Two of Britain’s biggest music legends have finally cleared the air. After years of headlines about an awkward encounter and a supposed feud, Phil Collins says he and Paul McCartney have now “kissed and made up.”
According to People, the Paul McCartney and Phil Collins story dates back more than two decades, but Collins recently explained that the tension has come to an end. Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored, he said the two musicians talked things through after McCartney reached out by phone.
Paul McCartney and Phil Collins’ Feud Finally Ends
The trouble began in 2002, when both men appeared at Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace. Collins had brought along a first-edition Beatles book by Hunter Davies and asked McCartney to sign it. According to Collins, McCartney made a joking remark to then-wife Heather Mills about “our little Phil” being a big Beatles fan.
Collins later admitted that McCartney may not have meant the comment the way it sounded, but he took offense at the time. Years later, while promoting his 2016 memoir, he publicly described the exchange and said he had found McCartney condescending. McCartney reportedly contacted him afterward to explain himself, but Collins never replied.
A Recent Phone Call Changed Everything
The two eventually reconnected after Collins wrote to several musicians asking whether they had memorabilia to donate to a charity auction benefiting the King’s Trust. McCartney called him, and the conversation turned back to their old disagreement. Collins said he apologized and told McCartney he wished he had never made the story public. McCartney, in turn, questioned why the situation had become such a big issue when he believed they had been on good terms. Collins said that was enough to settle things, adding simply that they had “kissed and made up.”
The Paul McCartney and Phil Collins reconciliation ends a disagreement that lasted far longer than the original encounter. Collins has admitted he may have read too much into McCartney’s remark, making their recent conversation feel more like two musicians finally moving on. The resolution comes as Collins marks 45 years since Face Value and prepares for his solo Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. For fans, it offers a fittingly quiet end to one of rock’s more unusual long-running disputes.