A Land of Confusion: Phil Collins Retires...Then Unretires
by Richard Sharp
How could we just let you walk away, Phil, just let you leave without a trace?
Phil Collins announced his retirement this week due to hearing problems, a dislocated vertebrae and serious nerve damage to his hands. Or so it seemed.
"It feels like a good time to stop for a while," Collins told FHM.
"I don't think anyone's going to miss me... I look at the MTV Music Awards and I think, 'I can't be in the same business as this,'” he said, which sounds like a (sad, slightly bitter) retirement announcement to us.
Now today his UK rep tells People Magazine that "he is not, has no intention of, retiring." Perhaps it's all been a pack of lies.
For penning such classic pop gems as “In the Air Tonight,” “Against All Odds,” “Sussudio” and “Land of Confusion,” Collins has won seven Grammy Awards. He also picked up an Oscar in 1999 for a song from Disney's animated movie, "Tarzan."
Despite all of the critical acclaim and massive commercial success, Collins ended up feeling a backlash from fans in the late 80’s as a result of total radio saturation.
"The music was being played so incessantly people wanted to strangle me," Collins told FHM.
"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!" said Collins.
While there was a time where Phil Collins’ lite rock stylings were the last thing we wanted to hear, over the last few years, we’ve been kind of digging Phil. Collins released “Going Back,” an album of soul and Motown hits, last year, and the album did well on British charts.
While he's kept relatively quiet in the media as of late (and currently lives alone in Switzerland), his rare media appearances have been pretty spectacular.
Then there was the love Mike Tyson gave Phil in “The Hangover,” and the lengthy treatise delivered by Christian Bale in “American Psycho” on Collin’ collected works. Sure, Phil can dole out the cheese, but frankly, it’s cheese that has aged well.
Against all odds, let's hope Collins figures out his health issues and gets back to making songs for his fans, the only ones who really knew him at all...
Watch Tyson Give Phil Collins the Love (NSFW Hangover Trailer)