Phil Collins can 'barely' hold a drum stick, let alone play

Phil Collins can “barely” hold a drum stick in his hand.

Genesis – also comprising Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford – have their first tour in 14 years coming up, but it’s highly unlikely the 70-year-old muian will be joining his 20-year-old son Nic on stage after he previously admitted he hoped he’d be able to help out on the drums on the tracks he can manage.

Phil has suffered for a long time with his health as he injured a vertebrae in his upper neck while performing in 2009.

And two years later, he stepped back from performing due to crippling nerve damage, which rendered him unable to play the drums, before returning in 2015.

While some of his most recent solo shows saw the ‘In The Air Tonight’ hitmaker perform from a chair.

And speaking on ‘BBC Breakfast’ to promote ‘The Last Domino? Tour’, Phil gave a devastating update.

He said: “I’m kind of phyally challenged a bit which is very frustrating because I’d love to be playing up there with my son.”

Asked if he can still play the drums, he replied: “No. No, I would love to but, you know, I mean I can barely hold a stick with this hand, so there are certain phyal things that get in the way.”

However, the drum sticks are in good hands, as Phil previously praised Nic for being able to play just like him with the same “attitude”.

He said: “I mean, for me it wasn’t a deal-breaker but it was something that was working and it was a problem that we had to overcome.

“I am going to be doing my best to play some bits on the tour.

“So I’ve got to start seriously thinking, I have been working at what I’ve got to do and what songs to play.”

Bassist and guitarist Mike, also 70, insisted it’s “great” having a “family” member in the band and that now feels like the best time to make a comeback.

He said: Nic is family too, which is important, it feels great.

“It feels the right time. We have done two shows in the UK in the last 28 years, so we haven’t overworked it.”

Peter Gabriel, 71, is not due to join the trio for this set of shows.

The ‘Land of Confusion’ hitmakers last performed together in 2007 to mark their 40th anniversary and had been in two minds about reuniting due to Phil’s medical issues.