Paul Collins is best known for his work with rock bands The Beat and The Nerves. Very few artists maintain the stylistic versatility of Paul Collins, who has toured  extensively since 1975 and released fifteen albums worldwide. Paul Collins formed The Beat in 1977 after his early rock group The Nerves, disbanded. Recruiting members of various rock bands, Paul Collins' Beat gained major label support with Sony/CBS during the late 1970s.

Although their albums did not sell in numbers comparable to Kiss or Led Zeppelin, Paul Collins' Beat found success on the touring circuit. Paul Collins' Beat toured and performed around the world with a variety of rock acts such as The Police, The Cure, Devo, Huey Lewis & The News, The Jam and classic rocker Eddie Money, a longtime friend of Paul Collins. Paul Collins' Beat would soon sign for artist development and career management with legendary concert promoter Bill Graham. Bill Graham Management is often credited for helping to bolster the careers of rock artists including Santana, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead and Eddie Money.

With the creation of MTV, the 1980s provided Paul Collins' Beat with new oppurtunities for exposure in the world of music. As one of the early MTV bands, Paul Collins' Beat had two of the most popular videos featured on MTV (Music Television Network), including the international hit singles All Over The World and Always Got You On My Mind. Both videos can still be seen on the MTV2 and VH1 Classic networks, where they are played in regular rotation. Although their music was guitar-oriented rock, much heavier and used less synthesizer than most bands of the 1980s, Paul Collins' Beat remained at the top of their game during the new wave and hair band periods. Paul Collins' Beat would release several more high energy rock albums including "Long Time Gone" in 1985 and "Live At Universal," a live album of greatest hits recorded during during a world tour in 1986.

For Paul Collins' Beat 1989 was a year of musical renaissance. Collins, whose influences always included roots music such as blues, country, r&b, motown, folk, rockabilly and jazz, found himself writing songs in a style closer to that of The Byrds or Bob Dylan. Although Collins would continue to perform The Beat's up-tempo songs similar to that of AC/DC or The Ramones, he spent the late 1980s and early 1990s writing and recording songs in the style of Americana, alternative country and roots-rock. Paul Collins' Beat released the album "One Night" in 1989, which was their first album to include acoustic guitar.

In 1991, Collins organized an all-star lineup and recorded his first solo album for Sony. The self-titled album "Paul Collins" was a surprise to many fans, but drew from some of The Beat's best elements. The self-titled CD featured the talents of Chuck Prophet, Jeff Trott (Sheryl Crow), Dave Immergluck (Counting Crows), along with Kenny Dale Johnson and Rowland Salley, the rhythm section for Chris Isaak. Paul Collins wrote twelve of the thirteen songs, three of which were released as singles in 1992. During 1993, Paul Collins organized a semi-permanent group with The Paul Collins Band. Although they played selected songs from The Beat, The Paul Collins Band focused on Collins' newer material. During the same year, The Paul Collins Band was signed to Caroline Records and released the album "From Town To Town." Paul Collins moved to Spain, spending the better part of the 1990s traveling back and forth from the United States to Europe where to this day, he continues to hold dual citizenship.

During the 1990s, Paul Collins was encouraged to release another Paul Collins' Beat album by longtime friend Dee Dee Ramone, legendary bassist of The Ramones. Dee Dee Ramone first met Paul Collins during The Nerves' tour with The Ramones in the 1970s. Both men shared the same diverse musical interests and rolled with the punches in a constantly changing industry. In 2007, Paul Collins' Beat released the long-awaited  "Flying High," a studio album containing twelve new songs written by Collins. This album produced two new music videos and was licensed to several different labels in U.S.A., France, Spain and Italy. The same year, Paul Collins' Beat released the album "Live In Europe," a professionally produced live recording spanning their entire career. This live disc was recorded full-band electric and included heavier, guitar-crunching versions of many classics by The Beat and a few songs from The Nerves. 

Paul Collins' first professional band was The Nerves, a group that lasted from 1974-1977. Collins formed The Nerves in 1974 with Jack Lee and Peter Case before releasing a popular EP distributed by Bomp Records. This self-released EP contained the song Hanging On The Telephone, which was later covered by Deborah Harry's Blondie on their chart-topping "Parallel Lines" album. The Nerves toured with The Ramones during the 1970s and managed to fund their own tours without the support of a major record label. 

Despite ongoing rumors of a reunion with The Nerves, the future of Paul Collins' Beat appears seems promising. As Collins announced at a recent concert in London, Paul Collins' Beat are releasing a follow-up to 2007's "Flying High." This new studio album will most likely include the newer songs that Paul Collins' Beat have been playing during each show's encore.