Another Ear Bites the Dust

Phil Collins forced off the road by ear damage:

Collins told LAUNCH he was warned against extended time on the road by a specialist, who said: “‘If I were you, I would think seriously about touring, because you could completely finish this one off if you had another accident or this one could be damaged.'”

Collins say the warning was confirmed earlier this year: “I was going to sing with Queen at the Jubilee Concert, y’know, the Queen’s Jubilee? And I went to their rehearsal place and I was going to sing ‘We Are The Champions’ and I started to sing it and then they came in…da TUH da TUH TUH, DA TUH TUH, and it knocked my head off; it was the loudest thing I’d ever heard in my life. And this ear went WYUHHHHYUHHH…and I said ‘I can’t do this.’ And that was kind of a practical demonstration of what could happen.”

The singer and drummer realized he had no choice. “I made a decision about a year ago that I wouldn’t be doing any touring. Ah, the odd show, y’know, more unplugged, than really loud, in front of an audience.”

He will be performing nightly in his living room for friends.