Phil Collins is hitting the road again with Genesis soon, but his ongoing health condition has already proven his ability to perform rather difficult.
The 70-year-old singer and drummer, alongside his bandmates Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, sat down with BBC Breakfast for a new interview Thursday (Sept. 9) to discuss how they’re feeling before going back out on the road. First announced in March 2020 and later postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the British prog-rock band’s reunion tour The Last Domino? Tour 2021 will begin this winter, marking their first tour in 14 years.
“I can barely hold a drumstick with this hand,” Collins told the reporter while looking down at his hand. “So there are certain physical things which get in the way.”
Collins has long suffered from nerve damage following a spinal injury in 2007, which has hindered his ability to play the drums and made him sit down while he’s singing.
Rutherford quoted Collins by saying the tour is the band’s way of “putting it to bed.” He continued in his own words, “We’ve been 50 years doing this sort of stuff, and it’s nice to sort of have a round like this.”
Genesis is set to travel across the U.S. and Canada this November and December with Nic Collins, Phil’s son, on drums and the band’s longtime lead guitar and bass player Daryl Stuermer. The Last Domino? North American Tour 2021 marks the first time the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers has performed stateside since 2007’s Turn It On Again: The Tour.
“I’m kind of physically challenged a bit, which is very frustrating ’cause, you know, I’d love to be playing up there with my son,” Collins said in the new interview. In 2018, the legendary musician said a Genesis reunion would only be possible if his son Nic was the one sitting behind the drums.
