Phil Collins Offers Rare Insight into the State of His Health: ‘I’ve Been Sick. I Mean, Very Sick’

Phil Collins is opening up about the ways his health woes have affected his desire to play music.

The “In the Air Tonight” singer, 74, retired from playing the drums in 2022 after health issues left it difficult for him to pick up a drumstick.

In a new interview with MOJO magazine, Collins said that while he’s thought about venturing into his studio to potentially make some new music, his condition has stopped him.

“I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens. But I’m not hungry for it anymore,” he explained. “The thing is, I’ve been sick. I mean very sick.”

The Genesis rocker’s most recent solo album of new material, Testify, came out in 2002. He released Going Back, which featured covers of Motown and soul standards, in 2010 and has not put out any new releases since.

When Genesis toured for a final time in 2022, Collins performed from a chair, and his son Nic, 23, took the reins on drums.

In the documentary Phil Collins: Drummer First, which came out in December, the eight-time Grammy winner spoke more about his condition, and how difficult it was for him to not be able to play.

“It’s still kind of sinking in a bit,” he said in the documentary, which was filmed in October 2022. “I’ve spent all my life playing drums. To suddenly not be able to do that is a shock.”

Collins had been playing the instrument since he was 5 years old, and explained that all those years spent banging away had “taken its toll on my hands, legs.”

“If I can’t do what I did as well as I did it, I’d rather relax and not do anything,” he said. “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.”

Though Collins has not shared any further details as to his condition, a post shared to his Facebook in 2017 said he suffers from drop foot “as a result of a back operation which makes it difficult to walk.”

In the documentary, Nic spoke about how his father had had major surgery on his neck in 2015.

“I’d love to [play] but… there are certain physical things that get in the way,” Collins told BBC Breakfast in 2021.