Phil Collins has cancelled the last two of his long-awaited comeback concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London this week, after suffering a fall in his hotel room.
The musician was taken to hospital after the accident, which left him with “a severe gash on his head close to his eye” that required stitches, according to a statement released to the Guardian.
“Phil sends his sincere apologies and thanks to fans,” the statement reads. “He has had a fantastic week at his first [full] shows in 10 years, and cannot thank people enough for their warm reaction and is excited to return.” The pair of concerts have been rescheduled for 26 and 27 November this year.
Collins is now physically frail following years of back injuries, partly sustained through playing the drums for years. “I had back surgery a year ago. I’d messed my hips up as well,” he explained in 2016. “That was a year ago, and as of now I have a dropped foot, which means I have no feeling in it. I walk with a cane, but I’m hoping that gets better.”
The Guardian’s Michael Hann gave a four-star review to one of Collins’s Royal Albert Hall concerts this week. He wrote: “Unexpectedly, it is deeply moving to see him so completely unafraid to display the effects of his age. There is no vanity. The fact is rammed home by the drummer being his 16-year-old son, Nicholas, doing the stuff dad can’t any longer.”
