Collins was born in
Hammersmith,
London, England. He is the eldest son of English drummer and singer-songwriter
Phil Collins and his first wife, British-Canadian citizen Andrea Bertorelli. He moved to
Vancouver,
British Columbia, in 1984, when he was 8 years old, after his parents' divorce. He lived with his mother, Andrea, and his sister, Joely, in nearby
Richmond between the ages of 8 and 11. In 1991, his parents were involved in a court battle at the
Supreme Court of British Columbia to gain possession of the estate, owing to a misunderstanding of the terms of ownership of the home. His father had previously placed the estate in an irrevocable
land trust in 1987, however, to be owned by both children jointly in adulthood. His father succeeded in retaining control of the estate until Simon's twentieth birthday, as the judge ruled in October 1991 he was not old enough to sign his half of the estate to his mother as she had intended. Collins completed his secondary education at Vancouver's
Point Grey Secondary School. Collins first became involved with music when he was five after his father purchased for him a
Tama drum kit. He practised drumming by playing along with music albums in his parents' record collection as well as when accompanying his father while on tour with
Genesis. Though he had a
percussion instructor when he was ten, Collins preferred drumming to artists such as
Stewart Copeland,
Gavin Harrison, and
Keith Moon over his formal lessons in
jazz drumming. He also appeared onstage for a performance during the
Seriously, Live! World Tour. While he played drums in numerous
hard rock bands beginning at age 14, Collins wanted to pursue singing, songwriting, and diversity in music styles, including pop,
progressive rock,
rock and roll,
punk,
grunge, and
electronica. According to Collins, he did not wish to spend his life "drumming to other people's music." His early compositions were rejected by the heavier rock bands he played for because of their pop style. In his late teens, Collins worked part-time as a disc jockey in Vancouver's
rave scene. His experiences in rave culture inspired a collaborative documentary project with his sister Joely called
Summer Love. Collins developed a passion for astronomy and social issues during his youth, and frequently revisits these themes in his music. ==Career==