Phil Collins reveals sad health update: ‘I’ve been sick’

After he retired from the live stage in 2022, musician Phil Collins has offered a sad update on his deteriorating health.

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“I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens. But I’m not hungry for it anymore,” Collins shares in a new interview with MOJO magazine. “The thing is, I’ve been sick. I mean very sick.”

In last year’s documentary, Phil Collins: Drummer First, Collins, 74, opened up on his decision to step away from the stage following a 2007 spinal injury that affected his mobility. 

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“It’s still kind of sinking in,” Collins said in the film. “I’ve spent all my life playing drums. To suddenly not be able to do that is a shock.”

During Genesis’ farewell tour in 2021 and 2022, Collins was seated throughout the band’s performance with his son, Nic, filling in behind the drum kit. 

“If I can’t do what I did as well as I did it, I’d rather relax and not do anything,” he reflected in the doc (per Billboard). “But if I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks, then I’ll have a crack at it. But I just feel like I’ve used up my air miles.”

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In a 2021, interview with the BBC, the eight-time Grammy winner said he has struggled after surgeries on his back in 2009 and again in 2015 affected his nerves. He was also diagnosed with drop-foot, a condition that affected his sensation in one of his feet.

“I’m kind of physically challenged a bit, which is very frustrating because I’d love to be playing up there,” Collins said. “I can barely hold a (drum) stick with this hand, so there are certain physical things which get in the way.”

Genesis’ most recent tour, Collins confirmed, would likely have been his last with the 1970s British prog-rockers that also featured bassist-guitarist Mike Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks.

“We’re all men of our age and I think to some extent it probably is putting it to bed. I think, just generally for me, I don’t know if I want to go out on the road anymore.”

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In Drummer First, now streaming on YouTube, Nic addressed his dad’s health.

“Musicians, people in bands in general had this thought that they were invincible,” Nic said. “I think that’s really what it is with my dad is just this kind of sense of you’re a drummer, you’re invincible, you do what you do. But you don’t know it’s gonna take a toll in the long run.”

Throughout his career as a solo artist, Collins notched seven No. 1 hits, including 1984’s Against All Odds, and Sussudio and One More Night from 1985’s Grammy-winning No Jacket Required LP.

Collins also enjoyed chart success with Genesis, with 1986’s Invisible Touch and 1991’s We Can’t Dance having massive crossover appeal.

In the documentary, Collins takes filmmakers “on a journey through his life and career from a drumming perspective — from his early days behind the kit to his groundbreaking work with Genesis and his celebrated solo career, from his time with the jazz-fusion group Brand X to composing for Disney’s Tarzan, forming his own big band, and ultimately passing the torch to Nic during the final Genesis and Phil Collins tours.”

mdaniell@postmedia.com

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