Tag: entertainer

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Phil Collins’ Last Gig with Genesis at Cowdray Ruins, 18 September 1993

On 18 September 1993, Genesis gave what would turn out to be Phil Collins’ final live performance with the band: an understated charity concert at the historic Cowdray Ruins in Sussex.

Genesis in 1993

1993 was a relatively quiet year for Genesis. Following their massive We Can’t Dance tour in 1992, the members returned to their solo projects. For Phil Collins, it was a turbulent time. His marriage to his second wife, Jill, was breaking down under heavy tabloid scrutiny, and he poured much of that emotion into his solo album Both Sides. Dark, angry, and intensely personal, the album divided critics, something that weighed heavily on him.

Against this backdrop, Genesis regrouped briefly for a one-off charity concert at Cowdray Ruins. The show raised funds for the King Edward VII Hospice and featured an extraordinary lineup, including Pink Floyd and the surviving members of Queen.

A unique Genesis lineup

That night, Genesis appeared without their regular touring partners Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer. Instead, the drums were handled by Roger Taylor (Queen) and Gary Wallis (Mike + The Mechanics), while Tim Renwick (Pink Floyd, Mike + The Mechanics) filled in on guitar and bass.

Genesis performed a short set including “Turn It On Again,” “Hold On My Heart,” “I Can’t Dance,” and a “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight / Invisible Touch” medley. Some sources claim they also played Collins’ solo track “That’s Just the Way It Is,” though this remains doubtful.

Next, Pink Floyd took the stage, with Paul Young (Mike + The Mechanics) providing vocals on some numbers and Mike Rutherford stepping in on bass. Eric Clapton also performed a short set with Mike on bass, before the night ended with the “All Star Cowdray Ruins Band,” featuring nearly everyone involved, running through “Ain’t That Peculiar,” “Can I Get a Witness,” and “Gimme Some Lovin’.”

Low-quality recordings of the event survive on YouTube, but unfortunately no professional release exists, something of a shame, given its historical importance.

Phil’s reflections

Although successful, the concert was modest in scale. Few realized it marked the end of Collins’ 18-year run fronting Genesis. For Phil, the show highlighted his growing distance from the band:

“In the middle of my writing and making BOTH SIDES, Genesis did a concert with Queen. […] But I didn’t enjoy it … As I was singing these songs, it didn’t feel natural. Obviously, it was bad timing, going just like that from doing my most personal thing to a Genesis thing and back. But it definitely felt like ‘What am I doing here?’, like shoes that don’t fit anymore.“1

Though he wouldn’t announce his departure until 1996, the seeds had been sown that evening.

The Cowdray Ruins line-up (as listed in the program):

  • Tony Banks – Genesis (keyboards)
  • Eric Clapton – guitar
  • Phil Collins – Genesis (vocals)
  • John Deacon – Queen (bass)
  • David Gilmour – Pink Floyd (guitar)
  • Adrian Lee – Mike + The Mechanics (keyboards)
  • Nick Mason – Pink Floyd (drums)
  • Tim Renwick – Mike + The Mechanics / Pink Floyd (bass, guitar)
  • Mike Rutherford – Genesis (guitar, bass)
  • Roger Taylor – Queen (vocals, drums)
  • Garry Wallis – drums
  • Richard Wright – Pink Floyd (keyboards)
  • Paul Young – Mike + The Mechanics (vocals)

Phil’s departure was still a few years away from being official. But looking back, Cowdray Ruins was the true closing chapter of his time with Genesis.

Sources

Hewitt, Alan (2000): Opening The Musical Box. London: Firefly Publishing.

Platts, Robin (2007): Genesis. Behind the lines, 1967-2007. Burlington, Ont., Canada: Collectors Guide Pub.

Thompson, Dave (2005): Turn it on again. Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins & Genesis. San Francisco: Backbeat Books.

  1. in Platts 2007: 140 ↩︎
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Phil Collins’ Departure from Genesis in 1996

On March 28, 1996, Genesis officially announced Phil Collins’ departure in a press release titled: “Genesis end twenty-year experiment, decide to replace Peter Gabriel as vocalist.”

It marked the end of an era. But the story of Phil’s (temporary) exit began long before that.

Phil Collins Had Made Up His Mind in 1993

By 1993, Genesis were at their peak. The massive We Can’t Dance tour had wrapped up the previous year, and in the fall of ’93, the band performed at Cowdray Ruins, a charity concert alongside Pink Floyd, Queen, and Eric Clapton. Genesis played a short set and joined the all-star lineup for the encore. No one realized it would be Phil Collins’ last performance with the band for a long time.

At the time, Phil was already deep into writing what would become his most personal solo album, Both Sides. He played every instrument and produced the album himself, much like he had done on Face Value. The deeply introspective songs reflected his personal turmoil – his marriage to Jill was falling apart due to his affair with childhood sweetheart Lavinia Lang. With his family on the verge of breaking up again, he found it increasingly difficult to sing Genesis songs. He wanted to write and perform music that truly reflected his own emotions.

A New Chapter, a New Life in Switzerland

Sometime after the Cowdray Ruins gig, Phil confided in manager Tony Smith about his desire to leave Genesis. But Smith, ever the businessman, encouraged him to finish his solo album and tour first—then decide.

Phil embarked on the Both Sides world tour in 1994 and 1995, during which he met Orianne Cevey in Switzerland. Falling in love, he decided to leave England and settle in Lake Geneva. The British press harshly criticized him – both for his music and his personal life. He grew to resent his ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ image and felt increasingly distant from Genesis.

Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford Decide to Carry On

In 1996, the band convened in Tony Smith’s kitchen, where Phil finally made it official – he was leaving Genesis.

Tony Banks reacted with typical British understatement: “It’s a sad day, a very sad day.”

Mike Rutherford, on the other hand, was more surprised that Phil had stayed as long as he did given his highly successful solo career.

On March 28, 1996, exactly twenty years and two days after his first show as Genesis’ lead singer, the news went public. With Phil’s departure, Genesis lost not just their frontman and entertainer, but also a brilliant composer and drummer.

Still, Tony and Mike decided to continue, eventually searching for a new singer. Meanwhile, Phil focused on his solo career, though his success never quite reached the heights of the 1980s.

Despite going their separate ways, the three remained close. By the early 2000s, they occasionally reunited for special appearances. Then, a decade after Phil’s departure, Genesis officially came back together for the 2007 Turn It On Again tour.

But that’s another story.

Title photo: The world famous band – Genesis. Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford. (Photo 1991) . Source: Wikimedia Commons, David Scheinmann / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0).