Lately, people have been worried about Phil Collins' health. Collins, now 75, sustained nerve damage in a 2007 spinal injury. On Genesis' 2022 farewell tour, Collins wasn't able to play the drums, and his son Nic took over. In an interview published last year, Collins said that he hasn't been able to work on new music lately: "The thing is, I've been sick. I mean, very sick." Today, though, Collins says that he's generally doing better, though he won't perform when he's inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year.
Last month, Phil Collins was announced as part of this year's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee class. (Collins was already in the Hall as a member of Genesis, but now he's being honored for his solo work.) In a rare BBC News interview this morning, Charlotte Gallagher asked Collins if he'd perform again. Collins said:
I can't really see it happening, but I'm healthier now than I have been for quite a while. I'm in this Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. They asked me if I would perform, and I said no 'cause you've gotta be match fit to do something like that. You can't just go onstage. You gotta have to rehearse, and then by that point, if you've not been singing, your voice is gonna be shot, and then that's not gonna be good, so I'd rather not do it. But whether I would go out again, I would contemplate, yeah. I mean, I'm constantly saying to myself I gotta go back down to my studio at home.
Collins says he's got "lots of lyrical ideas," as well as finished and unfinished songs. He doesn't honestly seem that pressed about getting around to them, though.
Collins also remembered the day that he took the Concorde across the Atlantic to play both Live Aid concerts on the same day.
In related news, an exec at Collins’ label told Stereogum's own Scott Lapatine they showed Collins this Instagram post. Apparently, he liked it!
If you like, you can bid on Phil Collins' old archival stuff here.
