Phil Collins has opened up about his health problems after going through a “frustrating last few years”.
“You know, I have a 24-hour resident nurse to make sure I take my medication as I should,” Collins, 75, told BBC Radio 2. Zoe Ball in a new interview published on Sunday, January 18. “I’ve had challenges with my knee … I had everything that could go wrong, it went wrong.”
The special You were from the BBC The radio series was commissioned to celebrate Collins’ 75th birthday on January 30 and features him speaking in depth about his health issues. Phil, who is the father of Emily in Paris actress Lily Collins — confided to Ball, 55, who recently celebrated two years of sobriety after suffering kidney problems, to The Independent.
“I had probably been drinking too much,” he confessed. “I liked getting off the tour. Getting off the road…I thought, well, I’m going to do all those things I couldn’t do.”
Courtesy of Jim Spellman/WireImage Legendary musician Phil Collins turned 74, and his famous daughter, Lily Collins, celebrated the special day with an emotional note on Instagram. “From a West Coast star to the West End stage and everywhere in between, I’m so grateful to be by your side and for the support, (…)
Phil recalled that he was day drinking at the height of his problems, but he cut off around 6pm each night.
“I guess I’ve had too many,” he recalled. “I was never drunk, although I did fall a couple of times. But it’s just one of those things that happened and it all got to me, and I spent months in the hospital.”
Aside from his sobriety, Phil mentioned having an “ongoing thing” with his mobility, having recently undergone his fifth knee surgery due to the wear and tear of playing music. (He played his last concert in 2022.)
“(I have a leg) that works,” he explained. “I can walk, although with help, you know, crutches or whatever.”
The former Genesis frontman and drummer has been open about his health issues over the years.
After suffering a spinal injury on the band’s 2007 reunion tour, Phil underwent surgery, but later complained of numbness in his fingers. Phil’s feeling in his fingers was partially restored in an operation in 2015, but he could still only drum with his right hand.
Phil Collins in November 2021.
Timothy Hiatt/Getty ImagesPhil still chose to embark on a final Genesis reunion tour in 2021, although he needed to perform while sitting at many of the shows. (son of Phil Nick Collins he sat in on drums during Genesis The last domino? Tour. Phil is the father of five: Joely, 52, Simon, 48, Lily, 36, Nic, 21, and Matthew, 21.)
In the 2024 documentary Phil Collins: first drummerthe Rock and Roll Hall of Famer admitted it was unlikely he would ever be able to play drums regularly again.
“If I can’t do what I did as well as I did, I’d rather relax and do nothing,” he admitted. “If one day I wake up and can hold a couple of drumsticks, I’ll have a crack at it. But I feel like I’ve used up my air miles. It’s still sinking in a little bit… I’ve spent my whole life playing drums. To suddenly not be able to do that, that’s a shock.”
Phil revealed in a career retrospective for MOJO Magazine in February 2025 this was “very sick” in recent years and was therefore reluctant to try recording new music in his home studio.
“I keep thinking that I should go down to the studio to see what’s going on. But I’m not hungry anymore,” he admitted.
Later in the year, Phil’s fans were understandably worried when the news broke he had been hospitalized once again for knee surgery in July 2025. However, Phil’s rep later assured fans that there was no truth to the rumors that he was in the hospital.
Phil started playing drums at the age of 5 and later joined Genesis in 1970. Once a leader Peter Gabriel left the progressive rock group in 1975, Phil took over as lead singer of Genesis.
Phil steered Genesis’ music in a more commercial direction and they went on to sell approximately 150 million records worldwide. He also sold around 150 million records as a solo artist.