Tag: last show

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18 July 1970: Anthony Phillips Plays His Final Show with Genesis

Cover for one of the various editions of 'From Genesis to Revelation'

On 18 July 1970, Genesis performed their final concert with founding guitarist Anthony Phillips at Haywards Heath. His departure would prove to be one of the most significant turning points in the band’s history.

From Charterhouse to Genesis

Anthony Phillips arrived at Charterhouse School in Surrey in April 1965. A talented young guitarist, he soon formed a band called Anon with fellow pupils Richard Macphail, Rivers Jobe, Rob Tyrrell and Mike Rutherford. The group played songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and other popular acts of the day, performing mainly at parties and school events.

It was Anthony who first introduced original material into the band’s repertoire. One of his earliest compositions, Pennsylvania Flickhouse, was recorded during a short session at Tony Pike’s studio in Putney. Richard Macphail later recalled the band’s surprise at how long recording even a single song could take.

‘We piled all the gear in Ant’s mother’s Mercedes and got on a bus and I thought ‘An hour, on my God, what are we gonna do with a whole hour? Each song’s three minutes long, that means we’re gonna get about nine songs done.’ We just got one done and we had huge rails with Mr Pike because everything was of course too loud and he said ‘You’re gonna ruin my equipment!’, all that classic stuff that went on in those days in recording studios.’1

Anon eventually disbanded in late 1966, but Anthony and Mike Rutherford continued writing music together. Looking for a keyboard player, they approached fellow Charterhouse student Tony Banks. Tony agreed to participate on the condition that his friend Peter Gabriel could also contribute a song and provide vocals. Before long, former Garden Wall drummer Chris Stewart joined the project.

The foundations of Genesis had been laid.

The Heart of Early Genesis

After securing the support of producer Jonathan King, the band recorded a series of singles and their debut album, From Genesis to Revelation (1969). Although King believed orchestral arrangements would make the material more commercially appealing, the band were frustrated when strings were added without their knowledge. Anthony was reportedly the most outspoken in expressing his displeasure.

By 1969, the members of Genesis faced an important decision. Their parents expected them to continue their education, but Anthony and Mike had become determined to pursue music professionally. Peter and Tony soon shared that ambition, and by the end of the year Genesis had committed themselves fully to life as a working band.

During this period, Anthony was one of the group’s key creative forces. His twelve-string guitar work and pastoral songwriting style would become defining elements of early Genesis, particularly on Trespass.

The Burden of Life on the Road

While Anthony loved writing and recording music, he struggled with touring. ‘Yet, something was lacking‘, it is said in the press kit of Ant’s first solo album, ‘Phillips, perhaps because he was younger than the others found that life on the road was getting in the way of his writing.’2

As Genesis spent more time on the road, he became increasingly unhappy with the demands of live performance. The constant travelling, lack of sleep and primitive conditions began to take their toll. The band often slept in their van or on friends’ floors while criss-crossing the country for poorly paid gigs.

‘We literally pitched up somewhere in the Midlands and we had nowhere to stay’, Ant recalls. ‘Too far to go back and some guy said: ‘Well, I know a guy with a bloody big house in Buxton’ and we stayed on the drafted floor of a bloody big house in Buxton.’3

At the same time, Anthony began suffering from severe stage fright.

He later recalled: ‘I was in Watford Tech, I remember playing the opening thing of ‘Let Us Now Make Love’ and I looked at the guitar and I thought ‘I haven’t got a clue what comes next’ and then I saw myself playing, but it was really scary.’4 Richard Macphail remembered performances where Anthony appeared paralysed by anxiety.5

What initially seemed like a temporary problem gradually became more serious. After battling these feelings for several months, Anthony’s health deteriorated further when he contracted bronchial pneumonia. Doctors advised him to leave the band.

Leaving Genesis

In June 1970, Genesis recorded Trespass, their second album and the record that many fans regard as the true beginning of the classic Genesis sound.

Anthony thoroughly enjoyed the studio sessions, but once recording was complete, the band immediately returned to touring. Before long, he realised he could no longer continue.

Mike Rutherford still remembers the moment Anthony broke the news.

After a soundcheck at Richmond Rugby Ground, Anthony and Richard Macphail took him aside. As daylight faded, Anthony explained that he wanted to leave Genesis.

‘I remember driving out with with Richard Macphail who said ‘Can we have a word with you?”, Mike Rutherford remembers. ‘To the pitch at Richmond rugby ground after a soundcheck. Light was falling, it was a weird atmosphere and Ant said he wanted to leave. It was a huge shock to me.’6

Anthony’s final performance took place on 18 July 1970 at Haywards Heath.

For the remaining members, the departure felt catastrophic.

‘I thought it was the end of the group,’ Tony Banks admitted years later. ‘He was vital to its formation and in many ways he was the strongest member. We felt that whatever was special about us was a combination of the four of us being together in the same room so I assumed that when he left, that was it.’7

Mike Rutherford shared that sentiment:

Losing Ant ‘was the closest we came to busting up. For some reason we felt so close that if one left, we thought we couldn’t carry on. Of all the changes we’ve been through, surviving Ant leaving was the hardest.’8

Given those reactions, it is fair to say that Anthony Phillips’s departure represented the greatest crisis Genesis ever faced. Unlike Peter Gabriel’s departure in 1975, the band had not yet established itself commercially or artistically. In 1970, there was every possibility that Genesis might simply cease to exist.

Life After Genesis

Fortunately, the band decided to continue.

Anthony’s influence remained deeply embedded in Genesis’s music. The opening twelve-string section of The Musical Box, one of the centrepieces of Nursery Cryme (1971), developed from an earlier instrumental piece that he had written with Mike Rutherford.

After leaving the group, Anthony largely withdrew from the music industry for a time. He immersed himself in studying composition, orchestration, classical guitar and piano, broadening his musical horizons far beyond progressive rock.

In 1977, he released his acclaimed debut solo album, The Geese & The Ghost, which featured contributions from several former Genesis bandmates.

More than fifty years after leaving Genesis, Anthony Phillips remains an active and respected musician. His contribution to the band’s formative years cannot be overstated. Without his songwriting, musicianship and artistic vision, Genesis might never have become the band we know today.

His final concert at Haywards Heath marked the end of one chapter, but, in many ways, it ensured the beginning of another.

Title photo: Cover of one of the various editions of From Genesis to Revelation

Footnotes

  1. RICHARD MACPHAIL INTERVIEW Revised : GENESIS early years ↩︎
  2. “The Geese and The Ghost Press Kit“. Passport Records. 1977. pp. 2–3. ↩︎
  3. ANTHONY PHILLIPS UNFILTERED: GENESIS C0-FOUNDER IN CONVERSATION ↩︎
  4. ANTHONY PHILLIPS UNFILTERED: GENESIS C0-FOUNDER IN CONVERSATION ↩︎
  5. RICHARD MACPHAIL INTERVIEW Revised : GENESIS early years. In fact, Anthony Phillips has not played live to this day. ↩︎
  6. MIKE RUTHERFORD UNFILTERED: GENESIS GUITARIST/COMPOSER IN CONVERSATION. Now Revised ↩︎
  7. Bowler, Dave; Dray, Bryan, Genesis. A biography. (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1992), p. 35. ↩︎
  8. Ibid. ↩︎

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The End of the Invisible Touch Tour – Wembley, July 4, 1987

On July 4, 1987, Genesis wrapped up their massive Invisible Touch tour with the fourth consecutive sold-out show at Wembley Stadium. It marked the end of a historic run for the band and a high point in their live career.

Invisible Touch: The Album

Released in 1986, Invisible Touch became Genesis’ most commercially successful album, reaching #1 in the UK and #3 in the US. It produced five major hit singles: ‘Invisible Touch’, ‘Tonight Tonight Tonight’, ‘Land of Confusion’, ‘In Too Deep’ and ‘Throwing It All Away’. Tracks like the title song, the moody Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, and Land of Confusion with its iconic Spitting Image video dominated radio, MTV, and the charts throughout 1986 and 1987. Genesis had never been more visible – or more popular.

Naturally, the band embarked on a massive world tour, playing across North America, Australia, Japan, Europe, and finally closing with four sold-out nights at Wembley, playing to nearly 300,000 people.

The Invisible Touch Tour

The tour kicked off in September 1986 in the US and included 112 shows, selling close to two million tickets. The band was joined, as usual, by drummer Chester Thompson and guitarist/bassist Daryl Stuermer.

In Australia and New Zealand, Genesis added a local four-piece string section for In Too Deep and Your Own Special Way, due to union regulations requiring them to employ local musicians.

By this point, Genesis weren’t just a hit-making machine, they were a finely-tuned live band, backed by a state-of-the-art Vari-Lite lighting system and a tight, polished setlist. While they had a vast catalogue to choose from, the shows leaned heavily on songs from Invisible Touch and recent albums.

The Setlist and Show Highlights

Every show opened with Mama, though its eerie atmosphere did not always translate well in daylight stadium settings. The closer was the now-iconic Turn It On Again medley, which featured a whirlwind of rock classics: Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, Satisfaction, Twist and Shout, Pinball Wizard, All Day and All of the Night and Karma Chameleon.

Older fan favorites included: Los Endos, Home By The Sea (with its now-standard ghost-story intro) and the In The Cage medley.

At the beginning of the tour, the In the Cage medley included In That Quiet Earth and the second half of Supper’s Ready. But as the tour progressed, Phil Collins began having trouble hitting some of the higher notes in Supper’s Ready, and the band eventually returned to the familiar In That Quiet Earth / Afterglow ending.

New material from Invisible Touch featured heavily, with standout performances of: Domino (with Phil’s now-legendary audience interaction), Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Throwing It All Away (where the crowd singalong grew with each night) and Invisible Touch.

Live at Wembley Stadium

‘Nearly 300,000 people at Wembley. OK, there might have been a few repeats in there, but I thought at the time, and I still think now, that moment was the peak of our career’1 – Tony Banks.

By the time Genesis arrived at Wembley, the band had performed the set so often it had become a masterclass in musicianship and stagecraft. Initially, only two nights at Wembley were planned, but due to overwhelming demand, two more were added, making Genesis the first band to play four sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium. They entered the Guinness Book of Records, a record later broken by Michael Jackson during his Bad tour in 1988.

The Wembley concerts were filmed and later released on VHS and DVD (2003). Unfortunately, the epic In the Cage medley did not make it into the final release, (allegedly) due to bad luck with tape changes during that very song on each night.

Even so, the performance captured at Wembley is phenomenal, showcasing Genesis at their live peak. With Invisible Touch, the band had reached global superstardom and Wembley was the victory lap.

After this triumph, fans would have to wait four more years for the next Genesis studio album.

Title photo: Genesis Nancy 1987. Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Daryl Stuermer, Chester Thompson. Genesis en concert à Nancy le 14 juin 1987 au stade Marcel-Picot de Nancy-Tomblaine Source: Wikimedia Commons, Fredamas / CC-BY-SA-2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0).

  1. in Banks, Tony; Collins, Phil; Gabriel, Peter; Hackett, Steve; Rutherford, Mike; Dodd, Philip, Genesis. Chapter & verse. (New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Griffin, 2007), p. 287. ↩︎
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Steve Hackett’s Last Show with Genesis

On July 3, 1977, Genesis played the final show of their Wind & Wuthering tour, unaware that it would also be Steve Hackett’s last performance with the band.

Wind & Wuthering and Growing Tensions

Released in December 1976, Wind & Wuthering was Genesis’s second album following Peter Gabriel’s departure. With Phil Collins now stepping confidently into the role of lead vocalist, the band had successfully reinvented itself as a four-piece. Collins had already proven he could carry the frontman role with A Trick of the Tail and the subsequent 1976 tour.

By this point, songwriting duties were largely shared between Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, while Phil focused more on arrangements and performance. Steve Hackett, however, was growing increasingly frustrated. He felt that his musical ideas were often overlooked, and after the 1977 tour, he made the decision to leave Genesis.

The Wind & Wuthering Tour

The 1977 tour was one of Genesis’s biggest yet, taking them across Europe, the US, and for the first time, South America. They were joined by American drummer Chester Thompson, who would become a fixture in the live lineup for decades.

That year, the band reached new heights in live performance and was even voted “Best Live Group” in 1977. Much of that era’s power was captured on the double live album Seconds Out.

The Final Show: July 3, 1977, Munich

Genesis closed out the tour with a concert at Munich’s Olympiahalle. They opened with Squonk, followed by One for the Vine, a Tony Banks epic from the new album. The rare track Inside and Out from the Spot the Pigeon EP was also included, having appeared on select European dates.

Highlights of the show included The Carpet Crawlers, I Know What I Like, and Supper’s Ready, songs that had evolved significantly since Gabriel’s departure. The band had also begun experimenting with medleys, a trend that continued on this tour: Dance on a Volcano merged seamlessly into Los Endos, while The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was paired with the climactic ending of The Musical Box.

And of course, Firth of Fifth made the setlist, featuring Hackett’s iconic guitar solo. None of the fans, or even the band members, knew it would be the last time they’d see Steve Hackett perform it live with Genesis.

Steve Hackett’s Departure

Steve had already released a solo album by this point, showcasing ideas that had not made it onto Genesis records. During the four-piece era, he had pushed for a guaranteed portion of writing credits on each album, a request the others declined, committed as they were to being a fully democratic group.

In July 1977, while mixing Seconds Out, Hackett found himself exhausted by the constant repetition of songs like I Know What I Like. After months on the road and in front of crowds of 20,000 people, he began to feel creatively stifled. The challenge was gone.

So one day, he picked up the phone and called Mike Rutherford to say he was leaving. Mike, aware of Steve’s growing dissatisfaction, did not try to change his mind.

Shortly afterward, Phil Collins happened to drive past Steve near Trident Studios, where they were mixing the album. Phil invited him into the car, but Steve acted strangely, saying only, “Talk to Mike, he’ll explain,” before walking away. When Phil arrived at the studio, Mike and Tony told him Steve had officially left the band.

The Band Carries On

Genesis continued mixing Seconds Out as a trio, then returned to the studio to begin work on their next album. From this point forward, Genesis would remain a three-piece studio band, while Steve Hackett would embark on a successful solo career.

Title photo: Genesis Steve Hackett. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Jean-Luc / CC-BY-SA-2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0). Originally posted to Flickr as Genesis.

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The Last Show of “The Lamb” Tour – and Peter Gabriel’s Final Genesis Gig

On May 22, 1975, Genesis played the final show of their ambitious The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour. It would also mark the last time Peter Gabriel performed with the band as lead vocalist.

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway: A Bold New Chapter

In 1974, Genesis entered the studio to record their most ambitious project yet: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The double concept album told a surreal and complex story by Peter Gabriel, following a Puerto Rican teenager named Rael as he journeys through a strange underworld beneath New York City.

The urban American setting was a dramatic shift from the band’s earlier tales rooted in British folklore and fantasy. After touring North America, Genesis were aiming to break into the U.S. market. The Lamb was also their first true concept album (after an unsuccessful attempt on their debut), a hallmark of many progressive rock bands at the time.

Internally, however, tensions were mounting. Gabriel wrote all the lyrics and developed the story independently, while Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Phil Collins composed most of the music during jam sessions at Headley Grange. Steve Hackett’s contributions were minimal, and the creative disconnect between words and music created friction. Only one track, “The Light Dies Down on Broadway”, had lyrics penned by Banks and Rutherford instead of Gabriel.

Behind-the-Scenes Tensions

Two key factors contributed to Gabriel’s growing estrangement from the band. First, he had attracted interest from The Exorcist director William Friedkin, who was keen to collaborate on a film. Gabriel was tempted, even considering leaving the band, but the project never materialized.

Second, Gabriel’s wife Jill gave birth to their first daughter, Anna, in July 1974. Complications following the birth drew Gabriel further away from the group. He was the first member to start a family, and this life change made him reassess his priorities and see a future beyond the band. His inner conflict bled into The Lamb‘s narrative, for example in the song “In the Cage,” where Rael cries, “Get me out of this cage!”

Upon release, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway received mixed reviews and was commercially underwhelming. Ticket sales for the tour were below expectations, and several shows were cancelled. Though the album is now revered as a cult classic, its reception at the time was disappointing, particularly for Gabriel, who had poured his heart into the concept.

A Tour Like No Other

The band made the bold decision to perform the album in full on tour, even before many fans had a chance to hear it. Gabriel, already known for his theatrical costumes, pushed the visual spectacle even further, but it came at a cost. His elaborate outfits, including the infamous “Slipperman” costume, sometimes muffled his vocals or distracted from the music itself. The rest of the band grew frustrated, feeling the show had become more about theatrics than sound.

Technical problems were frequent. The stage used projected slides to accompany the story, but they often jammed or displayed out of sequence. In one infamous incident, a Peter Gabriel dummy meant to mirror him on stage was mysteriously swapped for a naked roadie. And during a song that required a small explosion, the production manager accidentally triggered a huge blast so loud that the band stopped mid-song. Peeking through the curtain, the crew member sheepishly said, “Sorry,” to which Phil Collins yelled, “You’re fired!”

Gabriel’s Departure

Midway through the tour, Gabriel made the decision to leave Genesis. Their manager Tony Smith was not surprised, but asked him to finish the remaining dates before making it public.

Gabriel’s final show with Genesis took place in Saint-Étienne, France, in May 1975. Ironically, it wasn’t meant to be the last show, but the scheduled final concert was canceled at the last minute. And so, without much fanfare, Peter Gabriel’s time with Genesis came to an end.

He had co-founded the band in 1967 alongside Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Anthony Phillips. His departure, announced later that year, shocked fans and cast doubt over the band’s future. Could Genesis survive without their charismatic frontman?

As history would show — they could. And so could he.

Photo: Peter Gabriel in 1975. Photographer unknown. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Peter_Gabriel,_April_1975.jpg. Unknown author / CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0).