Phil Collins has battled serious back problems and nerve-damage issues for years. The longtime Genesis singer/drummer and solo star’s health troubles forced him to stop playing drums and were the main factor in his decision to retire from touring.
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Meanwhile, the 74-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer hasn’t released a new album since his 2010 collection of soul cover songs, Going Back. In a new interview with U.K. magazine Mojo, Collins opened up about whether fans can eventually expect some new music from him.
Unfortunately, the answer appears to be “no.”
“I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens,” he told Mojo. “But I’m not hungry for it anymore. The thing is, I’ve been sick, I mean very sick.”
Collins last played live on March 26, 2022, at the finale of Genesis’ The Last Domino? farewell tour. He announced his retirement from touring during the concert. On the trek, Phil only sang, and performed seated in a chair. His son Nic played drums for Genesis throughout the tour.
Meanwhile, Collins’ last solo album of original songs, Testify, was released back in 2002.
More About the Mojo Article
The latest issue of Mojo features new, extensive interviews with all five members of Genesis’ classic early lineup—Collins, founding frontman Peter Gabriel, guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford, keyboardist Tony Banks, and lead guitarist Steve Hackett.
The magazine’s conversations with the musicians offered a look back at Genesis 50 years after Gabriel left the band.
Peter talked about attending the last show of the farewell tour in 2022.
“Phil wasn’t in as great a shape as he used to be, but they did a great job,” he noted. “Me going was a rite of passage, really. I’d been part of the creation of Genesis, so I wanted to be there at the end.”
After Gabriel’s exit from the group in 1975, Collins became the lead singer.
“I honestly thought we could just carry on and be an instrumental group,” Collins admitted to Mojo. “Of course, the others didn’t!”
The material that Genesis began writing after Gabriel’s departure was more accessible, and the band soon became far more popular than when Peter fronted the group.
Genesis Members Also Recollected Collins’ Tryout for the Band
Collins joined Genesis in 1970, after the band had released its second album, Trespass. Banks revealed to Mojo that he and Garbriel were “very impressed” by Phil’s drum skills when he auditioned for the band.
“We were a bit amateurish, and Phil made it sound good,” the keyboardist noted. “But he was also funny. Every time we met him he had another funny story.”
Collins, meanwhile, thought Genesis had some room for improvement when he first heard the band’s music.
“It was sort of formless,” he said. “At my audition we’d listened to some of Trespass, and it wasn’t one thing or the other. There were harmonies that reminded me of Crosby, Stills & Nash, but when it was meant to be hard, like on ‘The Knife,’ it didn’t sound like they really meant it.”
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