HEALTHPhil Collins, 73, Shares Heartbreaking Health Update After Retiring From Playing the Drums in 2022: 'To Not Be Able to Do That Is a Shock'
Phil Collins shared some rare insight into what he's been up to in the past few years.
Dec. 19 2024, Published 4:13 p.m. ET
Phil Collins, who joined the band Genesis in the 1970s and retired from playing the drums in March 2022, is giving fans a rare glimpse inside his life at 73 years old.
"It’s still kind of sinking in a bit…" the musician said in the documentary Phil Collins: Drummer First, which was released on Wednesday, December 18, and filmed in 2022. "I’ve spent all my life playing drums. To suddenly not be able to do that is a shock."
Phil Collins retired from the drums in 2022.
The "You'll Be in My Heart" crooner, who has been playing drums since he was 5 years old, said playing the instrument "has 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," the Tarzan composer continued. "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."
Phil Collins' son Nic filled in for him when he couldn't play the drums.
The star's son Nic, who is a rock drummer known for playing with his father's band, Genesis, and his own band, Better Strangers, also gave more details about how the U.K. native is holding up.
"Musicians, people in bands in general had this thought that they were invincible," he 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," he continued.
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Phil Collins hasn't released an album since 2010.
Ever since Genesis wrapped up their farewell tour in 2022, Phil has been pretty quiet, but according to Simon Napier-Bell, who has managed the likes of like Wham!, Sinead O’Connor, The Yardbirds and Asia, he believes new tunes from the artist should be out at some point in the future.
“THE MARQUEE MOVIE…Yesterday we filmed Phil Collins at his house by Lake Geneva. He was in top form, full of wicked stories, hugely fun. And he’s just had his studio revamped. For sure, before too long we’re going to hear some new music," he captioned a photo of himself with Phil earlier this year.
Phil Collins said it's a 'shock' to not be able to play the drums anymore.
Phil hasn't released a new album since 2010's covers album, Going Back. When he toured solo from 2017 to 2019 and with Genesis from 2021 to 2022, he was unable to play the drums, which is why his son Nic filled in for him.
Phil Collins: Drummer First is available to stream on YouTube.
