Legendary musician Phil Collins has revealed the harrowing details of a life-threatening health crisis he faced in 2024. In a candid interview with The Sunday Times, the singer-songwriter shared that his ongoing struggles with alcohol addiction led to a near-fatal collapse, bringing him to the brink of death.
The ordeal began in November 2023 when Collins was first admitted to a Swiss hospital due to complications related to his alcohol consumption. Although he was initially discharged before the holiday season, his condition deteriorated rapidly, necessitating a readmission just weeks later. During this second stay, the situation became critical; Collins was placed into intensive care, where he remained unconscious for an extended period.
Reflecting on the severity of the situation, Collins recalled, “My kidneys were packing up, my organs were just seizing up. People were coming to say goodbye. But I don’t remember them coming. I didn’t have no idea this was going on. They were all worried that they wouldn’t see me again. It could all have gone so terribly wrong.”
The gravity of the crisis was felt most acutely by his family. Collins noted that his five children rushed to his bedside, facing the agonizing prospect of deciding whether to keep their father on life support. Ultimately, the singer spent seven months in the hospital, a period of recovery he describes as a stroke of immense luck. “Needless to say, I haven’t had a drink since,” he added.
This recent 2024 health scare follows years of well-documented physical challenges for the Genesis frontman. Collins has previously spoken about the “difficult, frustrating” years spent managing persistent back injuries and the aftermath of five separate knee surgeries. These physical ailments, which left him reliant on a 24-hour live-in nurse for medication management, were significant factors in his past struggles with alcohol. In his 2016 memoir, he famously wrote of his isolation, describing his reliance on alcohol as a way to cope with the pain of his physical decline.
While he had previously alluded to spending months in the hospital due to his drinking, this latest revelation provides the most comprehensive account of how close he came to losing his life. Now, having emerged from the most difficult chapter of his health journey, Collins remains focused on his recovery and moving forward.