Phil Collins’ Brush with Death Left His Kids Bracing for the Unthinkable

Phil Collins has opened up about a frightening medical crisis that brought his family to his hospital bedside and left his children preparing for the possibility that he might not survive, as reported by Fox News.

The music icon told The Sunday Times that the crisis unfolded in 2024 while he was dealing with serious health problems and alcoholism. At the time, Collins was unconscious in a Swiss hospital.

His manager contacted his five children, Lily, Joely, Simon, Nicolas and Matthew, as doctors faced urgent questions about his care. Collins said the situation had become so grave that his family was drawn into conversations no child wants to face.

Phil Collins reveals alcohol addiction left him on life support in 2024: “People were coming to say goodbye”

“My kidneys were packing up, my organs were just seizing up” https://t.co/QoIVQ1R6CT

— NME (@NME) August 2, 2026

“Because there were some decisions to be made about ‘Do we keep Phil on life support?’ kind of thing,” he told The Sunday Times.

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Collins described how his body was failing during the ordeal. “My kidneys were packing up, my organs were just seizing up,” he explained. “People were coming to say goodbye.”

The singer said he has little memory of the hospital scene itself. Still, his children had to carry the fear that their visit could become a final farewell.

“But I don’t remember them coming,” he admitted. “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.”

Surviving the crisis led Collins to make a major decision about alcohol. He described his survival as something he does not take lightly.

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“I was very lucky to have come out of that,” Collins told the publication, adding, “Needless to say, I haven’t had a drink since.”

After the scare, Collins spent time reconnecting with his children. The moments were especially emotional for Lily, who had feared she might not get that time with her father again.

Lily “was sitting beside me in tears, saying, ‘I never thought I’d get these moments,'” he recalled.

“We had an incredible time,” he added. “I can’t overemphasize how fantastic it was.”

Phil Collins recalls heartbreaking goodbye from kids during life-threatening health issues https://t.co/bW6ujI4nQS pic.twitter.com/ifRBoukV7Q

— New York Post (@nypost) August 2, 2026

Although Collins survived, his health concerns have continued. During an appearance on the BBC podcast “Eras” earlier this year, he described his condition as an “ongoing thing.”

He said he now relies on a nurse living with him to help make sure he takes his medication properly. Collins also said he has faced problems with his knee and that many things that could go wrong with his health did go wrong.

Collins has been open about the personal struggles that came alongside his declining health. That includes his yearslong battle with alcoholism, which he also addressed in his 2016 autobiography, “Not Dead Yet.”

His career remains one of the most successful in popular music. Collins became known as both the drummer and later the lead singer of Genesis before becoming a major solo star in the 1980s.

As a solo artist, Collins sold more than 100 million records worldwide. His hits include “In the Air Tonight,” “Against All Odds,” “Sussudio,” “One More Night” and “Another Day in Paradise.”

In “Not Dead Yet,” Collins wrote about how retirement changed his life and how drinking filled a painful void. He also wrote about being alone in Switzerland with Johnnie Walker and Grey Goose as his alcoholism took hold.

Collins said his fall into alcoholism came after decades of avoiding it. He wrote that he was retired and content before too much time on his hands became part of the problem.

He also made clear how dangerous that period became. Collins wrote that he filled the void with booze, and that it nearly killed him.

Now, the singer is speaking about a health crisis that nearly took him from his family. For Collins, the ordeal became both a warning and a turning point.

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