Music legend Phil Collins has revealed he's lost his creative drive for making new music while dealing with serious health issues. In a candid interview with Mojo magazine, the 74-year-old former Genesis frontman opened up about his current relationship with music creation.
"I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens," Collins shared in the April issue. "But I'm not hungry for it anymore. The thing is, I've been sick, I mean very sick."
The artist's last original album was 2002's "Testify," followed by "Going Back" in 2010, which featured covers of Motown and soul classics. Since then, Collins has faced mounting health challenges that have impacted his ability to perform and create music.
A recent documentary, "Phil Collins: Drummer First," highlighted the extent of his physical limitations. His son Nic Collins revealed that years of drumming have led to severe back and neck problems, requiring major surgery. Collins also struggles with drop-foot, a condition affecting his ability to lift the front part of his foot, forcing him to use a cane and preventing him from playing drums as he once did.
"If I can't do what I did as well as I did it, I'd rather relax and not do anything," Collins stated in the documentary. "If I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks then I will have a crack at it. I just feel like I've used up my air miles."
During Genesis's farewell tour in 2021-2022, Collins performed seated while his son Nic took over drumming duties. The tour marked the end of an era, with bandmates Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford acknowledging it as their final venture together.
Former bandmate Peter Gabriel attended the group's last show at London's O2 Arena in March 2022, describing it as a "rite of passage" and noting that while Collins wasn't in peak condition, "they did a great job."