Phil Collins Gives Rare Health Update 2 Years After Retiring from Drumming: 'To Suddenly Not Be Able to Is a Shock'

Phil Collins gives fans an insight into his current state of health.

In the documentary Phil Collins: drummer first released on Wednesday, December 18, the 73-year-old Genesis musician opened up about having to step away from the drums after years of playing.

“It’s still kind of sinking in…” he admitted in an interview, recorded in October 2022. “I’ve spent my whole life playing drums. To suddenly not be able to do that anymore is a shock.”

The “In the Air Tonight” singer said he’s been playing drums since he was just 5 years old, and decades later, “drumming took a toll on my arms, my legs.”

Phil Collins performs in Las Vegas in May 2007.

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“If I can’t do what I’ve been doing as well as I’ve been doing, I’d rather just relax and do nothing.” Tarzan said the composer. “If I wake up one day and can hold a pair of drums, then I’ll be broke. But I feel like I’ve used up my air miles.”

Phil’s son Nic also spoke about the impact decades of performing and touring have had on his body, giving more insight into his current health. “Musicians, people in bands generally thought they were invincible,” he said.

“I think that’s really what with my dad, it’s just that feeling of being a drummer, being invincible, doing what you’re doing. But you don’t know that it’s going to take a toll in the long run.”

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Nic, who accompanies Phil as a drummer, noted that his father had “major neck surgery [in 2015] it came from all those years of playing drums and bad posture.” Phil also suffers from foot drop, where he has no feeling in one foot and has to use a cane to walk.

Phil, who joined the band Genesis in the 1970s, retired from playing drums in March 2022.

The documentary takes place over several days in October 2022, where Collins shares stories from throughout his career “from a drummer’s perspective,” according to the documentary’s synopsis.

Phil Collins is performing in Berlin in March 2022.

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The detailed film covers “his early days behind the whale to his ground-breaking work with Genesis and his celebrated solo career, from his time in the jazz-fusion group Brand X to composing for Disney Tarzanforming his own big band and finally passing the torch to Nice during Genesis and Phil Collins’ last tour.”

Phil Collins: drummer first is available for streaming on YouTube.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education