Phil Collins' reps speak out following hospice rumours
The 74-year-old musician — who has admitted he is 'very sick' — was the subject of online rumours last week that he was receiving hospice care, but his representative confirmed to The Independent that was not the case.
Instead, the former Genesis frontman is recuperating in hospital after having an operation on his knee.
Collins — who has type 2 diabetes and ongoing complications from a 2007 spinal surgery, which means he can 'barely' hold a drumstick properly any more — said earlier in 2025 that his health issues meant he was no longer interested in playing music.
He told MOJO magazine: 'I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens. But I'm not hungry for it any more.
'The thing is, I've been sick, I mean very sick.'
The In the Air Tonight hit maker would love to be able to drum again one day, but he believes he has 'used up my air miles'.
Speaking in the Phil Collins: Drummer First documentary, he said: 'It's still kind of sinking in a bit… I've spent all my life playing drums. To suddenly not be able to do that is a shock.'
Collins picked up his first set of drumsticks aged five, and he says the laborious playing has 'taken its toll' on his hands and legs.
He said about his decision to retire: 'If I can't do what I did as well as I did it, I'd rather relax and not do anything.
'If I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks then I'll have a crack at it.
'But I just feel like I've used up my air miles.'
Collins has suffered for a long time with poor health since he injured vertebrae in his upper neck while performing in 2009.
Two years later, he stepped back from performing due to crippling nerve damage, which rendered him unable to play the drums, before returning in 2015.
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