Phil Collins’ patient, last concert with Genesis- Corriere.it

Now he has to find a real job. Phil Collins said goodbye to fans Saturday night at 02 Arena in London, at the end of his last-ever concert with Genesis, after a long battle for health. Collins suffers from a neurological disease: a spinal injury that damaged his vertebrae. I barely have chopsticks in my hand that he revealed to BBC Breakfast last year, forced to walk with a stick. During the whole tour of the band, which was the first live in 14 years, the musician sounded weak, and had to sit several times until he could rest.

He recently explained how precisely the show has been adapted regarding his need to be seated. To The Guardian Collins revealed: The guys (other band members, keyboardist Tony Banks and guitarist Mike Rutherford) are making fun of me, but I have to play that way. Adding that my health definitely changes things. Doing the sitting show changes things. But the audience listens and responds. The validity of the Genesis myth has deteriorated over the past fifteen years.

In a message posted on the Genesis website, Phil explained: Somehow, during the last Genesis tour, I dislocated some vertebrae at the top of my neck and injured my hand. After a successful neck operation, my hands still do not function normally. Maybe it will change in a year, but at the moment it is impossible for me to play the drums or the piano. Collins insisted not to be upset about his diagnosis, and retired to Switzerland to spend time with his third (and now former) wife, Orian Sevi, and their children Nick and Matt.

It turned out that it was one of the worst periods of his life. His wife and children’s marriage sank and they moved to Miami. Collins began drinking to relax, but soon found himself in a near-fatal battle with the bottle. Within a few months, she drinks vodka from the refrigerator in the morning and falls in front of the kids he admitted during a 2016 press conference. But this was something I experienced and was fortunate to try and overcome. I was about to die. The already severe risk condition worsened in 2012, when he was admitted to a Swiss hospital with acute pancreatitis. Collins revealed that he realized he was within hours of death when he heard the doctor ask his family if his will was in order. My limbs were tight. Gone, eroded, later confessed.

In 2013, doctors told Collins that his pancreas was showing signs of permanent damage. The surgery to repair his spine damaged the nerves in his foot, meaning the musician could no longer stand for long. He told The Mirror: “I have eight nails in my back, and the surgery left my feet numb.