Genesis' Phil Collins explains how drumming has 'taken a toll' on his body amid health issues
Legendary musician Phil Collins gave an update on his health two years after announcing his retirement.
In a new documentary, "Phil Collins: Drummer First," which was released on Wednesday from Drumeo, the "You'll Be In My Heart" singer talked about the physical toll drumming has taken on his body.
"The drumming has taken a toll on my hands, legs," he said.
"If I can't do what I did as well as I did it, I'd rather relax and not do anything," Phil Collins added. "If I wake up one day and hold a pair of drumsticks and then I will have a crack at it. But just you know I feel like I've used up my air miles."
Phil Collins, who was the lead singer and drummer of the rock band Genesis, in the 1970s, gave his final performance in March 2022 while on tour with the band on its "The Last Domino? Tour." Ahead of the tour, the singer had been sidelined by a number of serious health problems and it was announced that his son, Nic Collins, would be playing the drums on the tour.
In the documentary, Nic Collins talked about the injuries that his dad faced over the years.
"I think it all stems down to playing drums and the issues that he's had with his back," Nic Collins said. "He had back problems throughout the years and that goes hand in hand with just getting older."
"But I think he had a big surgery on his neck that stemmed from all those years playing drums and just bad posture and stuff, which caused him to have drop foot," Nic Collins added.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, foot drop syndrome is the "inability to raise the front part of the foot due to weakness or paralysis of the muscles that lift the foot."
Those who suffer from drop foot, may "scuff their toes along the ground or bend their knees to lift their foot higher than usual to avoid the scuffing."
Nic Collins said because of drop foot, his dad "doesn't have that control that he used to anymore" and can't play the drums the way he once did, adding that he has to walk with a cane.
Nic Collins said that he knows his dad "wishes he could sit behind a kit and play the way he could."
As a drummer himself, Nic Collins said he's had to be cautious about how he sets his drum kit up so he doesn't develop the same health issues down the line.
"He was great at playing drums and that worked [for him], and that setup was great and he could everything he could do, and I don't think he was necessarily thinking about, 'Oh, this is going to take a toll on my back in the long run,'" Nic Collins said.
Phil Collins said "it's still kind of sinking in a bit" when it comes to the idea of not playing the drums anymore.
"I'm 71, I've spent all my life playing drums to suddenly not being able to do that is a shock," he said.
After touring with his son, Phil Collins said that Nic Collins brought "something new" to the shows.
"Sometimes things feel very different when you're playing it as opposed to when you're singing with it or when you're listening to it so I'm so pleased that we did it," Phil Collins said, reflecting about being on stage with his son. "There were never any rough moments. There was never any doubts -- it just went ridiculously smoothly. It was something that I wouldn't have altered for the world."
