By the mid-1980s, Phil Collins was unstoppable—topping charts, selling out arenas, and juggling careers as a solo artist and Genesis frontman. But even at the height of fame and precision, no one is immune to the occasional slip-up. And sometimes, those little missteps become the most memorable, human moments in a performance.
On July 13, 1985, Collins took the stage at Live Aid, the massive dual-continent benefit concert for Ethiopian famine relief. With no backing band and only a piano in front of him, he stepped into the spotlight at London’s Wembley Stadium to perform “Against All Odds.” Just a minute into the ballad, he hit the wrong key—clearly, noticeably. But instead of freezing or faltering, Collins simply smiled, shook his head, and carried on. It’s a moment that lives on online, not as a failure, but as a lesson in grace under pressure.
To fully appreciate the performance, it helps to understand what Collins was taking on that day. He didn’t just play a set in London. He then flew—first by helicopter, then Concorde jet—to Philadelphia to perform again. Along the way, he drummed for Sting, Eric Clapton, and a Led Zeppelin reunion. (That last one is infamous for reasons unrelated to Collins—another story entirely.) With performances on both sides of the Atlantic, broadcast to over a billion people, Collins embodied the spirit of Live Aid: relentless effort in service of something bigger than ego.
Privately, he worried that the back-to-back performances might seem like a publicity stunt. In his memoir Not Dead Yet, he jokingly titled the chapter “The Show-Off Must Go On.” But his attitude onstage told a different story. He looked less like a self-promoter and more like a joyful musician putting everything he had into the cause.
That flubbed note during “Against All Odds”? It didn’t derail the performance. In fact, it added to its charm. After the show, Collins joked in an interview, “A couple of little goofs on the piano, but that makes it all the more human, doesn’t it? That’s what I keep telling myself anyway.” He would later perform the song again in Philadelphia—flawlessly that time—but it’s the London version that people still talk about.
Watch the video today, and you’ll find hundreds of YouTube comments that praise the moment not for its perfection, but for its honesty:
“Phil makes a mistake at 1:06, shakes his head and smiles and carries on. A true legend. That’s how greatness is achieved.”
“‘To play a wrong note is insignificant. To play without passion is inexcusable.’ – Beethoven”
“Sometimes there can be beauty in imperfection. But only a world-class performer can make a mistake one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”
