When Genesis wrapped up their hugely successful The Last Domino? reunion tour in March 2022, it wasn’t just the end of the road for one of the most successful British bands of the last 50 years, it also marked Phil Collins’ own swansong as a live performer.
The drummer-turned-singer had been suffering from health issues for years, including severe nerve damage, a foot condition that left him unable to walk properly, and periods of alcohol addiction that resulted in him coming close to death after being hospitalised in 2024.
But in a new interview with Prog, Collins reveals that his career may not be completely over. Asked if he will ever make any new music, he doesn’t rule out the prospect.
“Um, I’m never gonna say no now,” says Collins, whose last album was 2010’s covers set Going Back. “I’ve got my little studio still, and I’d like to get down there and just mess about and see what happens. There are some things I could finish. And other things which are finished. So, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility.”
Collins also tells Prog about his relapse into alcohol addiction after several years of sobriety, and the resultant hospitalisation in 2024 that left him on life support.
“I went through some pretty dark times,” he admits. “I was never ‘falling over’ drunk. That wasn’t it. It was just drinking ‘normally’, as one would drink water. I’d wake up, have a glass of wine. Watch TV, read a book, have a glass of wine. And suddenly… Some people’s insides can’t take it. Mine broke down.
“My manager, Tony, called all the kids to Switzerland to have a meeting about me and my future. Because at one point it was kind of life support. Kidneys and liver were waving the white flag. I was close to dying, and I hadn’t realised. I just thought I was sick. Well, really dark times. Spent a lot of time in hospital. Then, pulling through that, I’ve had five operations on this knee. And drop foot. That’s why I have the crutches, just to make sure – I don’t want to fall over.
Collins adds that he’s in better health today than he has been in a long time. “Physically, now, I reckon I’m A1, 100%. I’ve worked at it. Haven’t drunk for three years. I do physio three times a week, to bring me up to speed. All is good!
Collins’s debut solo album, Face Value, is reissued on September 8 as an expanded 4-LP 45th anniversary edition.
Read the full interview with Collins in the brand new issue of Prog, on sale now. Order it online here.
