Considering Phil Collins has been edging toward the door since his 2003 “First Final Farewell Tour”—and arguably, since 1982’s Hello, I Must Be Going—it’s likely not a huge surprise to hear that erstwhile Genesis drummer/frontman and purveyor of some of the early-’80s' finest soundtracks to shallow yuppie self-reflection has called it quits. Collins announced his decision in an interview with FHM Magazine (excerpted here by The Telegraph), in which he rattles off a list of medical maladies like hearing problems, a dislocated vertebra, and nerve damage in his hands that’s made it all but impossible for him to ever play the drums again.
Of course, that’s not news: Collins announced in 2009 that he would have to retire from drumming for his health, but managed to bounce back with 2010’s Motown covers record Going Back. However, Collins’ take on the whole music business has turned somewhat maudlin since then, as he talks about looking at the MTV Music Awards and thinking, “I don't really belong to that world and I don't think anyone's going to miss me. I'm much happier just to write myself out of the script entirely… I'll go on a mysterious biking holiday and never return. That would be a great way to end the story, wouldn't it?"
Surprisingly, it gets even darker from there, with Collins lamenting that years of “Easy Lover” and “Against All Odds” on the jukebox have “made people ‘want to strangle’ him,” adding, "It's hardly surprising that people grew to hate me. I'm sorry that it was all so successful. I honestly didn't mean it to happen like that.” Damn, Phil Collins, chin up. Your ratio of good to not-so-good songs is remarkably strong—particularly when you factor in your work with Genesis—and you're one of the best drummers in music history. And didn’t you see American Psycho? Come on, dude.
By the way, anybody who made "I Don't Care Anymore" and "In The Air Tonight" doesn't need to apologize for anything, because these songs are both awesome.