Phil Collins Takes a Break from Making Music


By Charlotte Bumstead

Long-time legendary rock star Phil Collins allegedly announced his retirement last week. The Internet has been buzzing ever since UK’s Telegraph Newspaper delivered the news. After an extremely successful career selling over 150 million records and taking home 7 Grammy awards, the 60-year-old British singer and drummer told FHM magazine he did not plan on continuing with making new music. Media sources report medical problems as being Collins’ reason for retiring. After four decades spent hunched behind a drum kit, the drummer suffers from hearing problems, a dislocated vertebra and nerve damage in his hands.

But, according to People magazine the talk of Collins’ retirement is only a rumour. The drummer’s rep told People on Monday, “He is not, has no intention of, retiring.” Rather, the father of five is taking a hiatus to recover from surgery he underwent for nerve damage.

“At the moment I can’t feel the fingers on my left hand or the ends of my fingers so playing drums or piano is probably – I can’t do that at the moment,” he said in an interview. Doctors told him it will take a year for him to recover from the pain of his hand injury.

Collins does not feel frustrated by his health concerns putting his music career on hold. He is currently enjoying the break and spending his time off as a full-time father to his two young sons in Switzerland.