As he gears up for his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist this fall, Phil Collins is reflecting on a challenging time in his personal life.
The eight-time Grammy winner and former Genesis frontman revealed to the U.K.’s Sunday Times this week that he nearly died in 2024 while hospitalized in Switzerland, where he currently resides. The cause, he said, was connected to his years of alcohol abuse.
“My kidneys were packing up, my organs were just seizing up. People were coming to say goodbye,” Collins, 75, told the outlet. “But I don’t remember them coming, I didn’t have no idea this was going on. They were all worried that they wouldn’t see me again. It could all have gone so terribly wrong.”
Though the musician remained mum on specifics, he said his condition was serious enough for doctors to summon his family, including his five children, to his hospital bedside as “there were some decisions to be made about ‘do we keep Phil on life support?’ kind of thing.”
Ultimately, Collins pulled through and was discharged from the hospital after about seven months. Though the outlet noted his pancreas is “permanently scarred” and his kidneys “barely function,” the singer-songwriter acknowledged, “I was very lucky to have come out of that.”
“Needless to say, I haven’t had a drink since,” he added.
A London native and former child actor, Collins rose to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the rock group Genesis. Though he was initially the band’s drummer, he also took over as its lead singer in 1975, following the departure of original frontman Peter Gabriel.
Collins led Genesis through the 1980s and early ’90s, racking up massive hits like “Invisible Touch” and “Land of Confusion.” Along the way, he also enjoyed major success as a solo artist, with songs like “In the Air Tonight” and “Another Day in Paradise” topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
Genesis formally disbanded in 2022 at the conclusion of their “Last Domino?” Tour. Collins had mobility issues throughout the duration of the tour and was usually seated during his performances.
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Though he’s maintained a low public profile since then, his health has remained the subject of heavy media speculation. Last year, he told the U.K. music outlet Mojo that he hasn’t felt “hungry” enough to return to the recording studio or the concert stage.
“The thing is, I’ve been sick, I mean very sick,” he said, though he didn’t disclose the nature of his ailments.
Speaking to the BBC in May, however, Collins seemed to be in better spirits, and described himself as being “healthier now than I have been for quite a while.” As for the prospect of resuming his music career, he said it was something he “would contemplate,” but offered no timeline for when that may be possible.
“I’m constantly saying to myself, ‘I better go back down to my studio at home,’” he explained, before noting that he’d been collecting “lots of lyrical ideas that I write down” and “things that are half-formed and a couple of things that are finished.”
Though Collins was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010, his recognition as a solo artist is seen by many fans as long-overdue. That will change this fall, however, when he’s inducted alongside fellow musicians Billy Idol, Sade and Luther Vandross, among others.
Elsewhere in his Sunday Times chat, Collins also shared he’s currently single, and looking to boost his romantic life.
“I’d love to be in love again,” he said. “I would love a relationship. Kissing somebody, for example. You know, pretty basic stuff.”
