Phil Collins Says He’s Done Making Music Due to Ill Health

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Tony Banks, Phil Collins, and Michael Rutherford at Genesis’ final concert, March 26, 2022 (Photo: Raph PH; used with permission)

One of the rock’s biggest stars says he’s done making music at just 74. Phil Collins, whose solo career perhaps even eclipsed the success that the longtime Genesis frontman and drummer enjoyed with the band, says in a new interview published in 2025 in Mojo, “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…” He did not get into further details.

Collins has been severely impacted by back issues, developed over an acclaimed career of banging the drums. While his distinctive style is closely identified by his game-changing 1981 solo hit, “In the Air Tonight,” his vigorous playing on tour with Genesis—usually coupled with the band’s second road drummer, Chester Thompson—took his toll.

He has suffered for years from “drop foot” as a result of a back operation which makes it difficult to walk. He’s regularly seen in a wheelchair and with a cane when walking. For his solo “comeback” tour in 2017 and again for Genesis’ 2021-22 reunion tour, the frail Collins sat in a chair while his son, Nic, played drums.

Watch Genesis perform their first hit during their final reunion tour

Not long after his 2017 “Not Dead Yet” solo tour commenced, Collins rose in the middle of the night to go to the toilet and slipped in his hotel room, hitting his head in the fall on a chair, causing the postponement of several dates.

He noted at a press conference when he announced that tour, “The 60 years of drumming really messed my back [and my hips] up.” Of his son, Nic, then just 16-year-old, Collins said, “he’s fantastic.” Nic is currently touring with Mike + the Mechanics, the longtime offshoot for original Genesis member Mike Rutherford.

Collins took over as Genesis’ lead singer after the band’s original frontman, Peter Gabriel, left following their 1975 tour that supported their double LP, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. [The album is receiving a 50th anniversary Super Deluxe Edition in 2025. The expanded vinyl set is available for pre-order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here. Its CD counterpart can be pre-ordered in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.]

Not long after, the band reached new heights, quickly moving into arenas and then stadiums, with one of rock’s most spectacular light shows and the tight musicianship of original members bassist/guitarist Rutherford, guitarist Steve Hackett and the brilliant, understated keyboardist Tony Banks. Their stage shows were also greatly aided by guitarist Daryl Stuermer and drummer Thompson.

But it was Collins who commanded the stage with his inviting presence, leading the audience through “call and response” theatrics and his magnificent vocals. When he got behind the kit in those days, he and Thompson pounded out vigorous two-part drum performances that were a marvel to behold. Souvenirs of those tours are available on 1977’s excellent Seconds Out as well as on 1982’s Three Sides Live.

Watch Collins and Thompson perform at London’s Wembley Stadium in 1987

As Top 40 radio finally embraced Genesis throughout the ’80s, Collins managed to find time to record solo albums beginning with 1981’s Face Value. His third release, 1985’s No Jacket Required, won three Grammy Awards including Album of the Year. Its sales topped 12 million copies in the U.S. alone thanks to its four smash singles, “Sussudio,” “One More Night,” “Don’t Lose My Number,” and “Take Me Home.”

Collins is said to be one of just three artists to have sold more than 100 million records with a group and as a solo artist. The other two: Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson.