Phil Collins Opens Up About Sobriety and Near-Fatal Health Scare

Phil Collins has given a candid account of the alcohol relapse and health crisis that nearly killed him, telling Prog magazine he has now gone three years without a drink. The former Genesis frontman describes the period as involving “pretty dark times” but says his condition has since turned around.

Collins explains that his drinking during the relapse did not look like typical intoxication. He says he would have wine steadily through the day, comparing the habit to drinking water rather than getting visibly drunk, and that his body eventually could not cope with it.

• Collins says he has not had a drink in three years, following a relapse in the 2020s
• He was hospitalized in November 2023, briefly released, then readmitted weeks later for roughly seven months of treatment, according to NME
• His condition turned critical in April 2024
• Collins has had five knee operations and now uses crutches because of drop foot
• His debut album Face Value is getting a 4LP 45th-anniversary reissue, due September 18
• He will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in November 2026

What Phil Collins Says Happened to His Health

Collins says the sustained drinking eventually caused both his kidneys and liver to fail. “Kidneys and liver were waving the white flag,” he tells Prog, adding that he was close to death without realizing the severity of what was happening to him. “I was close to dying, and I hadn’t realised. I just thought I was sick.”

He says his manager, Tony, called his children to Switzerland at one point for a meeting about his future, as he was effectively on life support. NME reports that Collins was first hospitalized in November 2023, discharged briefly, then returned to hospital weeks later for a stretch of treatment lasting about seven months, with his health becoming critical in April 2024.

Far Out Magazine notes that alongside the alcohol-related complications, Collins has also been living with severe nerve damage tied to a spinal injury from 2007.

Phil Collins on Feeling Better and Ongoing Physical Struggles

Despite the ordeal, Collins says his physical condition has markedly improved. “Physically now, I reckon I’m A1, 100 per cent,” he says. “I’ve worked at it. Haven’t drunk for three years. I do physio three times a week, to bring me up to speed. All is good!”

He still deals with mobility issues unrelated to the drinking. Collins says he has undergone five operations on his knee and has drop foot, a nerve-damage condition that affects walking, which is the reason he now relies on crutches.

Will Phil Collins Release New Music?

Asked directly whether more music could be coming, Collins did not rule it out. “I’m never gonna say no now,” he says, adding that he still has his home studio and mentioning that some recordings are already complete while others remain unfinished. “There are some things I could finish. And other things which are finished. So, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility,” he says.

Collins’s most recent solo release was the covers album Going Back, put out in 2010.

Face Value Reissue and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction

To mark the 45th anniversary of his 1981 debut solo album Face Value, Collins is releasing an expanded box set titled Face Value (Full Value). The 4LP edition will include half-speed remasters, demos, outtakes and previously unreleased live recordings, and is scheduled for release on September 18.

Collins is also set to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in November 2026, having already entered the institution as a member of Genesis back in 2010. Other acts joining the 2026 induction class include Oasis, Iron Maiden, Billy Idol, Sade, Luther Vandross, Wu-Tang Clan and Joy Division/New Order.

More Info

• Phil Collins opens up about the chances of releasing new music: “There are some things I could finish. And other things which are finished” | Louder / Classic Rock
• Phil Collins Reveals He’s Been Sober for Three Years | Consequence
• Phil Collins says he is three years sober after "dark times" with alcohol addiction | NME
• Phil Collins celebrates sobriety and details dark times with alcohol addiction | Far Out Magazine