Singer Phil Collins says he nearly died in 2024 while fighting alcoholism

Singer Phil Collins says he came close to dying in April 2024 during his struggle with alcohol, Rolling Stone en Espanol reported August 5, drawing on a Times of London profile also covered by the LA Times. "My kidneys were packing up, my organs were just seizing," Collins recalled of the hospitalization in Switzerland, which came after years of heavy drinking.

Collins's five children, including "Emily in Paris" actress Lily Collins, were called to his bedside at what they feared could be his final moments. "There were some decisions to be made about 'Do we keep Phil on life support?'" he said. "People were coming to say goodbye. But I don't remember them coming, I didn't have no idea this was going on."

The Grammy winner said he had been hospitalized once already, in November 2023, and was swiftly discharged before returning to intensive care for a seven-month stay. He described drinking wine for breakfast during the worst of it, saying "the calendar went out the window." Collins has permanent scarring on his pancreas and said his kidneys now "barely" function. "I was very lucky to have come out of that," he said, adding that he hasn't had a drink since.

Collins first discussed the ordeal earlier this year on a five-episode podcast series with Zoe Ball, revealing he now has a live-in nurse and calling the management of his health "ongoing." "Everything that could go wrong with me did go wrong," he said then, citing a COVID-19 infection in the hospital and five separate knee operations alongside his kidney trouble.

Collins spoke to the Times of London months ahead of his November induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside fellow inductees Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Joy Division and New Order, Oasis, Sade, Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan. He also discussed mending relationships with Piers Morgan, Paul McCartney and his daughter Lily Collins after past public rifts. "I don't like people going around thinking I hate them," he said.

Collins's health has stayed in the news since: he spoke again about his recent alcoholism and his sobriety in a story published August 15. It's filed under our rock coverage.