HE had them waltzing in the aisles. He had them dancing in their seats. He even had them singing his choruses. And, by the end of the show, Phil Collins had his audience on their feet and eating out of his hand.
Collins showed his stuff on the opening night of his two-show stop at the Coliseum, part of his 'Far Side . . . Of The World 1995' tour. It was not hard to picture him recording his last album Both Sides on his own, as he demonstrated his musical talent: one minute he was pounding on the drums, then the tambourines, the keyboards . . .
It was three jam-packed hours set against an imaginative West Side Story-type stage and exquisite lighting. Everything was timed for maximum dramatic effect. And Collins gave full vent to his theatrical side.
He came on stage through the door of a makeshift corrugated shack, hung up his overcoat and fedora, and launched into a 10-minute drum solo. Then came a case of 'duelling drums' with the band's drummer, Rickie Lawson, before Collins took the crowd on a journey through some of his more sombre 'black-and-white' numbers which included Another Day in Paradise (dedicated to the homeless here - in commendable Cantonese), I Wish it Would Rain Down and Groovy Kind of Love.
But it wasn't until the second half that the party started going full steam with Collins bringing the show to a crescendo with Sussudio. The crowd wasn't about to let him off that easy and stamped for more. So Mr Nice Guy obliged with Against All Odds and Take Me Home before switching off the light of his corrugated shack.
Phil Collins. Hong Kong Coliseum, May 3
