From his early days as the drummer of Genesis to his prolific solo career, Phil Collins has been one of the most revered names in the music world for the better part of 60 years.
Even so, no one is immune to aging and health issues, and time has sadly caught up with the Grammy and Oscar winning musician.
Just ahead of his 75th birthday, Collins made an appearance on the BBC Podcast Eras, where he disclosed that his personal health has taken a serious turn for the worse.
The bestselling artist disclosed that his health has taken such a severe hit that he now requires around-the-clock healthcare:
“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.”
The eight-time Grammy winner disclosed that his health didn't steadily decline; instead he felt everything started going downhill at the same time, beginning with kidney problems after he contracted Covid-19 in the hospital.
Additionally, five knee surgeries have severely impaired his ability to walk, and has left him with only one knee "that works."
“I can walk, albeit with assistance, you know, crutches or whatever."
Collins admitted that an excess of alcohol is what ultimately led to serious damage to his kidneys, though he noted that he recently celebrated two years of sobriety:
"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."
While the Face Value singer expressed that “it’s just been a difficult, interesting, frustrating last few years," he went on to admit that "it's alright now."
As news of his declining health broke, fans came out in droves on Facebook to share their endless support of the beloved artist with well wishes and prayers:
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In 2022, Collins reunited with Genesis for a final tour.
Collins' health was already in a state of decline at the time, as he spent the entire concert seated, with his son, Nic, taking over his drumming duties.
The tour marked the last live appearance from Collins, who has not released any new music since, with People reporting that his time on the tour marked his retirement.
Collins had previously told Mojo last year that his health issues had not only affected his ability to write and perform music, but also dampened his inclination to give it another go:
“I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens.”
“But I’m not hungry for it anymore."
"The thing is, I’ve been sick, I mean very sick…”
Whatever the future holds for Collins, he can rest assured that, to use his own words from his Oscar winning song from Disney's Tarzan, he'll be in our hearts.
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