Phil Collins Opened Up About Emotional Toll Of Round-The-Clock Care & ‘Frustrating’ Health Setbacks

Feb 03, 2026 by apost team

Phil Collins has spent the last few years quietly reckoning with a series of health challenges that ultimately changed the course of his career. Long before he spoke about it publicly in early 2026, signs of his physical decline had already begun to surface.

In 2022, Phil officially retired from playing the drums after ongoing health issues made it impossible for him to hold a drumstick. That same year, his band, Genesis, embarked on its final tour, with Phil performing seated while his son Nic Collins took over on drums. The decision marked the end of an era for the band and for Phil, whose physical limitations had become impossible to ignore.

Speculation about his condition intensified in 2024, prompting a representative for Phil to confirm to PEOPLE that the musician was recovering from knee surgery amid false online claims that he was in hospice care. The statement aimed to shut down rumors while acknowledging that his recovery was ongoing and serious.

By February 2025, Phil spoke candidly to MOJO Magazine about how deeply his health struggles had affected his desire to create music. “I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens. But I’m not hungry for it anymore,” he said at the time. “The thing is, I’ve been sick. I mean very sick.”

That admission reflected a profound shift for an artist once defined by constant movement, touring, and output. Music, while still meaningful, no longer felt as accessible. The physical toll had altered not just what Phil could do, but how he related to the work that defined his life.

That fuller picture came into focus when Phil appeared on the BBC’s Eras podcast ahead of his 75th birthday, where he spoke directly about the medical crises that converged over a short period of time.

“It’s an ongoing thing,” Phil told host Zoe Ball.

“I have a 24-hour live-in nurse to make sure I take my medication as I should do. I’ve had challenges with my knee. I had everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me,” he added.

Those challenges escalated while he was already hospitalized.

“I got COVID in hospital. My kidneys started to back up. Everything seemed to converge at the same time,” he said, describing a cascade of complications that left him critically unwell.

Phil revealed he has undergone five knee surgeries and now has only one knee “that works.” Mobility remains limited.

“I can walk, albeit with assistance, you know, crutches or whatever,” he shared.

He also acknowledged how alcohol factored into his decline. “My kidneys were messed up,” Collins said, explaining that he had been “drinking too much.” He has since stopped drinking and recently marked two years of sobriety.

Reflecting on the period after touring ended, Collins said he underestimated how difficult the transition would be.

“I enjoyed coming off tour. Coming off the road, I thought, right, I’m gonna do all those things that I couldn’t do,” he said. “I guess I had too much of it.”

“I was never drunk, although I fell over a couple of times,” he continued. “But it is just one of those things that happened and it all caught up with me, and I spent months in hospital.”

Looking back, Phil described the last few years as emotionally complex. “It’s just been a difficult, interesting, frustrating last few years,” he said, before adding, “But it’s all right now.”

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