Genesis frontman and drummer Phil Collins has given a heartbreaking update on his health, saying he has been ‘very sick’. Collins retired in 2022 and says he no longer wants to make music.
The 74-year-old told MOJO magazine: ” I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens.But I’m not hungry for it anymore.The thing is I’ve been sick, I mean very sick.”
Collins has type 2Diabetesand complications from a spinal injury. In 2009 He told the Dail Mail: “My vertebrae have been crushing my spinal cord because of the position I drum in. It comes from years of playing.I can’t even hold the sticks properly without it being painful, I even used to tape the sticks to my hands to get through.”
Collins’ career began as an actor in the musicalOliver on London’s West End in 1964, where he played the Artful Dodger. He auditioned for Genesis and joined the band as their drummer in 1970, at the age of 19.
He became lead singer when Peter Gabriel left in 1975, and stayed with the band until he went solo after eight albums in 1996.He won eight Grammy awards, six Brit Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, two Golden Globes and an Oscar.
In 2022 when Genesis staged a farewell tour Phil Collins sang sitting down while his son took to the drums. In the 2022 documentaryYou’ll Be In My Heart Collins said: “I’ve spent all my life playing drums. To suddenly not be able to do that is a shock.”