Phil Collins ends retirement with new album, tour

Phil Collins at the Little Dreams benefit in Florida. Photo/Getty

Phil Collins, the English soft-rocker who was one of the most successful artists of the 1980s, says he is coming out of retirement with an upcoming album and tour.

The former Genesis singer and drummer, who has not released an album of new material since 2002, said he is installing a studio in his home in Miami and will begin work on a new album in about a month.

"I'm no longer officially retired," he told Rolling Stone magazine."The horse is out of the stable and I'm raring to go," he said.

Collins, 64, announced his retirement in 2011 but is planning to return to the stage on December 12 in a previously announced charity concert in Miami Beach.

Collins will also begin reissues of his back catalog starting in November.

Backed by hits such as One More Night, Against All Odds and A Groovy Kind of Love, Collins has sold more than 100 million albums as a solo artist and another 150 million with Genesis.

Collins initially moved from Switzerland to Miami after he split in 2006 with his wife Orianne, who brought their two sons to the Florida metropolis.

In the interview, Collins said that the divorce prompted a dark period in his life.

"I killed my hours watching TV and drinking, and it almost killed me. But I haven't had a drink in three years," he said.

He said that he felt more comfortable returning to the road as his sons are older, at 10 and 14.

Despite the lack of new albums since 2002's Testify, Collins has worked on other projects including writing songs for the Broadway musical Tarzan.

Collins said he has convened a band that includes drummer Jason Bonham, the son of Led Zeppelin's late John Bonham.

- AFP