It’s been more than 15 years since Phil Collins announced that he was no longer able to play the drums, but in a new documentary, the former Genesis sticksman reveals that he still considers himself to be more of a drummer than a vocalist.
In a new trailer for the Drumeo film that will premiere later this month, Collins says: "I'm not a singer that plays a bit of drums - I'm more of a drummer that sings a bit."
In the short promo clip, we see a frail-looking Collins being helped onto his drum stool by his son, Nic. Picking up his sticks, Collins senior admits that “It just feels so strange to hold a pair.”
Collins was forced to stop drumming due to nerve and vertebrae damage that was caused by his playing posture during a 50-year career.
"My vertebrae have been crushing my spinal cord because of the position I drum in,” he said back in 2009. “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."
Elsewhere in the trailer, we see Collins being asked how he felt when he first realised that he couldn’t play the drums to his usual high standard, a question that will presumably be answered in the full documentary.
Discussing the possibility that he might play again in the future, Collins says: “If I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks then I will have a crack at it, [but] I just feel I’ve used up my air miles”.
The film will feature contributions from a wide range of musicians, some of whom appear in the trailer. “He’s really criminally underrated as a prog icon,” says Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy.
Chad Smith, meanwhile, says that Collins’ drumming “has such a unique sound and style that you know immediately when you hear it, that’s that guy.”
We also hear the late Dom Famularo claiming that "The fact that we're living in the time of Phil Collins is almost equal to what it was like when people were living in the era of Mozart."
Phil Collins: Drummer First will be available on the Drumeo YouTube channel from 18 December.
