Phil Collins Plays His Final Genesis Concert, Bids Emotional Farewell

Phil Collins played his final concert with Genesis on Saturday night, and it was an emotional sight. The 71-year-old drummer has been struggling with health issues that prevent him from playing music at full capacity, but he was still able to go out with a literal bang. A video of the show is going viral on social media.

Collins and Genesis had been on hiatus for 14 years before kicking off The Last Domino? Tour this fall. That farewell tour’s big finale was on Saturday, March 26 at the 02 Arena in London, England. Collins played with his bandmates Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks while his 20-year-old son Nic played the drums. Collins spent most of the show in a chair on the stage as he has done since 2017. He has been dealing with various nerve issues and injuries since 2007 along with other complications that impacted his drumming.

None of that stopped Collins from performing or the crowd from enjoying themselves, and it clearly meant a lot to everyone in the room. Between songs, Collins said: “Tonight is a very special night. Of course, we’re playing in London. It’s the last stop of our tour, and it’s the last show for Genesis. It’s difficult for us to believe that you still came out to see it. I guess after tonight we’ve all got to get real jobs.”

Collins dislocated a vertebra in his upper neck during Genesis’ 2007 tour, and he needed surgery to repair that injury in 2009. Afterward, Collins had a slow and difficult recovery, with no feeling in his fingers. For a while, he said that he could only play drums with the drumsticks taped to his hands.

Collins’ condition worsened and in 2014 he told BBC Radio that it stemmed from an undiagnosed nerve problem. He had spinal surgery to alleviate that issue in 2015 but afterward said that he still had trouble playing drums the way he used to. At this point, doctors said that slow practice and rehabilitation were his only options.

Collins discussed this whole experience in his 2016 autobiography Not Dead Yet, along with his late-in-life battle with alcoholism. He revealed that he got sober in 2013. After the book was published Collins also struggled with type 2 diabetes and related complications, a severe head injury and more nerve damage, this time in his foot.

It’s not clear what’s next for Collins, but even without Genesis, the musician shows no signs of slowing down. His final performance has drawn praise and retrospectives from all over the internet.