Phil Collen is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard. Before Collen joined Def Leppard on July 13, 1982, during the recording of Pyromania, he was asked to consider joining the band for the High ‘n’ Dry 1981 tour by Joe Elliott and Steve Clark, whom he knew at the time.
Phil Collen Personal Life
Phil Collen was born on 8 December 1957 in the London Borough of Hackney, London, United Kingdom to Constance April Collen, and Kenneth Frank Collen.
When Phil turned 16th, he got his first guitar, a red Gibson SG. He is a self-taught guitarist. He played with a number of bands including Lucy, Tush, and Dumb Blondes. He joined the group, Girl. During his tenure with Girl, Collen’s career began to take off, fueled by the relative success of albums Sheer Greed and Wasted Youth, which allowed him to play in more prominent venues.
Collen is vegan and has been a vegetarian for 35 years. Collen is also color blind.
Phil Collen Career
Before Collen joined Def Leppard on July 13, 1982, during the recording of Pyromania, he was asked to consider joining the band for the High ‘n’ Dry 1981 tour by Joe Elliott and Steve Clark, whom he knew at the time. Despite this invitation, Pete Will was not traded. As a result, Collen remained a member of Girl. After Willis was fired for drinking problems, Joe Elliott called and asked Collen to perform. He was asked to perform a solo on “Stagefright” and “Photograph” during the Pyromania recording sessions. Mutt Lange, the band’s producer, told Collen, “Just have fun, play some solos on it”. “Photo”, “Rock of Ages”, “Foolin'”, “Stagefright” and “Rock till You Drop” were all tracks on which he played solo.
After the death of Clark, Collen faced the challenge of not only losing a friend and bandmate but also the burden and responsibility of recording Adrenalize. The music had already been written, but Clark’s playing style was so different from Collen’s that recording Clark’s parts proved very difficult. While Clark’s playing style was rhythmic, melodic, and sometimes even characterized as “dizzy”, Collen’s style was technical and precise, which made it difficult to imitate Clark’s playing style.
After Clark’s death and problems recording Adrenalize, Collen seriously considered leaving Def Leppard. Just before the Adrenalize tour, Clark finally replaced the band’s other guitarist Vivian Campbell, formerly of Dio and Whitesnake. This freed Collen from some of the pressure of Def Leppard’s “over-the-top” production style, as well as the challenge of replicating Clark’s guitar part for live performances.
Other Projects
He performed with the band Man Raze, a collaboration with former Girl group bassist Simon Laffy and Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook. Collen played guitar on Donny Osmond’s Just Between You and Me in 1990. Because his band did not approve of his playing on the song, he was billed as Rory James Collen on the song.
In 1990, Collen produced the album On the Edge of the Australian group BB Steal. In 1991, Collen offered The Law a song he wrote called “Miss You in a Heartbeat”, which appeared on the band’s album. This album was the band’s only release. “Miss You in a Heartbeat” was recorded and later released by Def Leppard.
In 1993, Collen’s manager produced the album Sublime to the Ridiculous for Sheer Greed, a group made up of ex-girl members. Collen also participated earlier in his career. Collen also worked on side projects with Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott. One of these recent projects was a tribute to David Bowie and Mick Ronson. He and Elliott also teamed up with Trevor Bolder and Mick “Woody” Woodmansey of Spiders of Mars and keyboard player Dick Decent to form the band, Cybernauts.
In 2001, they released a live album of Bowie songs. In 1996, Collen appeared as the featured guitarist in Jeffology: A Guitar Chronicle, a tribute album to Jeff Beck. Collen appeared on the album’s single, “‘Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”.
In 2010, Collen recorded “Hard Times Celebrate” with rapper Bazaar Royale, which appeared on the album “The Ride”. Collen formed a blues project called Delta Deep with Debbi Blackwell Cook of the 1980s band The Jammers, which released a self-titled debut album in 2015.
In 2017, Collen re-emerged with three tracks from The Professionals’ reunion album, What in the World. Collen joined Joe Satriani and John Petrucci on the 2018 G3 US Tour.
Phil Collen Alcoholism
In 1988, Collen gave up alcohol, which had become a serious addiction, gave up eating meat, and adopted a generally healthy lifestyle. According to Collen, he began suffering from blackouts due to alcohol and stopped when he realized he was losing control of his addiction, which began to dominate his life. Clark, however, did not meet such standards and died in early 1991 of alcoholism.
Phil Collen Net Worth
He has a net worth of $30 million. He has gathered most of his fortune from the projects he has done with Def Leppard.
Phil Collen Relationship
Phil Collen has been in relationships with Kamilah Cornelius (2004), Michele Fawcett (2003-2004), Valerie Tornambe (1985), Sharon Van Wyk (1980), Elisabeth Short (1979-1982), and Shawyana Ruffolo. He was previously married to Jacqueline Collen-Tarolly (1989) and Anita Thomas-Collen (1999). He got married to Helen L. Simmons, an actress and costume designer, in 2010. He has five children: Rory (b. 1990), Samantha (b. 2004), Savannah (b. 2009), Charlotte (b. 2014), and Jaxson (b. 2018).
Phil Collen Martial Arts
Philip is trained extensively in martial arts for over 20 years. He started martial arts training in Kempo Karate and earned a black belt. He also studied kickboxing under Benny Urquidez and Muay Thai under Jean Carillo. He is currently training overseas and on tour with Eric the Coach.
Phil Collen Education
Phil left school to work as a motorcycle dispatch rider until his band Girl got their first record contract.
Phil Collen Instagram Account
Phil Collen Physical Stats
| Height | In Centimeters: 170 cm.
In Meters: 1.7 m. In Feet Inches: 5’7″ |
| Weight | 58 kg |
| Hair Color | Blonde |
| Eye Color | Blue |
Phil Collen Wiki/Bio
| Name | Phil Collen |
| Full Name | Philip Kenneth Collen |
| Date Of Birth | 8 December 1957 |
| Age | 65 (as of 2023) |
| Birthplace | London Borough of Hackney, London, United Kingdom |
| Profession | Guitarist |
| Nationality | British |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
| Food Habit | Vegan |
| Gender | Male |
| Parents | Constance April Collen, Kenneth Frank Collen |
| Siblings | N/A |
| Partner | N/A |
| Spouse | Helen L. Simmons (m. 2010), Anita Thomas (m. 1999–2010), Jacqueline Collen (m. 1990–1995) |
| Children | Rory (born 1990), Samantha (born 2004), Savannah (born 2009), Charlotte (born 2014), and Jaxson (born 2018) |
Phil Collen Discography
| Song | Year |
| Sheer Greed (with Girl) | 1980 |
| Wasted Youth (with Girl) | 1981 |
| Killing Time (with Girl) | 1997 |
| Live at the Marquee (with Girl) | 2001 |
| Pyromania (with Def Leppard) | 1983 |
| Hysteria (with Def Leppard) | 1987 |
| Adrenalize (with Def Leppard) | 1992 |
| Retro Active (with Def Leppard) | 1993 |
| Slang (with Def Leppard) | 1996 |
| Euphoria (with Def Leppard) | 1999 |
| X (with Def Leppard) | 2002 |
| Yeah! (with Def Leppard) | 2006 |
| Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (with Def Leppard) | 2008 |
| Mirror Ball – Live & More (with Def Leppard) | 2011 |
| Viva! Hysteria (with Def Leppard) | 2013 |
| Def Leppard (with Def Leppard) | 2015 |
| Diamond Star Halos (with Def Leppard) | 2022 |
| Surreal (with Man Raze) | 2008 |
| PunkFunkRootsRock (with Man Raze) | 2011 |
| Delta Deep (with Delta Deep) | 2015 |
Read Also-