"I wish I'd never said it": Phil Collins reveals how a "little" comment from Paul McCartney sparked 24-year rift

Phil Collins and Paul McCartney have finally put a 24-year feud behind them.

During an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Friday, Oct. 2, the Against All Odds hitmaker revisited the disagreement and explained how he and The Beatles icon recently reconciled.

The conflict began at the Queen’s Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace in 2002. Phil Collins had brought a rare first edition of Hunter Davies’ book about The Beatles and asked Paul McCartney to sign it during rehearsals.

According to Collins, McCartney then turned to his then-wife Heather Mills and said:

“He’s a big Beatles fan, is our little Phil?”

Collins admitted the comment immediately annoyed him.

“I thought, ‘You a******.’”

He also acknowledged that he might have taken the remark more seriously than Paul McCartney intended.

The disagreement resurfaced over the years, including after Collins discussed it while promoting his 2016 memoir Not Dead Yet.

In his interview with the Sunday Times, Collins also discussed his rift with the I Want To Hold Your Hand singer.

“McCartney read this and emailed him, saying, ‘I’m a bit disappointed, blah blah.’ He said don’t be so … ‘sacrosanct’ was the word he used. I’m not sure what that means, but anyway it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth and obviously left a bad taste in his.”

Collins also mentioned that McCartney had always treated him “condescendingly.”

Phil Collins and Paul McCartney “kissed and made up” after a conversation

Meanwhile, further in his Piers Morgan interview, Phil Collins recalled that Paul McCartney later contacted him about the comments, leaving both musicians with lingering resentment.

Their relationship changed recently when Paul McCartney called Collins after hearing about an auction the singer was organizing for the King’s Trust.

During the conversation, McCartney asked Collins about their estrangement.

“I said, ‘I wish I’d never said it, Paul. I wish I’d never said it.’”

Paul McCartney responded:

“I thought we were good.”

In the interview, the Groovy Kind of Love singer said the two then “kissed and made up.”

“I said I was sorry. Obviously this had been bugging him because he likes to be liked, as we all do … maybe him more than some other people. But we all like to be liked, and I understand that.”

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Looking back, Phil Collins said he regrets discussing the incident publicly, despite standing by the fact that it happened. He also said he was happy they finally talked things through.

“We’ve made up. He’s happy about the fact that we discussed it, and I’m happy we discussed it. It was just really lovely that it’s gone full circle now.”

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