Phil Collins reveals he can “barely hold a drumstick anymore”

By
Monica Pop
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With eight Grammy awards under his belt, Genesis drummer and lead singer Phil Collins is one of the most prominent musicians there are. He is one of only three musicians, alongside Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, who have sold more than 100 million albums both as a solo act and a member of a band.

Born on January 30, 1951 in London, England to parents who possessed creative spirits, Collins fell in love with making music.

When he was just five, his uncle made him a drum kit out of tambourines, triangles, cymbals and toy drums, Collins recalled. “The old cliché is, ‘Well, at least it will keep him quiet’,” he told Interview Magazine.

Soon after, he found himself performing in shows at his parents’ boating club.

“When I started playing seriously, the English beat thing was just happening, the Shadows and bands like that. It was the very early ’60s,” Collins recalled.

“I remember buying Please Please Me. I used to put the record player on very loud and set up my drums so I was facing the mirror, that way you don’t look at what you’re doing.

“Then when I was fourteen I went to a teacher to learn to read drum music. I figured when this rock-and-roll thing finished I would have to make a living playing in a dance band or in an orchestra pit. So I learned to read drum music, but I found that my capacity for reading was not anywhere near as good as actually playing by instinct.”

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It was in the 1970 that Collin’s life changed forever. He was already playing in some bands when he came across an ad by a group called Genesis which was looking for a drummer. He decided to get in touch with them and the rest is history. In the first years of Collins being part of it, the group released five albums with singles that reached the charts.

After the founder and lead singer of Genesis left the group, Collins took his place. He was both a singer and a drummer. Speaking of his new role, he said he didn’t really feel comfortable, but as the group failed to find a singer, he simply stepped in.

Besides being a member of Genesis, Collins also had a very impressive solo career. With smash hits such as In The Air Tonight, You Can’t Hurry Love and I Don’t Care Anymore he soon became one of the best in the music industry.

When he decided to leave the group and focus on his solo career, Collins said: “Having been with Genesis for 25 years, I felt it time to change direction in my musical life.

“For me now it will be music for movies, some jazz projects and of course my solo career. I wish the guys in Genesis all the very best in their future. We remain the best of friends.”

However, in 2017, he decided to reunite with the band. Last year, they announced a world tour, The Last Domino, but had to put it on hold because of the pandemic.

Shutterstock/ Featureflash Photo Agency

And as fans were looking forward to seeing the group on stage together, Collins gave an interview with BBC Breakfast which made many concerned about his health. He and his band mates announced that it will be Collins’ son Nicholas who would do the drumming and Collins will only sing.

“Nic is a great drummer, but he is capable of sounding like early Phil. For Mike and I, that was always quite exciting,” Genesis band member Tony Banks said.

“It means you can play some of the songs that you haven’t played with Phil as the drummer for a long time.”

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Speaking of why he’s not getting behind the drums, the musician revealed: “I’d love to but you know, I mean, I can barely hold a stick with this hand. So there are certain physical things that get in the way.

“I’m kind of physically challenged a bit which is very frustrating because I’d love to be playing up there with my son,” adding that he doesn’t know if he wants to be touring any longer.

“We’re all men of our age, and I think to some extent, I think it probably is putting it to bed,” he said. “I think yeah, I think just generally for me, I don’t know if I want to go out on the road anymore.”

Shutterstock/Jimmie48 Photography

During the past few years, Collins experienced certain health issues which left him struggling to get on his feet. Speaking to Billboard, he revealed that after a surgery in 2009, he was left with dislocated vertebra, nerve damage. He had also suffered a foot fracture that left him feeling like he’s walking “on sticks.”

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Terri Calvesbert suffered 90 percent burns and survived house blaze against all odds – this is her today

By
Monica Pop
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The life of Terri Calvesbert from Ipswich, England, changed forever when she was just an 18-month-old baby. Today, she is considered a fighter who never gave up on her life and her future.

Around the time she turned one and a half, Terri suffered a horrible incident. Her mother, Julie, had a hard time putting the baby to sleep. “She was normally such a brilliant sleeper, so I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t settle,” Julie recalled in an interview with The Sun. Not knowing what to do, Julie decided to let the girl tire herself out and left the room forgetting she placed her burning cigarette there. “I never smoked in the flat, but this one night I did. I don’t know why to this day, I did such a stupid thing.”

Shortly after, Julie heard Terri screaming so she went back to the room. At that point, the entire place was filled with smoke and everything was caught on fire.

Youtube/Realstories

In a state of panic, she immediately called 911.

“I remember running into the kitchen and getting a bowl and filling it with water and throwing it into the bedroom, but it made no difference. So many people have said to me since that I should have gone in there and got her. But I panicked,” Julie recalled of that horrible night.

Terri suffered horrific burns on 90 percent of her body and no one believed she would survive.

“I have never seen anybody with extreme burns to that degree,” firefighter Simon Bevan, who saved Terri, said in the Channel 5 documentary, The Girl With 90% Burns. When he spotted her, he thought she was a charred plastic doll.

“She was so badly burnt I could not extend her neck to resuscitate her, and her body was totally rock hard. No one was expecting Terri to survive.”

Youtube/Realstories

Terri spent six months at the St. Andrews hospital in Chelmsford, England, and required more than 40 skin grafts. Until the age of 12, she had undergone 60 surgeries and her survival was dubbed a miracle. Sadly, Terri lost her hair, her nose, her fingers, and one of her feet.

During the time she was fighting for her life, her mother, filled with guilt, left Terri an her father. Luckily, Terri’s dad, Paul, is one of the best and most caring people there are.

“My dad stays with me and takes me down to the operating theatre, but all the operations scare me and they hurt a lot,” Terri said in the past.

“The last operation I had was on my left hand, to open out my fingers, but that was horrible because it got infected and I was really sick. I need eye drops too and because I didn’t have them put in that time, my eyes were sore too,” she added.

Youtube/Realstories

For her bravery and determination to regain her life back, Terri was awarded a Pride of Britain child of courage award by the Duchess of York in 2004.

With the help of her dad, she achieved many things. Terri was able to go to school where she made many friends who never teased her for her appearance but accepted her for who she is.

Terri moved on with her life. She even forgave her mother for leaving her. Years after the accident, Julie contacted Terri’s father and asked to see her daughter. Having such a big heart as she does, Terri agreed and the two see each other every now and then even today.

Facebook/TerriCalvesbert

“My mum phoned Dad after she heard he was getting married to his girlfriend Nicky and said she wanted to see me,” Terri recalled when she was 12 years old.

“Now I see her every few weeks at my grandma’s house. It’s not weird at all, it’s just normal. We talk about things like what I’m doing at school. I’m not angry with her about the fire.

“I just think I’m lucky because I see my mum and then there’s Nicky too. It’s like I have two mums instead of one.”

Facebook/TerriCalvesbert

Over the years, Terri received support from those close to her as well as from complete strangers. The fund set up to help her with the expenses helped raise around $500,000 from 1999 to 2012.

“The trust fund has been amazing, I have lost count of how much money people have raised for me,” Terri told Ipswich Star. “I even get messages now on Facebook still, with people from Canada or America, which is crazy. It means so much to me.”

Facebook/TerriCalvesbert

Today, 25-year-old Terri is happily married to her “best friend.” The two met through Facebook some years ago and have been together ever since. Terri is a mom of five-year-old daughter Poppy-Mae.

“It’s scary to be a mum and I never thought I would be able to be one. But it is great and I love it. She’s a good girl,” Terri shared with the Ipswich Star.

She is happy and loves her family to the moon and back. “I wouldn’t take my leg off at first in front of Richard,” Terri shared. “But he made me feel really comfortable very quickly and now I take my wig and my leg off at night. He really does love me.”

After everything she went through, Terri truly deserves the life she has today with her husband and daughter. “There have been difficult times over the years going through so many painful operations, but I’m so proud I’ve got to this point,” this brave woman says.

Valerie Bertinelli has regrets after hearing Eddie Van Halen’s last words

By
Monica Pop
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Valerie Bertinelli, the Hot in Cleveland star, was married to Eddie Van Halen, the main songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Van Halen, for over 20 years.

Their love story started unexpectedly and Valerie described it as love at first sight. Being a child actress, she has enjoyed fame her entire life so during one of Van Halen’s concerts back in 1980, her brothers made her go with them because they wanted to use her popularity in order to go backstage and meet the band members. After hesitating for a while, she agreed to go and that’s when she met Eddie for the first time.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc

A few days later, he called her and asked her on a date. One thing led to another and the two tied the knot just months after starting their relationship.

In 1990, the couple welcomed son Wolfgang, who is their only child.

On the outside, their romance resembled a picture-perfect one, although people close to them claimed things were different behind closed doors. According to some, Valerie and Eddie fought often, despite the enormous love they had for one another.

They stayed together for 20 years, until 2001, but their divorce wasn’t finalized until 2007. A year later, Valerie spoke openly of the reasons which led to her separation from Eddie. She said it was part because of his alleged infidelities and drug addiction, and part because of their son. They couldn’t pretend everything was fine between them in front of Wolfgang any longer and called it quits.

Just a year after the divorce, they both married other people but if reports are to be believed, their endearment for one another never diminished to the point of fading away completely.

Valerie married financial planner and entrepreneur, Tom Vitale, while Eddie tied the knot with stuntwoman and wrestling manager Janie Liszewski.

Unfortunately, Eddie died of throat cancer on October 6, 2020, aged 65, after a long and tiring battle. The news about his passing were confirmed by Wolfgang who wrote Eddie was the best dad he could ever ask for.

Getty Images /Kevin Winter 

During his travel to Germany for his treatments, Eddie bought Valerie a pendant-sized gold bar for Thanksgiving 2019. People close to him said at the time that the gift was sort of apology for the mistakes he made during the 20 years they spent together. She, too, accepted responsibility for some of their issues.

Valerie visited Eddie on a daily basis during the final weeks of his life that he spent at the hospital. Both she and Wolfgang were said to be by his side during his final moments. His last words to them were that he loved them, AmoMama reported.

Following his passing, Valerie paid tribute to Eddie by writing that he was the person who changed her life forever. She said she only remembers the best of him. She reportedly regrets not spending more time with him during his battle with cancer.

Man hears tiny fawn screaming in fear and goes to help under mama’s watchful eye

By
Monica Pop
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Humans and animals have created incredible relationship over the years. We don’t only speak about the domesticated animals that we keep as pets, such as cats and dogs, but some wild creatures too.

There are plenty of remarkable stories of humans stepping in for animals when they need it the most. Whether it is a case of a lost creature, a drowning one, or else, some people never hesitate to offer a helping hand, even if that brings a risk on its own.

A Colorado Springs man named Todd Dierdorff and his wife were left puzzled when they heard strange noises coming from outside. After inspecting around the house, they saw a fawn in distress. The little one was trapped in a window well on the side of their home and was crying for help.

Todd knew he needed to get the fawn out but wasn’t sure how to do that so he called a wildlife rescue and asked for some tips. They were kind enough to provide him with instructions so he could take the fawn to safety without hurting it or getting hurt himself. As he stepped into the bushes and approached the animal, its mother appeared out of nowhere and watched Todd releasing her baby.

The deer’s reaction when she saw her fawn running towards her was an incredible one. You can check it out in the video below.

Body of 5-year-old boy found inside a hard case suitcase by walker on mushroom hunt

By
Monica Pop
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Indiana state police have released an image of a suitcase with a distinctive Las Vegas design in which the body of a child was found earlier this week.

Following the autopsy, authorities believe the child was around five years old. The body belonged to a black boy who was around 4ft tall, with a slender built and short haircut.

The suitcase was found in dense woodland located in the eastern part of Washington County by a local resident who went mushroom hunting on Saturday, Newsweek reports.

Along with the photo, police wrote: “Tragically, the child was located inside a closed hard case suitcase.”

They believe that the child could be from any part of the country. “This obviously could be a national thing,” said Sergeant Carey Huls of the Indiana state police.

“It could be a child from any location. We’re not going to preclude anybody, and we’re going to look at any information that comes in that could answer the question of the identity of this child.”

Authorities hope that the photo of the suitcase could potentially lead to more information about the deceased boy. So far, no further details have been revealed as the name and the identity of the boy remain a mystery.

The police is asking citizens to come forwards in case they are familiar with a missing child. They set up a tip line and have received around 200 calls so far, but none seems to be related to the case in question.

“We just need the public’s help in relaying this information,” Mr Huls said.

Right now, police are visiting locals schools within Washington County to see if there are cases of students at the age of five who have stopped attending school regularly recently.

We truly hope those responsible for this horrific case would get what they deserve.

Photo of 6-year-old boy goes viral after saluting military men at airport

By
Monica Pop
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I am glad that most people are aware of the sacrifice our military men and women make. Most of them put their life on the line each and every day and miss out on a lot of important events such as family gatherings, holidays, birthdays, and a lot more. Many of them don’t even get to witness when their children reach important milestones. That is the reason why we should always pay our utmost respect to these members of our society.

However, as most adults are grateful for everything the servicemen and servicewomen do, most little children are unaware of the importance of their duty.

6-year-old boy named Jace Vega, however, certainly knows how brave and protective our soldiers are.

As he and his mom were at the San Antonio International Airport waiting for Jace’s father to return from a trip to Colorado Springs, the first grader noticed a group of soldiers passing by. Without thinking twice, he stood still and saluted the servicemen.

When asked why he had given the salute, sweet Jace answered: “Because they fight for our country.”

The photo of him paying respect was shared by the Fox San Antonio and was seen by thousands of people who praised Jose’s act as well as his mom and dad’s parenting.

“Why don’t you tell them [the station] what you told me that maybe you want to be a soldier someday, right?” the boy’s father asked his son, to which the boy responded: “Yep.”

“A couple of companies have reached out to us and some other people just reached out to my wife,” the father said. “They want to use his picture in the airport somewhere in Florida. A couple of locally owned veteran companies who do shirts, that’s locally owned and operated, they’re going to do a couple of shirts with him.”

Way to go, Jace. Your patriotic spirit is such an inspiration.

Parents demand teacher to be put in jail after what he did to their son

By
Monica Pop
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Teachers are those special people who help shape little minds and educate our children, thus help them become respected individuals.

Unfortunately, not every teaches is a good teacher. There are also those who treat the students with disrespect and crush their self-confidence.

Recently, an incident which took place in a classroom in China enraged many people. A secondary school student from he Suyu High School named Xiaochen came home from school with huge red marks on his face which resembled palm prints. When his parents asked him what had happened to his face, he told them that one of his teacher slapped him forcefully 12 times. Apparently, Xiaochen was chatting to another student during what was supposed to be a self-study time and the teacher dragged him from his seat and started slapping him in front of the entire class. According to one of Xiaochen’s classmates, the teacher first slapped a girl before hitting Xiaochen. This cruelty caused a concussion to Xiaochen. A few blood vessels near his eye burst and he is being treated at the hospital for the injuries that he sustained.

The Beijing Time shared a photo of the student at his hospital bed at Suqian Chinese Medicine Hospital.

Xiaochen also suffered temporary hearing loss.

The Beijing Time

According to local magazines, the teacher was already dismissed by the Ministry of Education.

The school agreed to cover Xiaochen’s medical expenses. There are no reports whether the teacher will face any charges, despite the student’s parents’ plea for him to be charged for hitting their son.

Daily Mail shared the story and people couldn’t help but take a stand. They all agree that no teacher should ever hit a student. There is always a way to approach a problem without any form of violence being used.

Every teacher should serve as a role model and never ever act in an aggressive manner in the classroom.

Some people commented that this form of behavior is not that unusual in China, but we can never know that for sure.

‘Our whole world has been taken from us’ – Baby girl dies after mom tries to avoid swooping magpie

By
Monica Pop
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Five-month-old baby died in a freak accident after her mother, who carried her in a career, ducked in an attempt to avoid an aggressive magpie in Queensland, Australia. Unfortunately, the mother tripped and fell, which caused fatal injuries to the baby named Mia. The girl’s father, Jacob, called emergency services and the little one was rushed to the hospital, but to no avail. Mia died and left her parents in devastation.

Mia was described as a happy and cheerful little baby. Sadly, she was taken away from her family way too soon.

Father Jacob said of his sweet baby that she “brought joy to everyone’s lives with her infectious smile, her pure innocence and her adorable laugh.”

“Our whole world has been taken from us and the pain we are experiencing is unimaginable,” he shared with Daily Mail. “We are so grateful for the most precious gift we ever received.”

GoFundMe

The magpie which attacked Mia’s mother, Simone, was released as they are protected species.

These birds can grow up to a feet long and are extremely aggressive during breeding season. They would attack anyone who gets close to their nests, even when the person is simply walking past them, not trying to approach them or hurt them.

Jacob and Simone’s family started a GoFundMe to help the family with the funeral expenses as well as other expenses as neither Jacob nor Simone were able to get back to work for some time since losing their daughter.

Pixabay

“This horrible world dealt a blow no one could ever imagine,” the fundraising page read. “Shattering everyone’s hearts and crushing [her parents’] Jacob and Simone’s world in the blink of an eye where no day would ever be the same. No words can begin to describe the torture Jacob and Simone are going through.

“Beautiful Mia, at only five young months of age, grew her little angel wings and left this world for the final time, shattering everyone’s hearts, and crushing Jacob and Simone’s world in the blink of an eye.”

The death of baby Mia “has shocked the community to the absolute core,” Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said.

“This is something no one wants to see happen, something that has never happened before and something we want to make sure never happens again.

“Swooping magpies are part of Australian life. There are not many people in Brisbane that haven’t been swooped by magpies at some stage in their life,” Schrinner added.

YouTube

“At most stages they’re relatively minor. But there’s never been a situation like this in Brisbane before … This is the first, and we want it to be the last.”

Rest in peace, Mia. Our hearts go out to the grieving family.

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