"Everything That Could Go Wrong With Me, Did Go Wrong With Me" — Phil Collins Reveals Health Woes

When compiling a short list of musicians who greatly influenced pop-culture in the 1980s, Phil Collins must be mentioned. His tenure as Genesis's drummer and lead singer, along with his successful solo career, has cemented his legacy as an iconic artist.

And he's got a boatload of accolades to go with the impressive body of work he's compiled over several decades, which includes eight Grammys.

Unfortunately, Collins has battled health woes ever since he sustained a spinal injury in 2007. And recent updates has fans worried.

In an interview on BBC's Eras podcast, the "Against All Odds" singer said that he requires round-the-clock care. "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 told the network.

Following this, Collins shared that his recovery has been anything but smooth sailing. "I have everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me," he said.

The drummer then went on to state that his movement has been severely inhibited over the years, and that he currently only has the use of one of his knees.

The artist underwent five surgeries on his knee, "I can walk, albeit with assistance, you know, crutches or whatever," he told the BBC.

But his health struggles didn't end there. "I got COVID in hospital. My kidneys started to back up. Everything seemed to converge at the same time," Collins stated.

Furthermore, he explained why he suffered kidney issues, stating that the organs began giving him issues after he drank heavily for a period. "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," he said.

This culminated in prolonged healthcare supervision: "I spent months in hospital. It's just been a difficult, interesting, frustrating last few years. But it's all right now," the musician remarked.

Collins dislocated vertebrae in his neck after reuniting with Genesis in 2007 and going on tour. The injury was attributed to years of Collins playing the drums with poor posture, hunching over the kit. Subsequently, Collins found it difficult to sit down and hold drumsticks properly to play as a result of the nerve damage he sustained.

Following this, Collins suffered other health issues that impeded his mobility, such as drop foot. His diabetes and drinking further compounded his health difficulties.

In spite of the problems he's been facing, the singer told the BBC that he's happy to be sober and enjoy life outside of touring so he could "do all those things that [he] couldn't do."

As fans search online to see the status of Collins' health, career highs and lows have become the topic of conversation, along with the ill-fated Live Aid performance that saw him entertain audiences in both Wembley Stadium in London, and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.

In the U.K., Collins's set included "Against All Odds" and "In the Air Tonight," paired with duets with Sting, "Every Breath You Take" and "Long Long Way to Go."

In Philly, he didn't have as much success. Collins took to the drums to rock out with Eric Clapton, along with a hotly anticipated Led Zeppelin reunion that saw Phil take the place of the late legendary drummer, John Bonham.

To say the Zeppelin set didn't go as planned would be putting it lightly. It was so bad that Zeppelin purportedly blocked the broadcast of the set and blocked it from being added to the Live Aid DVD that was released in 2004.

Collins maintains that he was unfairly blamed for the set not going well; however, he noted that both Plant and Page weren't in the best of the form.

In his own interview, Jimmy Page called the performance "appalling" due to the fact that everyone in the band was "doing different things at the time." However, Page did go on to say that the biggest issue was the fact that the "drummers" didn't know the material.

Collins, despite his friendship with Plant, thought that the real issue were issues Led Zeppelin had with one another at the time, and that there wasn't a whole lot of time for rehearsal. Not to mention that he believed, Page and Plant weren't in the best of form.

As Collins said: "Here’s how it is. Robert on his own: a lovely bloke. Robert and anything to do with Zeppelin: a strange chemistry happens. It’s like a nasty strain of alchemy. Everything becomes very dark — sulphurous even."