Phil Collins has ruled out performing live at this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
The former Genesis bandmember has suffered with a string of health issues over the years, and has said it is unlikely that he will take to the stage at this year's ceremony. The singer had revealed back in January that he was under 24 hour care as he continues to battle these issues, following multiple surgeries over the last two decades.
Such issues include a spinal injury in 2007, which led to severe nerve damage, which eventually led to knee issues.
“I have a 24-hour live-in nurse to make sure I take my medication, as I should do", Collins said back in January. More on this from Nova here.
Now, Collins has said that the chances of him performing at the event remain low, despite feeling in better shape now than he has been for "quite a while".
"I can’t really see it happening, but I’m healthier now than I have been for quite a while", Collins said in a recent interview.
He continued: “I mean, this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thing, they asked me if I would perform and I said no, [because] you’ve got to be match fit to do something like that".
“You can’t just go onstage – you have to rehearse, and by that point if you’ve not been singing then your voice is going to be shot, and then that’s not going to be good, so I’d rather not do it".
Despite this, Phil Collins has not ruled out returning for a full tour.
He said: “But whether I’d go out again, I would contemplate, yes".
Collins went on to reveal that his health has seen a gradual improvement in recent months.
“The last 18 months has been fine. Before that, not so good" he said. “Everything health-wise caught up with me at the same time. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, but everything is fine now".
“I had problems with my knee, which I had for a while but I played through it, I toured through it".
He added: "But eventually I had to have a knee operation and I had to have it done five times because it either kept getting infected or it broke".
In a separate interview, Collins admitted that these health setbacks have taken their toll on him emotionally.
“It’s still kind of sinking in", he explained. “I’ve spent all my life playing drums. To suddenly not be able to do that is a shock".
He has certainly not ruled out a return to the live stage if his health holds up.
“If I can’t do what I did as well as I did it, I’d rather relax and not do anything. But if I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks, then I’ll have a crack at it. But I just feel like I’ve used up my air miles".
