Phil Collins has been unable to play drums for the past few years due to his health problems, but in a new video for drum however, he briefly tried his famous Gretsch set, for the first time in more than a decade.
The Genesis legend, now 73, suffered a severe spinal injury in 2007 and also suffers from a condition known as “foot drop” (difficulty lifting the front of the foot) and chronic neck pain from years of playing drums. Now he relies on a cane to walk.
Drumeo recently filmed a two-hour documentary about Collins, showing his drumming days as well as his current physical obstacles. The documentary includes interviews with Collins and his son Nico, among others.
In a follow-up video released Friday (December 27), Nic Collins and Drumeo host Brandon Toews assembled Phil’s classic Gretsch set that had been in storage for more than a decade.
Nic was the first to try out the drums, playing the famous rhythm sequence from the song „In the Air Tonight“. The young Collins noticed how the posture of the fly caused him to bend over, which contributed to poor posture and possibly his physical problems.
At the end of the video, Phil comes to see his old set, even sits behind it. He holds the stick in his left hand and tests a few drums before declaring, “That’s enough.”
This set was used by Phil during Genesis’ 1992 “We Can’t Dance Tour,” but not the one on which he originally played the famous “In the Air Tonight” beat.
Source: balkanrock.com
