Phil Collins has said he has not had a drink in three years after what he described as “dark times” with alcohol addiction.
The former Genesis singer and drummer recently revealed that his alcoholism left him critically ill and on life support in 2024, with his children travelling to Switzerland amid fears that he might not make it.
In a new interview with Prog, he has given a more hopeful update on his health. “Physically now, I reckon I’m A1, 100 per cent,” he said. “I’ve worked at it. Haven’t drunk for three years. I do physio three times a week, to bring me up to speed. All is good!”
“I went through some pretty dark times,” he added. “I was never ‘falling over’ drunk. That wasn’t it. It was just drinking ‘normally’, as one would drink water. I’d wake up, have a glass of wine. Watch TV, read a book, have a glass of wine. Some people’s insides can’t take it. Mine broke down.”
Detailing his time on life support, he said: “Kidneys and liver were waving the white flag. I was close to dying, and I hadn’t realised. I just thought I was sick.”
He also discussed his current attitude to making music in the new interview. “I’m never gonna say no now,” he said. “I’ve got my little studio still, and I’d like to get down there and just mess about and see what happens. There are some things I could finish. And other things which are finished. So it’s not beyond the realms of possibility.”
Collins was admitted to hospital in November 2023 and after briefly being discharged, he returned weeks later and eventually spent seven months needing treatment, with his situation becoming critical in April 2024.
Earlier this year, he revealed he requires a 24-hour live-in nurse to help manage his medication after what he described as a “difficult, interesting, frustrating” period. “I had everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me,” he said, while also revealing he has undergone five operations on his knee.
More recently, he said he was feeling “healthier” than he had for some time, but still ruled out performing at his upcoming Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction later this year.
“You’ve got to be match fit to do something like that,” he explained. “You can’t just go onstage – you have to rehearse, and by that point, if you’ve not been singing then your voice is going to be shot.”
He added, however, that he would “contemplate” performing live again in the future.
Collins will be inducted as a solo artist in November, having already gone in as a member of Genesis in 2010. Oasis, Iron Maiden, Billy Idol, Sade, Luther Vandross, Wu-Tang Clan and Joy Division/New Order are the other inductees.
The musician is also preparing to mark the 45th anniversary of his debut solo album ‘Face Value’ with an expanded reissue titled ‘Face Value (Full Value)’. The 4LP box set with half-speed versions, demos, outtakes and unreleased live recordings will be out on September 18, and you can pre-order it here.
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