Legendary Genesis member and extremely successful solo artist Phil Collins turns 75 today, January 30.
Philip David Charles Collins was born in 1951 in London. He joined Genesis as a drummer in 1970, and after Peter Gabriel left in 1975, he became lead vocalist.
In the 1980s, he achieved phenomenal success with hits such as In the Air Tonight, Against All Odds, Another Day in Paradise and Sussudio.
He is one of only three musicians (along with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson) to have sold over 100 million albums, both solo and as part of a group.
He has won 8 Grammy Awards, 6 BRIT Awards and an Oscar for the song You'll Be in My Heart from the Disney animated film “Tarzan“.
Phil Collins has three marriages and five children, many of whom are also in the entertainment industry.
His first wife is Andrea Bertorelli (1975-1980). Collins adopted her daughter Jolie (actress), and together they have a son Simon (musician).
The second is Jill Tavelman (1984-1996). From his second marriage, his daughter Lily Collins was born, who is a world-famous actress (the star of “Emily in Paris“).
The third is Orianne Sevi (1999-2008). From this marriage, he has two sons – Nicholas and Matthew.
In recent years, Collins has faced serious physical challenges.
He suffers from severe nerve damage from a spinal injury in 2007, which prevents him from playing drums and makes it difficult for him to move (he uses a cane or a wheelchair).
In March 2022, he held his last concert with Genesis (The Last Domino?), where he sang sitting down and his son Nick Collins took over the drums.
In January of this year, he shared that his condition had improved after knee surgery and was even considering returning to the studio for new music. Collins also clarified that he has been sober for two years and denied rumors that he is in hospice.
Collins recently spoke about his life and career to British journalist Zoe Ball for a special broadcast dedicated to his 75th birthday.
The special television episode “Phil Collins Eras: In Conversation” will be broadcast on BBC Two on January 31, and the interview has already been heard as part of the podcast “Eras: Phil Collins”. The fifth and final episode is planned for January 26 on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer.
In the extensive conversation, Phil Collins spoke, quoted by zrockradio.bg, about his (alas) severely deteriorated health in recent years:
“It's an ongoing process. I have a 24-hour nurse who lives with me to make sure I'm taking my meds properly. I had knee problems. Everything that could go wrong with me went wrong. I got COVID in the hospital — my kidneys started failing, you know, everything that could go wrong, it was like it was coming together at once.”
The singer and drummer continues:
“I've had five knee surgeries now — I have a knee that works and I can walk, although with assistance — with crutches or something. I must have been drinking too much and it affected my kidneys. I was happy when I was done with touring and life on the road, but I was like, ‘Okay, now I'm going to do all those things that I couldn't do before.”
Expanding on the subject of alcohol, he adds:
“I wasn't one to stay up all night drinking — I drank during the day, but I guess it was too much. I was never drunk, although I fell a few times. It just happened — everything caught up with me and I spent months in the hospital.”
Despite the physical limitations that were evident during the 2021-2022 Genesis reunion tour, Collins says he's not done with music and hopes his health improves in the near future.
“I couldn't have asked for a more varied and eventful career as a musician,” notes Phil Collins. “What's ahead of me — apart from getting back to full mobility and good health — is getting in the studio, playing around and seeing if there's more music, because you often say, ‘Well, that was it.’ But you have to start to find out if you can. Otherwise you just don't do it. That's something that's in front of me.”
“I have a few ideas that are half-formed or never finished, and a few things that are fully finished that I like — so, you know, maybe there's still life in the old dog.”
We really hope so. Phil Collins is a really great musician. I hope he gets back on his feet soon and can make some new music for us.