Hello I must be going: singer Phil Collins retires

LONDON (AP) - British singer and drummer Phil Collins has used his personal website to announce his retirement in a bid to clarify recent speculation over his career.

In a post titled “Breaking News,” the London-born multiple Grammy award winner said he wanted to explain his reasons “for calling it a day” in response to articles claiming he was quitting the music business.

“Many of the articles printed over the last few months have ended up painting a picture of me that is more than a little distorted,” Collins, 60, explained in the message posted Monday.

He said he is stopping music so he can be a full time father to his two young sons “on a daily basis” _ not because of bad reviews, bad press or because he doesn’t “feel loved.”

Speculation about a possible last act for Collins was sparked by an interview in April’s issue of FHM magazine in which the former Genesis drummer and frontman said “it feels like a good time to stop for awhile.”

Contradictory articles soon followed, some focusing on health problems, detailed in the FHM article as a reason behind a possible retirement or break from music.

An article in the Daily Mail said a Texas clairvoyant had lead Collins to believe he is the reincarnation of an Alamo survivor. It reported that since 2007 an interest in the 1836 battle _ where 1,500 Mexican troops lay siege to 200 Texans _ had slowly taken over his life.

Collins has sold an estimated 100 million albums as a solo artist, but he told FHM he looks at events like the MTV Music Awards and says he “can’t be in the same business as this.”

“I don’t really belong to that world and I don’t think anyone’s going to miss me,” he told the magazine.

In his website post, Collins said it’s “a mystery” why the recent articles about his career were printed, suggesting that some of his comments were taken out of context.

He said some of the articles had portrayed him as a “tormented weirdo,” but reassured fans there was “no need for the straitjacket.”

The 60-year-old singer of hits like “Groovy Kind of Love,” “In the Air Tonight,” “Another Day In Paradise,” “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” and “Separate Lives” with Marilyn Martin, has also won an Academy Award for his soundtrack to the film “Tarzan.” His album “No Jacket Required” won a Grammy for album of the year in 1985.

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