Phil Collins Gives Health Update

Longtime musician Phil Collins is sharing a heath update. Collins' heath has been a concern for several years, and since he turns 75 on Jan. 30, it seems like an appropriate time to update his listeners about his condition.

Collins has been dealing with harrowing health issues, and in a new interview, he says that when it comes to his health, "everything that could go wrong with me did go wrong with me."

A TV special called Phil Collins Eras: In Conversation is scheduled to air on BBC Two on Jan. 31, and his interview has also been broadcast as part of the Eras: Phil Collins podcast, with the fifth and final episode schedule to drop on Jan. 26 through BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer.

In the interview with the BBC, Collins explains of his health, "It's an ongoing thing. You know I have a 24-hour live-in nurse to make sure I take my medication as I should do. I've had challenges with my knee."

He adds, "I had everything that could go wrong with me did go wrong with me. I got Covid in hospital — my kidneys started to back up, you know, everything that started that could, all seemed to converge at the same time."

Collins also talked about the numerous surgeries that he's had, noting, "I had five operations on my knee now. I've got a knee that works and I can walk, albeit with assistance, you know, crutches or whatever. I'd probably been drinking too much, and so my kidneys were messed up, you know. I enjoyed coming off tour, coming off the road, but I thought, right, I’m gonna do all those things that I couldn't do."

But, the good news is that Collins says his health issues won't stop him from making music. "I've got some things that are half formed or were never finished, and a couple of things that were finished," he says, "which I like, so you know, maybe life in the old dog."

So, through it all, Collins is staying positive and as active as he can, and that's a beautiful thing.