Collins was born into a family of musicians. His mother was Bebe Collins a singer while his father was Derek Collins a
saxophonist and
session musician who toured with
Judy Garland and
Shirley Bassey. Collins has worked with a large number of notable recording artists, including
10cc,
Joan Armatrading,
Bad Company,
Roger Chapman, Child,
Clannad,
Eric Clapton,
Pino Daniele,
Dire Straits,
Marianne Faithfull,
Bryan Ferry,
Alexis Korner,
Alvin Lee,
Gerry Rafferty,
The Rolling Stones,
Tears for Fears,
Go West and
Roger Waters. He was a member of
progressive rock bands
King Crimson,
Camel, and sessioned with
The Alan Parsons Project. For King Crimson he was
Ian McDonald's replacement, playing on the albums
In the Wake of Poseidon (1970),
Lizard (1970),
Islands (1971) and
Earthbound (1972). He left King Crimson in 1972, later contributing to the album
Red (1974) as a session musician. He played on the
Crimson Jazz Trio's second album,
The King Crimson Songbook, Volume Two, released in 2009. Collins played the saxophone solo on
The Rolling Stones 1978 hit single, "
Miss You", and joined Dire Straits in 1983 on their eight month long
Love over Gold Tour and their live album,
Alchemy. He was one of the members of
Kokomo with
Tony O'Malley,
Neil Hubbard, Paddy McHugh,
Frank Collins,
Dyan Birch, and
Alan Spenner, and is a frequent performer with Tony O'Malley. Collins played flute and sax solos on both Rhead Brothers albums,
Dedicate and
Black Shaheen (1977 & 1978). In 1983, Collins played the saxophone solo on the hit single "
Private Dancer", the title cut on
Tina Turner's album by the same name. His solo was recorded in England at the Wessex Studios. In 1984 Collins played saxophone in
Pino Daniele's album
Musicante, having previously toured with the Neapolitan blues man. In the same year, Collins toured with
Roger Waters to support the album
The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. In 1985 Collins was part of the supergroup 'Willie and the Poor Boys' appearing in their video with
Bill Wyman and
Jimmy Page. He toured again with Waters on a second leg of the 'Pros and Cons' tour. That same year, he also appeared on the album
Songs from the Big Chair by
Tears for Fears, playing saxophone on "The Working Hour". In 1986 he was a musician on the animated film
When the Wind Blows. He worked again with Waters in 1987, appearing on both the album
Radio K.A.O.S. and the subsequent tour, and in 1988 again with Daniele on the album
Bonne Soirée and the subsequent tour. From 1996 to 2004, he was a band member on
Die Harald Schmidt Show, with band leader Helmut Zerlett. From 2002 to 2007 Collins was a member of the
King Crimson offshoot group
21st Century Schizoid Band, with other former Crimson members. In May 2008 Kokomo was reformed temporarily. With Collins were
Tony O'Malley,
Neil Hubbard,
Mark Smith,
Adam Phillips,
Andy Hamilton, Paddy McHugh, Dyan Birch,
Frank Collins, Bernie Holland, and Glen Le Fleur. Collins played woodwinds on the 2011
King Crimson ProjeKct 7,
A Scarcity of Miracles, appearing on a King Crimson related album for the first time since 1974. In September 2013,
Robert Fripp confirmed that Mel Collins would be a member of King Crimson again, the band being referred to as King Crimson VIII. Collins was also a member of
Pete Haycock's reformation of the
Climax Blues Band in 2013, prior to Haycock's death in October 2013. Collins is currently a member of Dire Straits Legacy, a band dedicated to playing music by
Dire Straits, dubbed as "the closest you’re going to get!" The band features Collins on saxophone, alongside fellow former Dire Straits touring members: Danny Cummings (percussion, vocals) and
Phil Palmer (guitar, vocals), former Dire Straits members:
Alan Clark (keyboards) and
Jack Sonni (guitar, vocals) alongside record producer
Trevor Horn (bass, vocals) as well as Marco Cavigila (lead guitar, vocals) and Primiano Dibiase (keyboards). The band have recorded on Studio album "3 Chord Trick". ==Selected discography==