In 1982, just a few months before I was born, Phil Collins played his first ever solo gig. Well, first and second actually. In between a Genesis tour (August/September 1982), and rehearsals for a new Genesis album (‘Mama album’, spring 1983), Phil Collins found time to do a solo tour, promoting his second solo album ‘Hello, I Must Be Going!” The tour went through 7 cities in Europe and 7 cities throughoout the US/Canada. After a month’s break the tour continued in January 1983.
Collins played his first two concerts at the Congresgebouw in The Hague, Netherlands on November 21st 1982. Genesis had played the Congresgebouw in 1976, promoting ‘A Trick Of The Tail’. Peter Gabriel and Brand X played there in 1978, and also Steve Hackett played his first Dutch solo gig at the venue.
Because of the high demand for Phil’s solo concert, a second concert was added to the first date. The first concert started on 3pm and the second on 8pm. I guess it was hard work for Phil and his brand new band. I recently purchased a ticket for Phil’s late concert that day. It’s a rare item these days. I also added a few newspaper articles reviewing the late night show. Both the early and late show were recorded from the audience. The recordings can be found here (early) and here (late).