and over.

Book the tour

Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium Tour

Wembley, London

The stadium’s own tour, into the areas usually kept for the biggest names in sport and music. Booked online.

Book a tour

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London music tours

London

Live marketplace results for London music walks round the West End. Check each itinerary for Covent Garden and Drury Lane.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

What’s on

No dates yet.

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Take it home

One poster, one book, four records.

An original 1991 Genesis poster from our own store, his memoir, and the four solo albums of the decade.

Printed Originals · Our poster store

Genesis, We Can’t Dance (1991)

An original 1991 promotional poster for Genesis’s We Can’t Dance with Collins out front. 23 × 43 in, rolled, mint.

In stock

View poster

Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

Search all places and Moments Current state Sort

12 of 12 places · 13 of 13 Moments

Chiswick School
Burlington Lane, Chiswick, London W4
- Chiswick Grammar
  Collins leaves Chiswick Grammar School at thirteen to play the Artful Dodger.
Noël Coward Theatre
85–88 St Martin’s Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2
- The loudest Dodger
  Collins plays the Artful Dodger in Oliver! at the New Theatre.
Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London WC2
- At the piano
  Collins’s first solo concert outing, at the Secret Policeman’s Other Ball.
Townhouse Studios
Goldhawk Road, Shepherd’s Bush, London W12: now private homes
- Intruder
  Hugh Padgham finds the gated drum sound recording Collins for Peter Gabriel.
- Face Value
  Collins and Padgham finish the home demos in Studio 2.
Wembley Stadium
Wembley, north-west London
- Noon at Wembley
  Collins plays Live Aid at Wembley.
Heathrow Airport
Hillingdon, west London
- Concorde
  A helicopter to Heathrow and Concorde to New York.
Concorde G-BOAD, Intrepid Museum
Pier 86, West 46th Street, Manhattan, New York
- The aircraft
  Concorde G-BOAD, at Heathrow in 1985, now on Pier 86.
JFK Stadium site
South Broad Street, South Philadelphia: the arena now on the site
- Evening in Philadelphia
  Collins plays Live Aid a second time, at JFK Stadium.
Perkins Palace
129 North Raymond Avenue, Old Pasadena, California
- Perkins Palace
  You Know What I Mean, recorded live at Perkins Palace.
Milton Keynes Bowl
Watling Street, Milton Keynes
- Six of the Best
  Genesis and Peter Gabriel, one night in the rain.
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore, London SW7
- Rock Gala
  The Prince’s Trust Rock Gala at the Royal Albert Hall.
Knebworth Park
Knebworth, Hertfordshire
- Knebworth
  The Silver Clef Award Winners Concert at Knebworth.

Phil CollinsAttack. Room. Gate.