Genesis drummer and chart-topping legend Phil Collins is weighing up both a future live show and new studio material.
Collins, 75, confirmed in a rare interview with BBC Breakfast, that he had considered heading back on stage to perform some of his greatest hits. The odds remain unlikely after Collins turned down a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performance, but it appears the Sussudio hitmaker rejected the offer for reasons of preparation, rather than possibility. He said: “They asked me if I would perform and I said no, because you’ve got to be match fit to do something like that.” In the same interview, Collins confirmed he was “healthier than ever” after sharing he had a live-in nurse to make sure he took his medication at the appropriate time.
Collins has suffered from a spinal injury since 2007 and on the Genesis farewell tour he performed seated from the front of the stage. The veteran performer says it would be unlikely for him to truly get back on the stage, but that he does feel like he could return to the studio sometime soon.
He said: “You can’t just go on stage and — you’re gonna have to rehearse and then by that point, if you’ve not been singing, your voice is going to be shot and then that’s not gonna be good. So I’d rather not do it. But whether I would go out again, I would contemplate, yeah. I’m constantly saying to myself, I better go back down into my studio at home.
“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.” It marks a tremendous update for Collins’ fans, with worries over the songwriter’s health airing last year.
Collins said in 2025 that he did not have the hunger for creating new music, though he appears to have changed his mind given comments in a recent BBC interview. He said last year: “I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens. But I’m not hungry for it anymore. The thing is, I’ve been sick, I mean very sick.”
Collins announced his final solo show in 2019, confirming at the end of the gig in Las Vegas, Nevada, that it would be his final show. A full setlist for his performance at the T-Mobile Arena on October 19, 2019, can be found below.
- Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)
- Another Day in Paradise
- Hang in Long Enough
- Don’t Lose My Number
- Throwing it All Away (Genesis song)
- Follow You Follow Me (Genesis song)
- I Missed Again
- Who Said I Would
- Separate Lives (Stephen Bishop cover)
- Drum Trio
- Something Happened on the Way to Heaven
- You Know What I Mean
- In the Air Tonight
- You Can’t Hurry Love (The Supremes cover)
- Dance Into the Light
- Invisible Touch (Genesis song)
- Easy Lover (Philip Bailey cover)
- Sussudio
- Take Me Home
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