Phil Collins hints he hasn’t closed the door on new music, touring despite health woes

Against all odds, Phil Collins isn’t slamming the door on making new music.

“I’m constantly saying to myself, ‘I’ve got to go back down into my studio at home,’” the Genesis frontman, who is retired due to various health issues, said during a Friday “BBC Breakfast” interview.

The singer, 75, noted that he has a “lot of lyrical ideas” written down, with some “half-formed” and others finished.

“There are things that I can get my teeth into to start working on,” Collins mused — but clarified he “can’t really see” himself back on tour.

However, he mused, “I’m healthier now than I have been for quite a while. Whether or not I would go out again … I would contemplate.”

The Grammy winner, notably, turned down the chance to sing at his upcoming Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in November.

“They asked me if I would perform and I said no,” he confessed during last week’s sitdown. “You’ve gotta be match fit to do something like that.

“You can’t just go onstage,” Collins added. “You’re gonna have to rehearse, and then by that point, if you’ve not been singing, your voice is gonna be shot, and then that’s not gonna be good.”

The musician, who recently made a rare public appearance at Buckingham Palace with ex-wife Jill Tavelman, ultimately decided he would “rather not do it.”

In January, Collins spoke candidly about why he was forced to retire following Genesis’ last tour in 2022.

The drummer explained to BBC’s “Eras” podcast listeners that he suffered a spinal injury in 2007 that led to severe nerve damage.

Collins also developed “drop foot,” which makes it difficult to lift the front part of one’s foot, after a back operation.

This condition has made it nearly impossible for the “In the Air Tonight” crooner to drum.

“I have a 24-hour live-in nurse to make sure I take my medication as I should do,” the songwriter continued. “Everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me.”

The musician — who has undergone five knee surgeries — also revealed that he suffers from kidney issues caused by his past drinking habits.

Collins is now more than two years sober.

In 2024, the hitmaker confessed his step back from music was “still kind of sinking in a bit.”

“I’ve spent all my life playing drums,” he said in his “Phil Collins: Drummer First” documentary. “To suddenly not be able to do that is a shock. 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.”