The article discusses The Honeydrippers, the 1980s rock-and-roll project in which Phil Collins felt he was finally playing in a proper rock band. The ensemble mattered because it brought together prominent musicians for a deliberately loose, retro-styled collaboration outside their better-known careers.

Led by Robert Plant, The Honeydrippers also involved figures including Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Collins, drawing on classic rock, blues and rhythm-and-blues influences. The project briefly achieved commercial success with its 1984 EP, including the hit cover ‘Sea of Love’, while giving Collins a different musical setting from Genesis and his solo work.