Phil Collins has opened up about his recent health challenges, revealing that he has 24-hour live-in nurse care.
The British rock star said that “everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me” in recent years.
The former Genesis frontman, who turns 75 on January 30, was speaking to British presenter Zoe Ball for the final part of BBC podcast series “Eras” about his illustrious career.
He told Ball that he’s had five operations on his knee. “I can walk, albeit with assistance,” he said.
“I have a 24-hour, live-in nurse to make sure I take my medication as I should do,” said Collins, who first shot to fame in the 1970s.
“I’ve had challenges with my knee, I had everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me. I got Covid in hospital, my kidneys started to back up,” said the singer-songwriter, drummer and record producer.
“I’d probably been drinking too much, and so my kidneys were messed up,” he added. “I wasn’t one of those guys that sort of stayed up all night drinking. I’d drink during the day, but I guess I had too much of it.”
“It is just one of those things that happened and it all caught up with me and I spent months in hospital.”
Collins said he hoped to get “back to being totally mobile and healthy,” though he was unsure if he would ever get to perform live again – his last concert was in 2022.
Despite his poor health, Collins struck a note of positivity. “I couldn’t have wished for a more varied and eventful playing career,” he said.
Collins has previously spoken about his failing health. In a 2021 interview, he said he couldn’t play the drums any longer. His son Nic Collins replaced him on drums for a Genesis reunion tour, while he stuck to the vocals.
He’s had a series of fractures over the years and in 2015 underwent back surgery, which left him with nerve damage. In 2017, he fell, which resulted in him using a cane to assist with walking.
Collins, who is three-times divorced, is father to four other children besides Nic. His daughter, Lily Collins, is the protagonist of hit Netflix show “Emily in Paris.”
Asked by Ball what life had taught him, Collins said there’s a part of him “that’s trying to make up for things that I’ve either done or have made people feel. Or affected the kids in any kind of negative way.”
Nevertheless, he added: “My kids are amazingly well-adjusted considering some of the things that they’ve been through. I’m very, very proud of all of them. They’ve all stood on their own and done what they believe in.”
The interview, a preview of which was sent to media, is the fifth and final instalment of the series. A television version of the interview will air on the BBC on January 31.
