Short Biography

Collen was born in Hackney, East London, England. Because of this region, he speaks with a Cockney accent. At the age of 16, Phil got his first guitar (a red Gibson SG), taught himself how to play, and left school to pursue a career in music. He then joined a line-up of early bands including Lucy, Tush, Dumb Blondes, and Girl.

Collen had already known Joe Elliott and Steve Clark since 1981 from the London music scene and had been asked to consider joining then. However, there was no need to replace Pete Willis at the time.

But when Willis was dismissed from Def Leppard, Collen wasn`t formally asked to join the band. Elliott evaluated Collen`s ability to play the guitar after he handed out a demo recording of "Photograph" during the band`s Pyromania sessions, in hopes of performing a solo that fit in with the bands` style of music. Soon after, Collen officially joined, and his ability on the guitar impressed producer Mutt Lange and the rest of the band. He quickly bonded with fellow guitarist Steve Clark, with whom he created Def Leppard`s trademark dual guitar sound. He and Steve were even known as "The Terror Twins". Over the years, Collen quit drinking, stopped eating meat, and adopted a healthy lifestyle (He became a vegetarian); Clark however did not follow such a healthy way of life and, like so many rock heroes, ended up losing his life to alcohol and prescription drugs in early 1991.

After Clark`s death in 1991, Collen faced the challenge of not only dealing with the loss of a friend he had bonded with for so many years, but also with the burden and responsibility of reproducing Clark`s style while creating and recording all the guitar parts for their next album, Adrenalize. Vivian Campbell eventually joined the band as second guitarist, to replace Steve Clark.
Collen currently resides in Southern California with his wife, Anita Thomas. Collen has a son, Rory James Collen, and a daughter, Samantha Collen.

Miscellaneous Information

Friends and Family

Paul Cook [Friend] (Was in the Sex Pistols,Is in Man Raze)

Phil Lewis [Friend] (Was in the band Girl with Phil Collen)

Simon Laffy [Friend] (Were in the band Girl together,They formed the band Man Raze)

Connie Collen [Mother]

Kenneth Collen [Father]

Pets

greyhound-shepherd mix Dog

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