Phil Collins, 75, appeared remarkably fit and mentally sharp at an event in London this week, months after being placed on life support in April 2024 when his organs began to shut down following a relapse into alcoholism.
The Genesis singer attended the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square on September 30, 2026, using sticks due to spinal and nerve problems from a 2007 injury. He looked tanned and healthy, and spoke with clarity, according to a reporter present.
Face Value reissue and emotional reflections
Collins was at the venue to discuss the reissue of his 1981 debut solo album Face Value, released last month in a new Dolby Atmos mix. He sat down with the record's producer Steven Wilson for the first time since the reissue.
The conversation turned confessional as Collins recalled the personal pain behind the album. "I went through what I shall refer to as my great sorrow, which is the divorce – the first time I'd been through that," he said.
Collins split from his first wife, Andrea Bertorelli, in 1979 amid Genesis's intense touring schedule. Their divorce was finalised between 1980 and 1981. He had initially left Genesis to join his then-wife in Vancouver, but returned to an empty house.
Album's unlikely birthplace
Face Value was born in that empty room. With Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks working on solo projects, Collins began experimenting with equipment including a grand piano left to him by his aunt, keyboards, a Fender piano, a Prophet-5 synthesiser and a microphone.
"We weren't doing anything with Genesis, so I started to improvise in my spare room, and start writing," he said. The album marked a departure from Genesis's storytelling style, moving towards more direct personal expression.
During this period, Collins was supported by his friend John Martyn, who was also going through a divorce. Martyn died on January 29, 2009, at the age of 60, from acute respiratory distress syndrome resulting from complications of double pneumonia.
Emotional listening and self-criticism
Despite selling an estimated 150 million records worldwide, Collins said he rarely listens to his own work. "I almost didn't want to hear the voice," he admitted. Hearing the songs brought back the original emotions: "When I hear You Know What I Mean, and If Leaving Me Is Easy, I go back to the feelings I had when I wrote them, and there was a little tear in my eye."
Collins was also involved in the album's artwork, handwriting the information around the record label after practising on white stickers. The stark black-and-white cover photo was a deliberate choice, partly a reaction to Genesis's tradition of not putting band photos on covers.
Four decades on, the album remains one of the most personal records of his career, and the emotions behind it have not entirely faded.
