Phil Collins explains why he can’t play drums due to health problems

Phil Collins will always love playing drums, but years of rocking and rolling have taken their toll on his hands.

“I’ve played drums all my life. To suddenly no longer be able to do that is a shock,” 73-year-old Collins admitted in the newspaper Phil Collins: Drummer first documentary, which was released by Drumeo on Wednesday, December 18.

The musician explained that after playing drums in concert with Genesis for five decades and doing solo tours since the ’80s, it affected his hands and legs. The pressure on his body caused Collins to stop playing drums in March 2022 after his last performance with his band Genesis.

“If I can’t do what I did very well, I would rather relax and do nothing,” he said. “If one day I wake up and can hold a pair of drumsticks, I’ll give it a shot.”

“I just feel like I’ve used up my air miles,” Collins continued, noting that not being able to play “still sunk in a little bit.”

The Oscar winner received his first plastic drum at the age of 3 and that’s where it all started. Two years later, Collins played music for his family. “It was something I could sit on, and I would saunter along to the TV,” he remembers.

Looking back on his career, Phil’s son Nick Collins said his father was like many musicians of his day and didn’t think about what drumming would do to his muscles.

“Musicians, people in bands in general, thought they were invincible,” Nic, 23, explains. “I think that’s really what it is with my dad, just the feeling that you’re a drummer, that you’re invincible, that you do what you do. But you don’t know that it will take its toll in the long term.”

In 2015, Phil underwent neck surgery that was “the result of all those years of drumming and bad posture,” according to Nic. Phil also suffers from foot drop, where one of your feet loses feeling. That ailment led to the singer using a cane.

Prior to the Genesis reunion, Phil announced that Nic would be taking over drumming duties for him due to his health. He stayed on as lead singer.

“I’d love to, but you know, I mean, I can barely hold a stick with this hand. So there are certain physical things that get in the way,” Phil said BBC breakfast in September 2021. “I’m a little physically challenged, which is very frustrating because I would love to play there with my son.”

Phil hinted at the time that the tour could be his last. “We’re all men our age, and I think to some extent this is probably putting it to bed,” he teased. “I think, yeah, I just think in general for me, I don’t know if I want to go out anymore.”

Phil joined Genesis in 1970 as drummer. The band consisted of bass players Mike Rutherfordkeyboardist Tony Banksguitarist Steve Hackett and singer Peter Gabriel. The group disbanded in 2000, but reunited in 2006 for the Turn it back on. Tour.

Phil continued The last domino? Tour with Genesis in September 2021. His last show with the band took place in March 2022 with Nic on stage with him and his daughter Lily Collins in the crowd.

“Tonight marks the end of an era. To witness this final show was truly the memory of a lifetime and an event I will forever hold in my heart,” Lily, 35, wrote via Instagram after the London show.

She continued: “Endlessly grateful doesn’t do it justice. So much love was left on that O2 stage and an even greater amount was shared between an audience that didn’t want it to end. Thank you @genesis_band for the memories, thank you dad for your great inspiration and thank you @nic_collins for making me the proudest sister alive. 50 years of songs later and still generations more to celebrate you long after this tour ends…”

Phil shares son Simon, 48, and adopted daughter Joely, 52, with first wife, Andrea Bertorellifrom whom he divorced in 1980 after five years of marriage. He shares Lily with Jill Tavelmanto whom he was married from 1984 to 1996. The musicians also share Nic and son Matthew, 20, with ex-wife Orianne Cevey. The exes were married from 1999 to 2008.