Phil's Words
"Me and Steve seen him in the hospital, and he was all done up like a mummy, you know, it was like, you know...blood seeping out, and just lying in the bed, and he said, "I've been practicing, I'm gonna play drums." And we were like, I mean, it was almost the first thing he said, and we thought...MEDICATION!" - 1997
"We were just blown away by his determination. He got out of the hospital in like six weeks and he was supposed to be in there six months. He was just really very strong and that was good for all of us as well, you know? It made us have a lot more determination, a lot more faith, you know, in just everything."
"The weirdest thing was when me and Steve went to visit him in the hospital. He was all bandaged up still, you know, and on medication. And we walked in and he went `Hi!' as if nothing had happened, and we went `Aw, he's delerious. The boy's sick,' you know?"
"Rick resigned himself to the fact that he would have to rehearse his ass off. And it was a real pain for us sometimes, living there. He was waking me and Steve up in the morning - boom-boom-brrrrump! But we figured 'Fuckin' A, peace, man, go for it.' And it made a difference. When we got ready to tour later on, it was obvious he could play on his own."
"Rick's accident was a real kick in the balls to everyone. That was weird 'cause when Steve and I got the call, we were in Paris, we thought he just had an accident and cut his arm. Then we learned the extent of it. We were like, 'F--k!' you just don't think something like that could happen. It was really strange. But he came back like a banshee! He was so determined not to let it affect his life. He really had time to prove, not just to himself, but to everyone around him, that he could overcome it. And, in the end, it turned out being a positive thing."
"I think me, Steve and Rick was living in a house together in Ireland, which is where he kind of, you know, prepared himself. He'd play eight hours a day, you know? Just noise all the time, but it was great, you know? It was really good to see it." 1992
"It did make us a lot stronger, and, and think about things in a different way. It's like, if he can do THIS after losing a limb, then how DARE we moan about "Oh we can't get the bridge right on this song," or "I just missed the flight to Paris," or, you know, how dare we do that." - 1997
On recording the Hysteria album: NEW
"(Rick's accident) was a huge blow to us all personally, of course. But Rick came through it all so well, it's unbelievable. The fact that the record took so long to make took a lot of pressure off of him, in some ways. He had the time to learn how to play in a new way, of course, but just the way that he became a new person and learned how to do all the normal things that we take for granted – tying his shoes, cutting a loaf of bread and stuff like that – it was amazing. So Rick was able to get so many elements of his life back before we finished the album and went back into the world.” - 2012
"When Steve died, we recorded the album again. And we did it real quick...we just got on with it. And that was something we learned from Rick's accident - not to dwell on it, not to get depresed about it. Of course, he had a great attitude: 'Okay, no left arm. So what? I've still got a left foot.' We used that as a yardstick and carried on."
"Gift of Flesh was the song that got us using Marshall amps again. When we heard Rick playing a real drum kit (after using electronic drums for 11 years) it kind of set the tone. He sounded like someone released from solitary confinement and given total freedom. We said "Play like Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols on their first album." So he beat the crap out of his drum kit and it was perfect for this song and others to follow." - 1995
"The whole thing with Rick ended up such a positive thing. Rick was a guy overcoming a full blown, fuck your life up and commit suicide kind of tragedy. Instead of doing that, he came back and said, “What is this then? This is going to be like playing with one arm tied behind my back. No arm? No problem.” It really turned into a great human story of a person overcoming a really shitty situation." - 2005
On how Rick plays drums with his feet:
"It's like a dance - it's unbelievable. River Dance! It's pretty wild." - 2006
On why Rick now has his own tourbus:
"Rick has his own bus which he fills with flowers and incense. He burns joss sticks on it and it gets in everyone else’s throats, so he’s on his own in there." - 2008
Phil Collen
