At last night’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Phil Collins entered an exclusive club of two-time inductees, as the drummer and songwriter was inducted as a solo artist after previously entering as a member of Genesis in 2010. Fellow drummer and mega-fan Travis Barker had the duty of honoring Collins with an introductory speech, and his love and admiration for the ’80s star couldn’t have been more apparent.
Barker of course had plenty to say about Collins’ massive cultural impact, but the Blink-182 member spent the bulk of his speech explaining how profoundly impactful his musicianship was on a personal level.
“I remember being a kid and purposely not changing my drumheads so my drums would sound like Phil Collins,” Barker recalled. “I remember begging my parents for more toms because I wanted my drums to look like Phil Collins’s kit. At one point, I even put two totally different drum kits together — nothing matched, but I didn’t care because I wanted to be like Phil. And I remember watching him play drums in his music videos on MTV and VH1, and my mom would always tell me, ‘That’s the guy. That’s the drummer you need to watch — look at him.’ And she was right. I wanted to be just like him.”
Related Video
He went on to call the iconic drum fill to “In the Air Tonight” (a song he performed alongside Cynthia Erivo during the ceremony) “arguably the most badass drum fill of all time.”
“You don’t even have to be a drummer to know that fill — when that part comes on, everyone plays air drums. And the funny thing is, you look at Phil and you don’t necessarily expect such a huge sound to come out of him. Thor, maybe — but Phil Collins? Yes, Phil Collins, it was you. You made that sound.”
![Phil Collins - Serious Hits Live [2LP]](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0673/7038/5569/files/Phil_Collins_-_Serious_Hits_Live_2LP.jpg?v=1786543460)
![Phil Collins - No Jacket Required (Deluxe Edition) [4LP]](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0673/7038/5569/files/PhilCollins-NoJacketRequiredFullyTailored3DPackshot.png?v=1779475466)
Read Travis Barker’s full speech honoring Phil Collins’ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction below.
While Phil Collins was in attendance for the ceremony, giving an acceptance speech of his own, he declined the opportunity to perform. Read more about his induction here. You can also follow along with more of our coverage of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2026 induction ceremony here.
Travis Barker’s Speech Inducting Phil Collins into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
In the summer of 1990, I was 14 years old. My mom bought me an issue of Modern Drummer magazine. Inside was this little vinyl record you could actually tear out of the magazine — like, it’s really floppy, this little disc — and I played this record over and over again. It was a drum duet between Phil Collins and Chester Thompson. It was the first time I heard two drummers playing together like this, and I was obsessed. That was really the beginning of my love for Phil Collins.
I remember being a kid and purposely not changing my drumheads so my drums would sound like Phil Collins. I remember begging my parents for more toms because I wanted my drums to look like Phil Collins’s kit. At one point, I even put two totally different drum kits together — nothing matched, but I didn’t care because I wanted to be like Phil. And I remember watching him play drums in his music videos on MTV and VH1, and my mom would always tell me, ‘That’s the guy. That’s the drummer you need to watch — look at him.’ And she was right. I wanted to be just like him.
What was so inspiring to me was that Phil wasn’t just an incredible drummer; he was also an amazing singer-songwriter and one of the biggest solo artists in the world.
I’ve got more to say about Phil! Songs like ‘Sussudio,’ ‘Take Me Home,’ ‘Easy Lover,’ and ‘Against All Odds’ were the soundtrack to my childhood. And then there’s ‘In the Air Tonight,’ with arguably the most badass drum fill of all time. You don’t even have to be a drummer to know that fill — when that part comes on, everyone plays air drums. And the funny thing is, you look at Phil and you don’t necessarily expect such a huge sound to come out of him. Thor, maybe—but Phil Collins? Yes, Phil Collins, it was you. You made that sound.
Hearing those drums for the first time and being blown away — that sound changed everything. It helped define the sound of drums in the ’80s, and you can still hear Phil’s influence today. And what makes this even more incredible is that he was doing all of this while being part of Genesis and somehow having a massive solo career at the same time. He wasn’t just successful at both — he was one of the best at both.
Phil Collins became one of the biggest singers and songwriters in the world, and through all of it, he never stopped being a drummer, and I think that says everything about who he is. As Phil once said, ‘Whatever else I am, I’m a drummer first.’
There aren’t many artists who get inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice, but tonight Phil Collins becomes one of them, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving. Thank you, Phil, for inspiring me and so many others to pick up a pair of drumsticks, fall in love with music, and never stop.
