Phil Collins: Singer clears up rumours about why he really retired, that 'divorce by fax' story and being a called a Tory

Singer and former Genesis drummer Phil Collins (Getty)

After years of unwillingly having his name splashed across headlines and tabloids on various occasions, Phil Collins has used his latest interview to clear a few things up.

In a candid interview with The Times, the singer revealed a vulnerability when describing how being relentlessly mocked in the eighties and nineties affected him. He also revealed a period of heavy drinking which he has since overcome, admitting that he would open a bottle of wine at 11am each morning at the height of it.

Collins is returning from retirement to play live shows next year. In the meantime, here are a few of the headlines he would like to clarify.

He is not a Tory

Collins denied claims he left Britain in 1997 and moved to Switzerland over fears of a Labour Government coming in. “I’m not [a Conservative]. People think I am because I’ve got a lot of money. It’s a better story, isn’t it, leaving for tax reasons?”

He struggled with drinking after retiring

“I was taking pills for one thing or another, then I’d have a drink and fall down the stairs. Now I’ve given up and family life is so much better.”

He did not divorce his wife over fax

Collins faced a number of reports claiming he ended his marriage to his second wife Jill Travelman via fax machine, but he insists this is not the case.

“I was in Frankfurt and sent her a fax because the phone kept going down. I was arranging time to see the kids and referenced the fact that [the marriage] was over, but it was translated as me finishing our relationship by fax.”

This, combined with criticism he received in the press and about his music, and accusations that he was a tax exile influenced his decision to retire.

“I was starting a tour in Birmingham and I remember going out on stage and thinking, ‘They all hate me.’ Eventually I began to view music, or my work, as the enemy, so I retired.”

He found the “hard time” he was given difficult to swallow

Collins even emailed Jonathan Ross to ask why he was always the butt of jokes.

“He replied, ‘Do you know what, I really don’t know. I think people expect it.’

He was pleased by the warm reception he enjoyed among hip-hop, rap and R&B artists

“A journalist was looking through his record collection. He pulled out one of my albums, and said in a disparaging voice: ‘Phil Collins?’ And Ice-T said: ‘Hey. Don’t mess with my Phil.’ I thought, ‘My God, has anyone else seen this?’