Phil Collins Explains Why He Can’t Play Drums With Health Problems

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

“I’ve spent my whole life playing drums. Not being able to do that all of a sudden is a shock,” Collins, 73, admitted in the Phil Collins: Drummer First documentary, released by Drumeo on Wednesday, December 18.

The musician explained that after playing drums together with Genesis for five decades and on solo tours since the 80s, it had affected his hands and legs. The strain on his body led Collins to retire from drumming in March 2022 after his last performance with his band Genesis.

“If I can’t do what I did as well as I did, I’d rather just relax and do nothing,” he said. “If I wake up one day and can hold a pair of drumsticks, then I’ll have a crack at it.”

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

The Oscar winner got his first plastic drum at the age of 3, which started it all. Two years later, Collins was playing music for his family. “It was something I could sit on, and I knocked on the TV set,” he recalled.

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

“Musicians, people in bands generally thought they were invincible,” explained Nic, 23. “I think that’s what it’s really about with my dad is this sort of sense that you’re a drummer , you are invincible, you do what you do. But you don’t know it will take a toll in the long run.”

In 2015, Phil had surgery on his neck which was “from all those years of playing drums and bad posture,” according to Nic. Phil also suffers from drop-foot, which is when one of your feet has no sense. That disorder led to the singer using a stick.

Before the Genesis reunion, Phil announced that Nic would be taking over on drums due to his health. He continued as the lead singer.

“I’d love to, but you know, I mean, I can barely hold a stick with this hand. So some physical things get in your way,” says Phil BBC Breakfast in September 2021. “I’m physically challenged a bit which is very frustrating because I would love to play up there with my son.”

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

Phil joined Genesis in 1970 as a drummer. The band included a bassist Mike Rutherfordkeyboardist Tony Banksa guitarist Steve Hackett and a singer Peter Gabriel. The group went on hiatus in 2000 but reunited in 2006 for the Tour Turn On Again.

Phil went out The Last Domino? A trip 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. Witnessing this last show was truly a memory of a lifetime and an event that I will hold in my heart forever,” Lily, 35, wrote via Instagram after the show in London.

He continued: “Extremely grateful doesn’t begin to 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 being such an inspiration and thank you @nic_collins for making me the proudest sister there is. 50 years of songs later and generations yet to celebrate you long after this journey is over…”

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