Phil Collins has ruled out performing at this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, while admitting he would still “contemplate” returning to the stage in the future.
The former Genesis drummer and singer spoke about his health and live performance prospects during an appearance on BBC Breakfast on Friday 22 May. Collins has faced ongoing health complications since suffering a spinal injury in 2007, with mobility issues continuing to affect his ability to perform.
At Genesis’ final live shows in 2022, Collins performed seated while his son Nic Collins handled drumming duties.
health issues “all caught up” with Phil Collins
Speaking about his condition, Collins said the past year and a half had been more stable after several difficult years.
“The last 18 months has been fine. Before that, not so good.”
“Everything health-wise caught up with me at the same time. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, but everything is fine now.”
Collins also revealed the extent of the complications surrounding his knee problems, saying repeated surgeries left him sidelined for long periods.
“I had problems with my knee, which I had for a while but I played through it, I toured through it.”
“But eventually I had to have a knee operation and I had to have it done five times because it either kept getting infected or it broke.”
Phil Collins says no to Rock Hall performance
Collins is due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this year as a solo artist, marking his second induction after Genesis entered the Hall in 2010.
Despite the honour, he confirmed he will not perform during the ceremony because he does not feel physically prepared for a live appearance.
“I mean, this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thing, they asked me if I would perform and I said no, because you’ve got to be match fit to do something like that.”
“You can’t just go onstage, you have to rehearse, and by that point if you’ve not been singing then your voice is going to be shot, and then that’s not going to be good, so I’d rather not do it.”
Still, Collins stopped short of ruling out future live appearances completely.
“But whether I’d go out again, I would contemplate, yes.”
Years of health struggles have limited live performances
Collins has been open in recent years about the physical limitations that have affected both his drumming and mobility.
In 2024, he appeared in the documentary Drummer First, produced with popular YouTube drumming channel Drumeo, where he discussed struggling with no longer being able to play drums at the level he once could.
“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 of it. But I just feel like I’ve used up my air miles.”
“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.”
Back in 2021, Collins also admitted he could “barely hold a stick” because of his health issues.
Collins recently celebrated two years of sobriety
Earlier this year, Collins shared another update during an appearance on BBC’s Eras podcast with Zoe Ball, where he reflected on his recovery and recent sobriety.
“It’s just been a difficult, interesting, frustrating last few years… but it’s alright now.”
“I enjoyed coming off tour. Coming off the road… I thought, right, I’m gonna do all those things that I couldn’t do.”
Collins said his drinking increased after stepping away from touring and eventually led to months in hospital.
“I guess I had too much of it. I was never drunk, although I fell over a couple of times. But it is just one of those things that happened and it all caught up with me, and I spent months in hospital.”
He also revealed that while he feels more mobile now, he remains unsure whether he will record new music again.
“I would like to go into the studio and have a fiddle about and see if there’s more music… you’ve gotta start doing it to see if you can do it.”
That cautious optimism contrasts with comments Collins made in February 2025, when he admitted he was “not hungry” enough to create new material.
Last year, Collins’ representatives also shut down false online rumours claiming he had been placed in hospice care or was “on his deathbed”. At the time, his team confirmed he had simply been hospitalised for knee surgery.
