Phil Collins' life – bitter £25m divorce, 'close to dying' and son following footsteps

Phil Collins is one of the most iconic drummers in the world, producing both legendary hits and talented children to follow in his footsteps.

A successful musician, singer and actor, Phil has delighted generations of fans across the world for more than five decades.

His flair for performance also runs in the family too, with his kids now established stars in their own right, as they joined him for his final concerts with rock band Genesis in 2022.

READ MORE: Phil Collins and Genesis sell rights to their music catalogue for over £270m

As Phil celebrates his 72nd birthday today (January 30), Daily Star takes a closer look inside the singer’s life.

Music legend

Phil Collins is one of the world’s most famous musicians, having risen to fame as the drummer in rock band Genesis in 1970.

Together they landed hit albums including The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, before singer Peter Gabriel’s departure from the group in 1975.

After taking on singing duties for Genesis, Phil and his band mates scored further success with albums such as And Then There Were Three, which featured the hit Follow You, Follow Me.

With a slew of hit singles including Invisible Touch, Land Of Confusion, Throwing It All Away and In Too Deep and a massive 150m albums sold worldwide, it is no surprise that the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2010.

That’s not all, as Phil was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2003, for both his work in Genesis and his solo career, which has seen him release albums such as Face Value and Hello, I Must Be Going! and songs such as In The Air Tonight, Another Day In Paradise and I Can’t Stop Loving You.

Phil’s career has seen him delight fans across the world, with the star even flying on Concorde on July 13, 1985 to perform at both Live Aid in London, UK and Live Aid in Philadelphia, US.

He also wrote songs such as You’ll Be In My Heart and Look Through My Eyes for the Disney Tarzan and Brother Bear soundtracks respectively.

It is no surprise then that with such a stellar career, Phil’s estimated net worth is an eye-watering £283m ($350m) according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Cadbury advert rumour

In 2007, chocolate brand Cadburys unveiled one of their most famous advertising campaigns, which saw a Gorilla playing the drum solo to Phil Collins’ hit In The Air Tonight.

The ad went viral and won the top prize at Cannes Lions, the advertising industry’s biggest awards celebration, in 2008 and was later voted the nation’s favourite ad of all time, according to The Guardian.

However, there was speculation as to who was inside the Gorilla costume.

Some speculated that the drumming was so good that Phil Collins himself could have been inside the costume, but the singer denied the claims, with NME reporting the singer as saying at the time: “Not only is he a better drummer than me, he also has more hair than me!”

It was later revealed that actor Garon Michael was hired to play the Gorilla, and practiced the Phil Collins solo endlessly to perfect it for the ad.

‘Hidden’ film roles

Although Phil is renowned for his music, the star originally completed drama school training – leading to a number of high profile roles when he was teenager.

This included playing the Artful Dodger in the West End musical Oliver! along with appearing in the film, Calamity The Cow.

He was also one of the fans in the final scenes of The Beatles film A Hard Days Night and played one of the children who storm the castle in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but sadly his scenes were cut out of both films.

During his career, Phil has continued to make cameo appearances in a number of Hollywood films including Steven Spielberg’s Hook, Disney’s The Jungle Book 2, as well as TV series such as The Two Ronnies and Miami Vice.

He also famously starred opposite Harry Potter icon Julie Walters in the 1988 film Buster, which was centered around The Great Train Robbery.

That’s not all, as Phil also wrote multiple songs that featured in the film, including Groovy Kind Of Love and Two Hearts.

Health battles

The singer has encountered a number of health battles throughout the years, including injuring himself while touring with Genesis.

Phil underwent surgery on his neck after dislocating vertebrae in his upper neck, which affected his hands, with a statement on the band’s website saying at the time: “After a successful operation on my neck, my hands still can’t function normally.

“Maybe in a year or so it will change, but for now it is impossible for me to play drums or piano.”

Phil was also later diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, with the singer telling a press conference in 2016 about how his pancreatitis began: “Within months you’re drinking vodka from the fridge in the morning and falling over in front of the kids, you know.

“But it was something I lived through, and I was lucky to live through it and get through it. I was very close to dying.”

Speaking to The Mirror about the ordeal, he added: “My organs were kind of f****d. It was spirits, corrosive stuff.”

Doctors later told the singer that his pancreas was showing signs of permanent damage and he quit drinking for three years.

In 2016, Phil was forced to cancel two of his London shows, after he suffered an accident in his hotel room while taking part in his Not Dead Yet tour.

A statement on his Facebook page said at the time: “Phil suffers from ‘drop foot’ as a result of a back operation which makes it difficult to walk.

“He rose in the middle of the night to go to the toilet and slipped in his hotel room, hitting his head in the fall on a chair.

“He was taken to hospital where he had stitches for a severe gash on his head close to his eye and is recovering well. He will be kept under observation for 24 hours.”

In 2017 he also opened up about his hyperbaric chamber treatment, a type of treatment that speeds up the wound healing process. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes which caused an infection in an abscess on his foot.

Candid admission

The singer also raised concerns for fans in 2021, after he made an appearance on BBC Breakfast and admitted he could “barely hold a drum stick” with one of his hands.

Phil could be heard making a candid admission about not being able to play drums anymore, saying: “I’m kind of physically challenged a bit which is very frustrating because I’d love to be playing up there with my son.”

When asked if he was drumming, Phil added: “No. No, I would love to but, you know, I mean I can barely hold a stick with this hand, so there are certain physical things that get in the way.”

He continued: “We’re all men of our age, and I think to some extent, I think it probably is putting it to bed.

“I think yeah, I think just generally for me, I don’t know if I want to go out on the road any more.”

Bitter divorce

Phil has been married three times throughout his life, including to former Canadian actress Andrea Bertorelli in 1975.

Together the couple had two children called Joley and Simon, before they divorced in 1980.

The singer was later married to American actress and businesswoman Jill Tavelman between 1984 to 1996 and welcomed their daughter Lily, who has since followed in her father’s acting footsteps as a huge Hollywood star.

Three years later in 1999, Phil married swiss jewellery designer Orianne Cevey and together they had two children called Nicholas and Matthew.

However they split in 2008, with their divorce ending in a £25m settlement.

In 2016, the couple reunited once again, with Daily Star reporting Orianne as saying: “Our ­separation was the wrong decision.

“I now call Phil my husband again. We are so close that it does not actually make a difference if we are married or not.

“We were always very close, because of the children. Just last year I realised that he is indeed the man of my life.”

Despite this, the couple split once again in 2020 and Orianne went on to marry businessman Thomas Bates in the same year.

Phil and Orianne also became embroiled in a legal dispute over their Miami home, with Orianne telling The Sun at the time: “I felt like I was trapped in a golden cage. When someone’s depressed, it’s hard to help them out. As much as you love them, why would you keep it up? After years, you get fed up.”

However, Phil’s lawyers at the time damned the claims as “scandalous, scurrilous, unethical and, for the most part, patently false or grossly exaggerated.”

The singer has also opened up on his marriages in his 2016 autobiography Not Dead Yet, writing: “I am disappointed I’ve been married three times… I’m even more disappointed that I’ve been divorced three times.”

Famous children

A talent for performance certainly runs in the family, as two of Phil’s children have made names for themselves in the media industries.

Phil’s daughter Lily is a talented actress, and has risen to fame in series such as Netflix hit Emily In Paris, as well as films such as Love, Rosie.

Lily has spoken openly about her relationship with her famous dad, and released an open letter to her father, where she wrote: “I forgive you for not always being there when I needed and for not being the dad I expected. I forgive the mistakes you made. And although it may seem like it’s too late, it’s not. There’s still so much time to move forward.”

However, the two are close and in 2022, she paid a sweet tribute to her dad on Instagram following Genesis’ last show.

She said: “To have witnessed this last show was truly the memory of a lifetime and an event I shall hold in my heart forever.

“Endlessly grateful doesn’t begin to do it justice. So much love was left on that O2 stage and an even bigger amount shared between an audience who didn’t want it to end.

“Thank you @genesis_band for the memories, thank you dad for being such an inspiration and thank you @nic_collins for making me the proudest sister there is. 50 years of songs later and still generations more to celebrate you long after this tour has finished…”

Anyone who attended Genesis’ The Last Domino Tour in 2022 will also have seen Phil Collins’ son Nicholas Collins, 21, as part of the band.

Nick took on drumming duties on the tour, and has definitely inherited his father’s musical talents.

At each gig he performed songs including Follow you, Follow me and Land of Confusion with the same passion for percussion as Phil Collins in the 70s and 80s.

Nick is also the drummer in his own band Better Strangers.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk