Only superstars Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson can rival Phil Collins as one of the most popular musicians in record sales.
But now that he has said goodbye to them in an emotional final concert and made the joke that he would need to find “a real job,” his legions of fans worldwide are left inconsolable. “.
At his final show at London’s O2, where he was joined on stage by his Genesis bandmates Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, he announced his retirement from music after 40 years of performing due to ongoing health issues.
Following the cancellation of their “The Last Domino?” Tour due to COVID-19, the group came back together. The final time she followed a 14-year break from live performances.
After the performance, a visibly weakened Collins stood with his bandmates and joked, “After tonight, we’ll all have to get real jobs. “.
Collins underwent surgery in April 2009 to correct dislocated vertebrae in his upper neck that he sustained while playing the drums on the 2007 Genesis tour.
After the procedure, he lost feeling in his fingers and could only hold drumsticks if they were taped to his hands. Since 2015, he has been using a cane. He experienced depression and low self-worth as a result of his health problems. His son Nicholas Collins will take care of the drums, as he admitted last September that he could hardly hold a drumstick.
The renowned musician suggested this might be his final tour while speaking on the BBC Breakfast Show.
“I’d love to, but you know, I can hardly hold a stick with this hand,” the person said. So some material things get in the way,” he said, adding that this might be his final tour.
“We’re all men our age, and I think to some extent, it probably is putting it to bed,” Collins said. I’m not sure if I want to travel anymore.
It’s challenging to imagine Collins’ beginnings as a child actor before landing his first significant role as the Artful Dodger in the West End production of Oliver, given his musical talent.
Six years later, in 1970, he became the drummer for the band Genesis. After Peter Gabriel left the group in 1975, he became the lead singer.
Collins responded to a newspaper advertisement by the band looking for a drummer when he was 19.
The band grew stronger when he got his new job, releasing five studio albums and touring the US. The band auditioned for 400 replacements after lead singer Peter Gabriel quit, and Collins was ultimately chosen.
“I felt exposed. When Phil Collins took over as the band’s lead singer, “I’d lived all my life behind the security blanket of a drum kit, and suddenly there was nothing but a microphone stand,” he recalled to LouderSound.
And the band’s sound is different when heard from the front. It is uncomfortable to listen to another kind of balance upfront. To be honest, I didn’t want the job.
I desired to continue as the drummer. Every Monday, we had five or six people come down to audition, and I would instruct them on what to do. I taught them some old songs while we were writing A Trick of the Tail, like Firth of Fifth, and I ended up sounding better than everyone else,” he continued.
And this group, called Genesis, resembled a family. We didn’t find anyone, so we settled for me instead. “.
He went solo in the 1980s and became one of pop music’s most famous artists. After appearing at the two fundraising concerts for Africa just hours apart, he made headlines.
Collins performed at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium, raising over $150 million for famine relief in African countries. A short time later, he boarded a Concorde and took off for Philadelphia, where he gave the benefit performance.
He did make a comeback to acting, appearing in the Miami Vice series before starring in the Great Train Robbery drama Buster. Collins contributed two singles to the soundtrack, which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
The 71-year-old, who gave his final performance while seated, acknowledged last year that he does not practice at home.
“I take no action. I don’t sing at all at home. According to the Guardian, Collins said the practice is the rehearsal in September.
“These guys always pick on me, but I have to do it this way,” the speaker said. Of course, my health changes things and performing the show while seated changes things. Nevertheless, during my most recent solo trecentlyI discovered that it didn’t interfere with the audience’s ability to hear and respond. It’s not how I would have written it, but that’s how it is,” he continued.
