Phil Collins, 75, Shares That He Has a Live-In Nurse Following Five Knee Surgeries
Phil Collins has shared insights about his health challenges following a “frustrating last few years.”
“You know, I have a 24-hour live-in nurse to ensure I take my medication properly,” Collins, 75, told BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball in a recent interview released on Sunday, January 18. “I’ve faced difficulties with my knee… Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.”
The special BBC Eras radio series was created to celebrate Collins’ 75th birthday on January 30 and features him discussing his health issues in detail. Phil — father to Emily in Paris actress Lily Collins — revealed to Ball, 55, that he recently marked two years of sobriety after having issues with his kidneys, according to The Independent.
“I had probably been drinking too much,” he admitted. “I enjoyed coming off tour. Stepping off the road… I thought, right, I’m going to do all those things I couldn’t before.”
Phil recounted that during his struggles, he was day-drinking but would cut himself off by around 6 p.m. each evening.
“I suppose I had too much of it,” he reflected. “I was never intoxicated, although I did stumble a couple of times. But it’s just one of those things that happened, and I ended up spending months in the hospital.”
In addition to his sobriety, Phil mentioned dealing with “an ongoing situation” regarding his mobility, having recently undergone his fifth knee surgery due to the wear from his music career. (He performed his last concert in 2022.)
“[I have one leg] that works,” he clarified. “I can walk, albeit with assistance, like crutches or something similar.”
The former Genesis frontman and drummer has been open about his health struggles over the years.
After suffering a spinal injury during the band’s 2007 reunion tour, Phil underwent surgery but later experienced numbness in his fingers. He regained some sensation in a 2015 operation but could still only play drums with his right hand.
Despite his challenges, Phil chose to join the final Genesis reunion tour in 2021, although he had to perform while seated for many of the shows. (Phil’s son Nic Collins filled in for him on drums during Genesis’ The Last Domino? Tour. Phil is a father of five: Joely, 52, Simon, 48, Lily, 36, Nic, 21, and Matthew, 21.)
In the 2024 documentary Phil Collins: Drummer First, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee admitted that it was unlikely he would be able to drum regularly again.
“If I can’t perform as I once did, I’d prefer to relax and not do anything,” he acknowledged. “If I wake up one day able to hold a pair of drumsticks, then I might give it a shot. But I feel like I’ve used up my air miles. It’s still settling in… I’ve dedicated my life to playing drums. Suddenly being unable to do that is a shock.”
Phil revealed in a career retrospective for MOJO Magazine in February 2025 that he had been “very sick” recently, prompting hesitation about recording new music in his home studio.
“I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens. But I’m not eager for it anymore,” he admitted.
Later that year, Phil’s fans were understandably worried when news surfaced that he had been hospitalized again for knee surgery in July 2025. However, his representative reassured fans that rumors of him being in hospice care were unfounded.
Phil began drumming at the age of 5 and joined Genesis in 1970. After frontman Peter Gabriel left the prog-rock band in 1975, Phil took over as lead singer.
Phil shifted Genesis’ music toward a more commercial sound, helping them sell approximately 150 million records worldwide, and he also sold around 150 million records as a solo artist.
