Phil Collins says he nearly died in 2024 after years of alcohol abuse

Years of alcohol abuse brought rock icon Phil Collins to death’s door two years ago with loved ones rushing to his bedside “to say goodbye,” the legendary singer and drummer said in an interview published over the weekend. The Genesis frontman had been in a Swiss hospital before he was released in late 2023 and then re-admitted months later, landing in intensive care where he was unconscious for long stretches of time. His long-time manager summoned Collins’ family, fearing the rock icon was about to die. “Because there were some decisions to be made about ‘Do we keep Phil on life support?’ kind of thing,” Collins told The Times of London in an interview Saturday night. “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.” Collins said he’s now on the mend following that seven-month stay in the hospital. “I was very lucky to have come out of that,” Collins said. “Needless to say, I haven’t had a drink since.” The Collins family celebrated the end of 2025 by renting out an entire floor of the Mandarin Oriental in the Knightsbridge neighborhood of London, an opportunity to catch up and celebrate. He vividly recalled how his daughter, “Emily in Paris” star Lily Collins, “was sitting beside me in tears, saying, ‘I never thought I’d get these moments.’ We had an incredible time. I can’t overemphasize how fantastic it was,” he said.