Alcohol abuse ‘messed up’ his kidneys

Four years ago, Collins performed his final show sitting down at London’s O2 Arena on Genesis’ The Last Domino? Tour, with his 24-year-old son Nic taking over on drums. His health issues were compounded by COVID and kidney problems, which he attributes in part to his past heavy drinking. He is now two years sober.

”I’d probably been drinking too much, and so my kidneys were messed up, you know,” he said.

“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. But it is just one of those things that happened and it all caught up with me, and I spent months in hospital.”

The Grammy Award-winning artist admitted that the last few years have been “difficult, interesting, [and] frustrating,” but added, “It’s all right now.” Despite ongoing health struggles, he remains candid about the impact these issues have had on his life and his music.

Phil Collins first stepped into the spotlight at just 12, appearing in iconic films like A Hard Day’s Night and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as starring in the West End production of Oliver! in 1964.

By age 18, he shifted his focus from acting to music, joining the rock band Genesis as their drummer in 1970. Five years later, after Peter Gabriel left the group, Collins assumed the role of frontman, leading the band to new heights.