Fans of Phil Collins can finally exhale. After three years of grueling physical setbacks that left the Genesis legend largely out of public view, word is out that the 75-year-old singer and drummer is on the mend — and he’s even thinking about getting back into the studio.
The encouraging update came courtesy of Mark Goodman, the former MTV VJ who now hosts a SiriusXM show and the twice-weekly “Sound Up!” podcast alongside music journalist Alan Light. On May 7, 2026, Goodman posted a photo on Instagram of himself smiling next to Collins, with a caption that instantly lit up timelines.
“@rockhall inductee @officialphilcollins is doing well thank you after 3 years of physical challenges,” Goodman wrote. “The man comes through it all with the most positive attitude ! Great talent and a beautiful human.”
A Long Road Back
It’s no secret that Collins has weathered a brutal stretch. His health troubles trace back nearly two decades to a spinal injury he suffered in 2007, which left him with severe nerve damage. He later developed drop foot following a back operation, a condition that made walking difficult and eventually forced him to perform from a seated position on his final tours. His son, Nic Collins, took over on drums during Genesis’ farewell run.
Collins retired from performing in 2011, briefly came out of retirement for the Not Dead Yet solo tour beginning in 2017, and then joined his Genesis bandmates one last time for The Last Domino? reunion tour, which wrapped in early 2022. Since then, he’s largely stayed out of the spotlight as his health issues compounded.
In January 2026, Collins broke that silence with a rare and remarkably candid sit-down with Zoe Ball for the BBC Two five-part special “Phil Collins Eras: In Conversation,” which concluded on January 26. Speaking to Ball on Jan. 21, Collins detailed a cascade of medical problems: five operations on one knee, kidney issues tied to drinking, a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, and a hospital stay that stretched on for months — during which he contracted COVID.
“I had five operations on my knee now I’ve got a knee that works and I can walk, albeit with assistance, you know, crutches or whatever,” Collins told Ball in the interview, which was also detailed in a Jan. 21 report.
Sober, Steady and Smiling
Collins, who told Ball he’s now two years sober, was frank about how alcohol factored into the spiral. He said he wasn’t a late-night drinker but had been drinking during the day, and the cumulative toll on his kidneys was significant. He also acknowledged he now relies on a 24-hour live-in nurse to make sure he stays on top of his medication.
Speaking on Jan. 22, 2026, in follow-up coverage of the BBC special, Collins emphasized that despite the medical merry-go-round, he considers himself “totally mobile and healthy” — words that, paired with Goodman’s recent photo, suggest the long climb is paying off. In 2021, Collins had said he could “barely hold a stick with this hand.” Five years later, the picture looks very different.
A Second Rock Hall Honor Awaits
The timing of the good news couldn’t be better. In April, Collins was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, having previously been inducted with Genesis in 2010. When this year’s ceremony takes place on November 14, Collins will join an elite group of drummers inducted twice — a distinction shared by Ringo Starr, Dave Grohl, and Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
Fans flooded Goodman’s Instagram comments with relief and gratitude, with one writing, “So thankful he was inducted! I was really cheering for him!”
New Music on the Horizon?
Perhaps most exciting for longtime listeners: Collins is dangling the possibility of new material. He hasn’t released an album of original songs since 2002’s “Testify,” and his last studio LP of any kind was the 2010 Motown covers collection “Going Back.” But in his recent BBC conversation, he hinted that the creative itch hasn’t gone away.
Collins said he has “some things that are half formed or were never finished, and a couple of things that were finished,” teasing that there might be “life in the old dog” yet. He framed any return as exploratory — a chance to “have a fiddle about and see if there’s more music.” Coming from an artist who, just a few years ago, said his recording days were behind him, that’s a notable shift.
Whether or not new Collins music materializes, the headline this spring is simpler and warmer: the man is doing better. After a difficult, frustrating few years, the drummer-singer who soundtracked generations is upright, sober, smiling for the camera, and looking ahead to a November night in the Rock Hall. For a story that not long ago felt heavy, that’s a pretty groovy turn.