Phil Collins is "still great pals" with his former band Genesis

He said: "Writing the book [memoir, 'Not Dead Yet'] reminded me how close we were. We're still great pals. Tony [Banks], Mike [Rutherford] and I went out on my birthday in London. Anything can happen, really. I just don't want to suddenly take the break off and start flying off and doing things. I just want to do things carefully and think about the consequences."

Though the 'In The Air Tonight' hitmaker - who used to play the drums for the band - admits that it's unlikely they'll reform as he can no longer play the instrument like he used to after suffering a "mystery" affliction.

He also cites Peter Gabriel - who hasn't played with the band since a one-off show in 1982 - as another reason for not reuniting the rockers.

He said: "If I was an able drummer I'd gladly get behind the kit and drum for Pete. But the fans need to know what they'd get. I told that to a German journalist once and he said, 'It would be fun to see Peter sing 'I Can't Dance' and to see me sing 'Supper's Ready.' I was thinking, 'I can't argue with this...' "

But Phil - who recently announced a string of solo European tour dates in 2017 - won't be leaving Genesis alone for good, as he's vowed to include some of their songs when he hits the road as a solo artist.

He told Rolling Stone magazine: "On the last tour we did 'Invisible Touch' and 'Misunderstanding'. We'll put in a couple of [Genesis songs] in, two or three."