Phil Collins on his music career: ‘I’d love to do it again’
The veteran rocker is appearing in a BBC documentary to celebrate his 75th birthday and said he would like to ‘see if there’s more music’ in him.
Music legend Phil Collins has said “never say never” when asked if he would ever perform again.
The veteran rocker has not performed since 2022 and has suffered from back and arm injuries throughout his life, caused by years of drumming.
Appearing in a BBC documentary to celebrate his 75th birthday on January 30, Collins said he has had five operations and can only walk with assistance, while his kidneys were “messed up” from drinking too much.
Collins, who said he has a live-in nurse, described how he hoped to get “back to being totally mobile and healthy” as well as “have a fiddle about and see if there’s more music”.
He told presenter Zoe Ball: “I couldn’t have wished for a more varied and eventful playing career.
“I’ve got some things that are half formed or were never finished, and a couple of things that were finished, which I like, so you know…”
Asked about looking back on his long-running career, he said: “I’d love to do it again.”
But he said that although he would like perform again, “I just dunno if I wanna go as far as to launch that boat, you know?
“Because once you launch it, it’s difficult to unlaunch it. Never say never.”
Collins, whose hit songs include In The Air Tonight, You Can’t Hurry Love, and I Don’t Care Anymore, told Ball about his series of health problems.
He said: “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. Everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me. I got Covid in hospital, my kidneys started to back up.
“I’d probably been drinking too much, and so my kidneys were messed up.
“I wasn’t one of those guys that sort of stayed up all night drinking. I’d drink during the day, but I guess I had too much of it.
“It is just one of those things that happened and it all caught up with me, and I spent months in hospital.”
Asked what life has taught him, the father-of-five said: “I guess there’s a part of me that’s trying to make up for things that I’ve either done or have made people feel. Or affected the kids in any kind of negative way.”
But he added: “My kids are amazingly well-adjusted considering some of the things that they’ve been through. I’m very, very proud of all of them. They’ve all stood on their own and done what they believe in.”
His five children include Nicholas, who has drummed for him on tour, and actress Lily Collins, the star of Emily In Paris.
The documentary, Phil Collins: Eras – In Conversation, will be broadcast on BBC Two on January 31.
The programme is the final and fifth instalment of Eras: Phil Collins podcast series, which will debut on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer on Monday.
Episodes one to four are already available on BBC Sounds.
