Prog-rock hitmaker Phil Collins bids emotional farewell to fans after last-ever performance with Genesis

Phil Collins has bid fans farewell as he performed his last ever show with Genisis on Saturday night, March 26, at London’s O2 Arena, joking that it was time he and his bandmates needed to “get real jobs.”

Collins, the 71-year-old musical mastermind behind Disney’s Tarzan soundtrack, performed the entirety of his final concert seated, determined to keep the show going, despite battling debilitating nerve damage that affects both his hands and back. 

The In The Air Tonight hitmaker later joined keyboardist Tony Banks, 72, and guitarist Mike Rutherford, 71, for the band’s last standing ovation.

 

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Genisis’ “The Last Domino? Tour” comes after the band’s 14-year live performance hiatus, which had also been postponed because of the pandemic.

Ahead of the tour, Collins had set the record straight, saying that this would be the last tour for Genisis. 

“This English and American tour, that will be enough for me,” he confessed during an interview.

Stereogum concert reviewer Ryan Leas captured what many were thinking when he wrote “…there’s always something bittersweet about seeing the old guard age and approach the end of the story.”

“In the last several years, it seems we’re starting to lose legends at a more consistent rate, and often times there’s the feeling you should see someone play while you still have the chance. Unfortunately, that bittersweet quality was prominent at the Genesis show.”

Their tour has seen the band travel through Europe to perform for fans one last time, with Collin’s 20-year-old son Nic, taking over drumming from his legendary father.

 

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Prior to their last show at the O2, the band had last performed together back in 2007 to mark their 40th anniversary.

Since the band’s debut, they have gone on to sell over 100 million records and secure 21 UK Top 40 Hits and six number one albums.

Though original band members Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett did not join the trio for their last set, they were still accompanied by longtime touring member Daryl Stuermer on guitar and bass, Daniel Pearce on backing vocals and Patrick Smyth on the tambourine.