Phil Collins Is On The Mend
There haven’t been many days in paradise for Phil Collins over the past 15 years.
In fact, much of that time has been dominated by persistent and serious health difficulties, as he revealed to journalist Zoe Ball on the podcast “BBC Eras,” out on Monday, January 26.
Collins will turn 75 on January 30 and said he’s doing pretty well now. Photos promoting the podcast show him smiling and seemingly healthy.
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But in the interview, Collins said it’s been a “difficult, frustrating few years” after five separate surgeries on his knee. He has also dealt with severe nerve damage from injuries sustained on the 2007 Genesis reunion tour. That injury damaged vertebrae in his upper neck and left him barely able to hold a drumstick.
Here’s some excerpts from the podcast:
On his health:
“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.”
On his current status:
He now considers himself “totally mobile and healthy,” saying “I can walk, albeit with assistance, you know, crutches or whatever.”
On his trouble with alcohol:
“I enjoyed coming off tour. Coming off the road… I thought, right, I’m gonna do all those things that I couldn’t do. I guess I had too much of it. I was never drunk, although I fell over a couple of times. But it is just one of those things that happened and it all caught up with me, and I spent months in hospital.” Collins revealed he recently celebrated two years of sobriety. “It’s just been a difficult, interesting, frustrating last few years. But it’s all right now.”
On making amends:
“I had a very happy family life. My kids are amazingly well-adjusted considering some of the things that you’ve been through, you know? And as I’ve said before, I’m very proud of all of them. They’ve all stood on their own and done what they believe in. I feel very lucky about that. But I couldn’t have wished for a more varied and eventful playing career, and I don’t have periods where I kind of dig me.” He said he tried 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.” Collins has five children: Nic, 24; musician Simon, 48; actor Joely, 52; football player Mathew, 21, and “Emily in Paris” star Lily Collins, 36.
On possibly making new music:
“[I’d like to] have a fiddle about and see if there’s more music. You’ve gotta start doing it to see if you can do it.”
Collins’ last new original album was in 2002. He has eight Grammy Awards and one Oscar for “You’ll Be in My Heart” from Disney’s “Tarzan.” He is also a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Genesis.
