Phil Collins has given a rare interview to promote a new documentary about his life which he says "is still sinking in a bit" as he can no longer hold a drumstick
Phil Collins has opened up about his heartbreaking health struggles in a rare and candid interview. The 73-year-old music legend has been plagued by mobility issues for over 15 years, stemming from injured vertebrae in his upper neck, which has resulted in debilitating nerve damage, forcing him to rely on a cane or wheelchair for mobility.
In a new documentary, Phil Collins: Drummer First, available on YouTube channel Drumeo, Phil poignantly shares how his decades-long drumming career has taken a devastating toll on his body. He revealed: "If I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks, then I'll have a crack of it. But I just feel like I've used up my air miles. It's still kind of sinking in a bit. I've spent all my life playing drums. To be suddenly not be able to do that is a shock. If I can't do what I did as well as I did it, I'd rather relax and not do anything."
The documentary, filmed in 2022 but only released this week, reveals that Phil Collins sees himself as a drummer first and foremost, despite his global success with hits like Against All Odds, Easy Lover, In The Air Tonight, Another Day In Paradise and Sussidio.
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He states: "I'm not a singer that plays a bit of drums; I'm more of a drummer that sings a bit." In the same episode, Phil's son Nic, who now performs with Genesis as Phil is unable to, shared that his father needed "big surgery on his neck that stemmed from all those years playing drums and bad posture.", reports the Mirror.
He also disclosed that Phil suffers from drop-foot, a condition where one of his feet has lost sensation. Phil performed his final gig with Genesis at London's O2 Arena in March 2022, bidding farewell to his fans and humorously suggesting he'll now have to find a 'real job'.
Despite appearing frail and needing to sit for the performance, it was an iconic moment. The Genesis gang, including Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford, were back with a bang for their "The Last Domino? " tour—their first live gigs in 14 years. Phil spilled the beans to The Guardian about the challenges his dwindling health posed, saying: "Of course, my health does change things, doing the show seated changes things. But I actually found on my recent solo tours, it didn't get in the way; the audience were still listening and responding. It's not the way I would have written it, but it's the way that it is."
He revealed more about his health struggles on the Genesis website, sharing: "Somehow, during the last Genesis tour, I dislocated some vertebrae in my upper neck and that affected my hands. After a successful operation on my neck, my hands still can't function normally. Maybe in a year or so it will change, but for now it is impossible for me to play drums or piano."
Collins also opened up about his battle with the bottle, confessing that a drinking problem led to acute pancreatitis and candid confessions of morning vodka shots and troubling family scenes.
Recalling his darkest times at a 2016 press conference, he admitted: "Within months you're drinking vodka from the fridge in the morning and falling over in front of the kids, you know." Adding a gleam of hope, he stated: "It was something I lived through, and I was lucky to live through it and get through it. I was very close to dying."
In 2013, doctors warned him of lasting damage to his pancreas, prompting a three-year hiatus from alcohol. Now, he's more relaxed about his drinking habits. "I didn't drink for all that time but now I am quite capable of having two or three glasses of wine, saying goodnight and walking away," he revealed to The Mirror in the past.
Last year on BBC Breakfast, Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford provided an update on how Phil Collins is getting on, saying: "Phil is much more immobile than he used to be, which is a shame. But at the tour, he was in good spirits and he's fine now at home, enjoying life. He's worked so hard over the years, I think he's enjoying his time at home."
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