What was the worst advice you ever got?

"'Forget about being a guitar player. There's plenty of guitar factories and shops - you can do that'. That was my career officer at school. My mom said 'Fuck them, do what you feel, don't be discouraged by it'. That was cool. We all came from a working class, very supportive background. Joe's mom helped him fold sleeves of the first EP."

What's the best advice you could give to a young guitar player who wants to write songs?

"Actually, Rick's got that answer, and he's not a guitarist."

What was your favorite childhood toy?

"Action Man (G.I. Joe)."

What was the wildest party you went to or gave?

"Still waiting, although the last night of the Hysteria shed tour with the guys from Europe was hiliarious."

What's your guilty pleasure?

"Caffeine and Indian food."

Do you have any hidden tattoos?

"I had this hickey once, but it disappeared."

If you could relive one day from your past, which would it be, and would you do anything differently?

"About four months ago I would have reversed my car in the opposite direction."

Last Time You Ate Meat?

"I was on a plane with Joe (Elliott, Leppard singer) from Tokyo to Stockholm in 1983. I was absolutely bollocksed drunk and I tipped food all over me. It was disgusting, I stopped drinking at that point, too. As far as most people are concerned I'm almost a vegan, but I still have milk in my coffee and I eat chocolate every now and again."

Last Time You Pissed In The Street?

"Yesterday. It happens all the time. I drink loads of water, so I'm always nipping off for a piss when we're doing a gig."

Last Party You Went To?

"Fuck, I can't remember. Jesus, we are getting boring! I suppose the last one I recall was at Sav's (Leppard bassist Rick Savage). He's got a place in Dublin. It was very cool, but I left at 2am when a lot of people were just arriving. When you don't drink, you tend to leave before people start slobbering all over you."

Last Time You Were Caught Doing Something Naughty?

"Obviously it was shagging. I used to have this Escort van, and I used to fuck in it all the time in it. One night I was fucking some girl and a copper shines his torch in through the window. My arse is going up and down and he's going, 'What are you doing in there, sir?' And I'm like, 'What the fuck do you think I'm doing?'"

How Long Can You Last?

"What, shagging? It really depends who I'm with and what we're doing. I won't say the real answer, because it'll sound like I'm bragging!"

What song would you like to cover?

"Bowie's 'Moonlight Daydream."

Have you ever had a supernatural experience, seen a ghost or UFO?

"In our apartment in New York we'd see something out of the corner of our eye but we didn't know what it was, and when we moved we never saw it again."

What was the biggest mistake you ever made?

"Getting married."

What's the best concert you ever attended?

"Probably a Prince show."

What's your all-time favorite TV show?

"Fawlty Towers."

What musicians, living or dead, would you put together in a supergroup?

"It would be this lot. Good musicians are often difficult to hang out with; that's the hardest part, finding people you get on with."

On What TV Show would you like to be a guest?

"Batman, the animated series. He's so cool."

What's always in your refrigerator?

"Fruit juice."

What was the worst thing that ever happened to you on stage?

"My Levis split and my bollocks fell out. I had no idea at first."

Can you tell us about your first car?

"Ford Escort Van, various colors."

If you won the million dollar lottery, what would you do with the money?

"Spend it as quick as I could on something really indulgent."

I've never been able to ...

"Iron shirts."

People who knew me in high school thought I was ...

"I didn't graduate and I never went back to reunions, so I don't really know."

What turns you on?

"Nice long legs."

What's your favorite childhood memory?

"My first concert was pretty memorable - Deep Purple at 14. I had a really good childhood, I got along with my parents. I never rebelled. Pretty much all of it was cool. I wouldn't change any of it."

What was the best pickup line you ever used?

"I can't even bring myself to say."

What's your ultimate sexual fantasy?

"Kim Basinger."

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you want the most?

"A helicopter with pilot, Kashoggi's yacht with crew, and a small town with a female population."

What three words describe you best?

"I like working hard and achieving things, so determined, independent, and a nice guy."

What was the worst time in your life?

"Recording Hysteria and Rick's accident, and the Steve thing, but that was over a period of years. I miss him more now than I did when he first died. I think about him all the time. It bugs me more now. What a waste!"

What album influenced you most, and why?

"Deep Purple, 'In Rock'. My cousin got me into it. I really dug it and that's why I started playing guitar. There's been other albums over the years, but that was the first one."

What was the worst meal you ever ate?

"Some weird blue shit that someone gave me during our 1992 Australian tour. I didn't eat it."

What was the most romantic thing you ever did for someone?

"I never used to be into flowers and stuff like that but I do it for my wife all the time now, I'm really soppy with her."

Where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world?

"Where I live now, in Laguna Hills, CA. It's brilliant, love the weather and going to the beach and all that stuff."

The Name Game: Rockers' Best Aliases

"Vic Sinex, Phil Meass."

What's your most prized possession?

"My '54 Gibson guitar and my '59 Corvette."

What was your most memorable birthday?

"My 33rd springs to mind. We were in Omaha, NE, playing in the round with the whole place singing 'Happy Birthday' - I felt like I was standing on a huge birthday cake. Very weird."

What was the best trick you ever played on someone?

"I surprised my dad with a car for his birthday a couple of years ago, a BMW wrapped in ribbon, Jacki did that to me last Christmas. We had a party at our house and I was upstairs playing mixes of the album for Joey Allen and Rudy Sarzo. Jacki says there's kids fighting in the driveway, and I go outside and there's a Corvette with a bow around it. Everyone knew about it but me."


Random Phil-th:

Phil Collen on "Hysteria": Our most popular album to date. It was Mutt's idea to make a rock version of "Thriller" - rock songs that were hit singles. We were fortunate enough to have seven strong singles from this record, Mutt Lange was very influential here. We seemed to be making a video every few weeks. We were in the top ten all over the world at one time or another. (the postcard from "Work It Out" single)


"We make music for escapism. It's like Star Wars for the ears. Cult movies are really cool, but I'd rather go see a Steven Spielberg movie."

"You're only as good as your latest album. You just have to try really hard."

"We have a fining system if anyone's late, a dollar a minute. It all goes into a cup and at the end of the tour we have a party."

"A lot of people out there still really like us. We've never tried to be political and we've always tried to make escapist rock music."

"A lot of bands stopped thinking about the music and lived a silly lifestyle. We're not pompous. We're very sincere. We don't live in mansions."



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