Willenhall
Willenhall is a market town situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2011 census of 28,480. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of ...
and was recruited to join The Charlatans in the late 1980s. The band's debut single "Indian Rope" was an indie hit, and led the way for their debut top ten single "The Only One I Know" in 1990. Collins' swirling and layered psychedelic organ playing added an important and noted edge to the band's sound and placed the band apart from many of their baggy contemporaries and he was the band's main songwriter. He recorded five successful albums with the band.
Imprisonment
On 3 December 1992, Collins was arrested and charged with
armed robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
on an off-licence near his home. Collins had been driving with a friend, who performed the robbery when Collins was waiting in his car outside. Collins claimed to have no foreknowledge of the robbery until he heard a gunshot inside the shop and his friend exited, although later admitted that he should not have picked his friend up after he realised what he had done. In court Collins pleaded guilty to "Assisting an offender after an offence", for which he was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment. His former charge of "armed robbery" (resulting in a possible sentence of eight years or more) was dropped in court. Collins served four months of his sentence and was released in early 1994.
Death
Collins began to record keyboard and organ parts for The Charlatans' fifth album, '' Tellin' Stories'', but was killed, just before sessions were completed, in a car crash on 22 July 1996 while driving his BMW 520i on the B4233, a country road north of
Monmouth
Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. ...
near Rockfield Studios where the album was being recorded. An investigation into the accident showed that Collins had consumed a sizable amount of alcohol and was not wearing a seatbelt. He died from head injuries on the roadside shortly after the accident, having been thrown through the sunroof. Investigators concluded that he probably would not have died had he worn a seatbelt.
The music industry and his colleagues were greatly shocked by his sudden loss. Collins' death occurred some three weeks before The Charlatans' biggest concert to date; supporting
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentKnebworth. Oasis's lead singer
Liam Gallagher
William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before start ...
said "live forever, mate" as a dedication to Collins and introduction to their song "Cast No Shadow".