Why Phil Collins Remains On Tour Despite Worsening Condition

A couple of days back photos of Phil Collins on stage in a chair made the rounds on social media. It’s clear for all to see that the “Another Day in Paradise” singer is not in the best condition. This has pretty much been the case for Collins concerts since his 2019 tour titled, “Still Not Dead Yet”. Collins spends most of the concert sitting in a chair. His famous drum solos are pretty much impossible for him to do at this point. Why does he keep going?   

Collins isn’t touring solo this time around. He’s doing so with his old bandmates from Genesis. The band has been on and off for years. It had actually been 13 years since the band was together on stage until that night that the famous Phil Collins pictures surfaced. For this particular tour, it seems that the motivation for Collins is still living out his teenage dreams. He said in a recent interview, 

“When it’s good, it’s great fun. The audience always seem to come away having enjoyed it. So really it’s a question of going out there and doing what you do with your life. I’m 70 … and I’ve been in this band since I was 19.”  

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If you’re a fan of Genesis you’re going to want to catch one of these last shows. The tour is called “The Last Domino?” for a reason. Although they added the question mark at the end of the name it is potentially the last time that the band does concerts together. Not only did Collins essentially confirm that it would be the last time that he’d be on stage with the band, but the final two concerts will also be held in early December. With dates set for the 5th and 6th of that month at Madison Square Garden. That will potentially be the real last domino as Collins doesn’t anticipate continuing the tour into 2022. 

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Although he hasn’t said that he is officially not going to tour at all after he’s done with the current Genesis tour in December his future in music is still very much in the air after this year. Close family members though hint that as long as Collins can still find a way to be on stage he’ll probably look for a way to get back out there. In a recent documentary done by PBS following the Genesis tour Collins’ son mentions, 

“Whenever my dad, you know, was feeling a bit down and we’d go and play a show, I would see his mood light up,” he went on to add, ““Because when you have 20,000 people in an arena who are all there because they absolutely love you, it’s a feeling that I think is so important for musicians to realize that what they do and what they did still matters.”

Collins suffered a spinal cord injury back in 2007. It was said at the time that the injury came when he was doing a drum solo. Precisely around the time that the last Genesis concerts had taken place. From there he began having all sorts of physical limitations. Relying on a cane to be able to walk. His physical issues ultimately lead to alcoholism. He told Rolling Stone Magazine in 2010 that he’d contemplated suicide. Overall he hasn’t had an easy go in the last few years. With multiple divorces piling upon him. Even after this last Madison Square Garden concert with Genesis he may still need the stage to keep going