Phil Collins Offers Brief Health Update at Concert Amid Wellness Concerns

Phil Collins is making sure his “Still Not Dead Yet Live!” tour lives up to its name, amid concerns for the former Genesis drummer’s health. During his Pittsburgh show on Oct. 2, the 68-year-old singer gave a brief update on his health as he led his band through a 19-song set. The show went off without any issue, just a few days after he fell from his chair during his Charlotte, North Carolina show.

“Back surgery, bits falling off, foot’s f– up,” Collins told the sold-out crowd at PPG Paints Arena, reports the Post-Gazette.

The show was Collins’ first solo show in Pittsburgh since 1997 and first appearance in the city since Genesis performed there in 2007. He did not disappoint his fans there, running through a set that included his hits “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” and “Another Day In Paradise,” with a few obscure tracks thrown in for good measure.

On Friday, Collins performed at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The performance earned a good review from the Buffalo News.

Collins’ health has been a concern for fans in recent years, and photos of him looking frail in a wheelchair before the Pittsburgh show sparked more concern. While performing in Charlotte on Sept. 29, he fell on his back from a chair as son Nicholas, 18, performed a drum solo. After he fell, Collins sat back up and gave the crowd a thumbs up before finishing the show. The day before the incident, Collins was seen in a wheelchair in Atlanta.

Collins suffered a dislocated vertebrae during the 2007 Genesis tour. The back injury has made it impossible for him to drum again. He had another round of back surgery in 2015. However, his health was complicated again when he fell and fractured his foot. In 2017, he was forced to postpone London concerts after slipping in his hotel room, and reportedly needed stitches in his head.

In an interview with Rolling Stone last year, Collins said his health was OK overall, but said his foot is “paralyzed.”

“The health is OK. I’ve got this paralyzed foot. A back operation left me with a paralyzed right foot. I still have a bit of a problem playing drums. But in general, the health is good,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said.

Collins later said it was difficult for him to come to terms with sitting for an entire show, but he has since embraced it.

“It means that people are focused on the music and I am too. So far it hasn’t been a problem at all,” he told the magazine. “It’s been very positive, if anything. It’s kind of a little bit different to me, but it’s physically impossible for me to stand for two and a half hours without going through real pain. It’s all gone well.”

Collins still has several tour dates left. On Sunday and Monday, he has a two-night stand at Madison Square Garden in New York. Other stops on the tour include Louisville, Kentucky; Omaha; Denver; Phoenix; and San Francisco. The tour ends on Oct. 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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