{"id":599087,"date":"2026-05-23T02:45:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T02:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/599087\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T02:45:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T02:45:11","slug":"when-paul-mccartney-brutally-humiliated-phil-collins-in-2002","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/599087\/","title":{"rendered":"When Paul McCartney brutally humiliated Phil Collins in 2002"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Paul<\/p>\n

Credit: Mary McCartney<\/p>\n

Fri 22 May 2026 20:17, UK <\/p>\n

Paul McCartney<\/a> is not only one of the most beloved figures in music, but arguably one of the most widely adored people alive. In fact, the only person who might rival the universal affection he receives is David Attenborough.<\/p>\n

Considering McCartney has been famous for more than 60 years<\/a>, nobody would bat an eyelid if there were a handful of horror stories told by fellow celebrities about their interactions with the Beatles legend. Yet, nobody has a bad word to say about him\u2026apart from Phil Collins, that is.<\/p>\n

From an artistic standpoint, Collins has great respect for McCartney. Their paths first crossed when Collins was a teenager and was cast as an audience member in A Hard Day\u2019s Night. While it wasn\u2019t a role of any real significance, simply witnessing the Fab Four perform in all their glory was more than enough for him at the time, and it was a cherished memory that he held tight.<\/p>\n

A few years later, Collins began to make steps of his own within the music industry, which would lead him to again crossing paths with a Beatle. This time, it was as a session musician on George Harrison\u2019s All Things Must Pass. Sadly, it made his blink-and-you\u2019ll-miss-it Hard Day\u2019s Night cameo look like an Oscar-winning performance, as Collins\u2019 contribution to All Things Must Pass was cut<\/a> from the record.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, being in the same room with Harrison was good enough; years later, they\u2019d form a friendship and have an almighty laugh about their prior interaction.<\/p>\n

While he grew close to Harrison, the same can\u2019t be said for McCartney, who is not somebody that you can expect to see Collins sharing a joke with anytime soon.<\/p>\n

For a time, the two of them seemed to enjoy a cordial relationship. Collins even played drums on McCartney\u2019s 1986 song, \u2018Angry\u2019, from Press to Play, and in 1997, they shared a stage at the Music for Montserrat fundraiser at London\u2019s Royal Albert Hall.<\/p>\n

Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n

Due to their shared history, McCartney likely thought that he could make a joke at Collins\u2019 expense in his company, and it wouldn\u2019t be taken to heart. However, that proved not to be the case.<\/p>\n

In 2002, both music icons found themselves at Buckingham Palace for an event, with one off-hand comment completely re-adjusting how Collins viewed McCartney<\/a>.<\/p>\n

14 years after the incident, Collins explained to The Sunday Times in 2016: \u201cI 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, \u2018Hey, Paul, do you mind signing this for me?\u2019 And he said, \u2018Oh, Heather, our little Phil\u2019s a bit of a Beatles fan\u2019. And I thought, \u2018You fuck, you fuck\u2019. Never forgot it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Genesis,<\/a>Credit: Philippe Roos<\/p>\n

McCartney likely didn\u2019t set out to embarrass Collins at a prestigious event, but it had a lasting impact on the Genesis frontman, who believed it came from a superiority complex. \u201cHe has this thing when he\u2019s talking to you, where he makes you feel [like], \u2018I know this must be hard for you because I\u2019m a Beatle<\/a>. I\u2019m Paul McCartney and it must be very hard for you to actually be holding a conversation with me,’\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Soon enough, McCartney caught wind of Collins\u2019 comments and contacted him to apologise for any harm caused. Collins told Billboard, \u201cI certainly didn\u2019t get any flowers from him; I got more of a \u2018Let\u2019s just get on with our lives.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Collins also felt a degree of guilt for airing his grievances with McCartney in public, but still believes it was the right decision, adding, \u201cAnd I\u2019m sorry he\u2019s upset that I kinda said something nasty about him \u2014 well, it wasn\u2019t really nasty. If people don\u2019t tell people that sometimes their attitude could be a bit better then you\u2019re not gonna get any better, y\u2019know?\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very hard to imagine McCartney, of all people, deliberately set out to belittle Collins. After all, he\u2019s Paul McCartney; what does he have to gain by taking joy in the misery of others?<\/p>\n

It was merely a joke that didn\u2019t land without any intent to cause upset. Nevertheless, Collins felt like McCartney had talked down to him, and he\u2019s also clearly not lying about how it made him feel, even if it wasn\u2019t said to cause that reaction.<\/p>\n

Seemingly, even being a Beatle doesn\u2019t make you immune to occasionally misjudging social situations and making the odd faux pas.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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