Phil Collins, 74, Gives Heartbreaking Health Update

Phil Collins, one of the most recognizable voices in modern music, has revealed a striking new chapter in his health battle. The 74-year-old music legend says he now relies on a full-time, live-in nurse as decades of medical complications continue to take a toll.

Collins, who turns 75 at the end of the month, spoke candidly in a new BBC Two special, Eras – In Conversation, during a sit-down with host Zoe Ball. The interview gives one of the most detailed updates the former Genesis drummer has offered in years.

“There’s life in the old dog yet,” Collins said with a half-smile. “But yeah… things have changed. It’s an ongoing thing. I have a 24-hour live-in nurse to make sure I take my medication like I should.”

The update comes after years of speculation about his condition. Collins has battled Type 2 diabetes, undergone spinal surgery, and endured five knee operations. He spent months in the hospital last summer, and insiders say his health has been fragile ever since.

The singer didn’t shy away from listing what went wrong.

“Everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me,” he told Ball. “I got COVID in the hospital. My kidneys started to back up. It all converged at once.”

Collins says he can walk again, but only with assistance. “I’ve got a knee that works, but I need crutches or whatever. I manage.”

Fans who followed his meteoric rise in the 1980s remember a different Phil Collins — a drummer-turned-frontman who dominated radio with songs like In the Air Tonight, Against All Odds, and Two Hearts. He was everywhere. Stadium tours. MTV. Movie soundtracks. For a time, he was one of America’s most recognizable pop icons.

But the grind came at a cost.

“I’d probably been drinking too much,” he admitted. “My kidneys were messed up. I wasn’t a stay-up-all-night drinker. I drank during the day. Not drunk… but too much of it. It all caught up with me.”

He recalled collapsing more than once. “I fell over a couple of times. Then suddenly I was in the hospital for months.”

Collins’ health struggles began years ago after nerve damage in his spine affected his hands, forcing him to stop drumming. The knee surgeries followed. Then infections. Then kidney complications. Family members have privately expressed concern for years, especially as rumors circulated about hospice care — rumors Collins strongly denied.

Now, despite everything, he says he feels hopeful.

“I want to get back to being totally mobile. Totally healthy,” he said. “And then… maybe go back in there and see if there’s more music. You tend to feel like, that’s it, I’ve done that. But you don’t know until you try.”

The singer, who shares five children including actress Lily Collins, called that possibility “something on my horizon.”

For fans who feared the worst, it’s the most encouraging message they’ve heard in years — even if Collins acknowledges the road ahead remains steep.

“I’ve had a lot thrown at me,” he said. “But I’m still here.”