Phil Collins: Adele's a trickster

Phil Collins thinks of Adele as a "slippery little fish".

The legendary British singer has been a prominent figure in music since the '70s and counts Ice-T, Pharrell Williams and Wyclef Jean as famous fans.

Superstar songstress Adele is also an admirer of his work, although his hopes of them working together have seemingly been abandoned.

"She's a slippery little fish is Adele," Phil laughed to Q magazine. "She got hold of me and asked if I would write with her. She gave me a piece of music to finish and at first I didn't know if I'd failed the audition as I didn't hear back from her. Then she said, 'No, no, I'm moving house and the baby's taking up a lot of my time, I'm not actually doing anything at the moment.' And now I've heard there's a 29 coming out. I'm not on it, I know that."

As well as being proud of his career, Phil is enjoying seeing how well his daughter, movie star Lily Collins, is getting on in Hollywood.

With his status as rock royalty cemented in 2010 when his former band Genesis were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it's no surprise Phil is good friends with Britain's real-life royalty. He was a guest at Prince Charles' 2005 wedding to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, though he has no idea what he gave them as a gift.

"I can't remember now what I did for a present. I get on very well with Prince Charles, and I know this me sound even more like a Tory [British right-wing political party] - and I'm not a f**king Tory, OK?" Phil explained.

"I get on very well with him, because I like him. We all know he's very green and has this orchard at Highgrove [Prince Charles' country home], so every time it's his birthday or something, I always get The Prince's Trust to plant a tree. So maybe I did that kind of thing. I was flattered to be invited."