Phil Collins ‘Can Barely Hold a Stick’ Ahead of Genesis Tour
Phil Collins’ ongoing health challenges will prevent him from drumming during the long-awaited Genesis reunion tour.
“I’m kind of physically challenged a bit, which is very frustrating because I’d love to be playing up there with my son [drummer Nic Collins],” he told BBC Breakfast on Thursday (via NME).
Collins expanded on those issues, noting that he currently can’t play at all. “I would love to,” he said, “but, you know, I mean, I can barely hold a stick with this hand, so there are certain physical things that get in the way.”
The frontman’s health problems date back to Genesis’ 2007 reunion tour, when he dislocated vertebrae in his neck, leading to nerve damage in his hands.
But when the band’s trio lineup — Collins, keyboardist Tony Banks and bassist-guitarist Mike Rutherford, along with Nic and touring guitarist Daryl Stuermer — announced the Last Domino? reunion tour, the longtime drummer initially hoped to “play some bits” onstage.
"I've gotta start really seriously thinking, but I have already been working out what I'm gonna do and what songs to play on,” he told BBC Radio 2 in March 2020. And in the same interview, Collins said that bringing Nic onboard became a crucial component in their reunion.
"It was a problem that we had to overcome with me not playing," he said, noting how Banks and Rutherford were convinced Nic was up for the challenge after seeing Collins' 2017 solo gigs at London's Royal Albert Hall. "[I think] both were kinda taken with the way [Nic] kind of understood what was needed.
"And he plays a bit like me when he wants to – he doesn't when he doesn't want to. But I'm one of his many influences, of course, being his dad. But he plays like me, and he kind of has the same attitude as me. So that was a good starter."
The jaunt, previously delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is currently scheduled to kick off Sept. 20 in Birmingham, England. Their North American leg begins Nov. 15 with the first of two dates in Chicago.