Tag: Live

Posted on

Invisible Touch (1986) – Genesis

Phil Collins: ‘The mid-1980s was the biggest we ever got.’1

By the mid-1980s, there were longer gaps between Genesis albums. Phil Collins had launched his solo career at the start of the decade, and after their previous Genesis album, Mike Rutherford formed the hugely successful Mike + The Mechanics with vocalists Paul Carrack and Paul Young. Tony Banks, who had been releasing solo albums since 1979, remained the only member of the trio without significant chart success.

In 1985, Genesis reconvened at their studio, The Farm, with producer Hugh Padgham to begin work on a new album. The result was Invisible Touch, a bold, vibrant collection of songs released in 1986. Of the album’s eight tracks, five became major hit singles: “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight,” “Land of Confusion,” “In Too Deep,” “Throwing It All Away,” and the title track, “Invisible Touch.”

Invisible Touch

The lead single “Invisible Touch” is often viewed by die-hard progressive rock fans as a commercial betrayal – a far cry from Genesis’ roots. Yet the song, like all tracks on the album, was born from the band’s collaborative jam sessions. Engineer Paul Gomersall, who worked alongside Padgham, described their creative process:

‘Mike would come up with some sort of wacky drum loop. He’d bring his drum machine in, or Phil would, and they’d work around that. Mike is very experimental. I think he sees himself as more like a Brian Eno sort of person who makes interesting sounds and rhythms. Tony’s stuff was more chordal. Half the sound of Genesis is the chords that Tony comes up with.’2

“Invisible Touch” emerged when Mike played a guitar riff with an echo effect, prompting Phil to sing the now-iconic line, “She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah!” Phil penned the lyrics about being irresistibly drawn to someone mysterious and overpowering, even when it’s not good for you.

The song, like the rest of the album, features electronic drum sounds typical of ’80s pop. The rhythm was inspired by Sheila E.’s and Prince’s “The Glamorous Life” (1985). With Mike’s bassline, Tony’s keyboard solo, and a key change in the outro, “Invisible Touch” becomes a dynamic, infectious pop anthem.

Phil Collins: ‘Invisible Touch is my favourite Genesis song.’3

Live, the band always performed the song in a lower key to reduce strain on Phil’s voice. Still, he turned it into a crowd-pleasing singalong. Mike Rutherford also named it one of his live favourites, calling it ‘a wonderful song: upbeat, fun to play, always a strong moment in any gig.’4

Though a commercial triumph (Genesis’ only US No. 1 single), for some fans it marked a sellout. It even earned a mention in American Psycho, where Patrick Bateman dubs it the band’s ‘undisputed masterpiece.’

Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

Described by music journalist Chris Welch as the band’s ‘most memorable pop ballad,’5 “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” features a haunting electronic motif and lyrics that are both abstract and direct.

The album version runs over nine minutes and showcases the band’s classic style. Originally titled “Monkey/Zulu,” the song grew from a jam session led by Tony Banks, who improvised the extended instrumental section, complete with strange, evocative effects. Phil’s stark lyrics, partly improvised, deal with drug addiction.

Mike Rutherford: ‘It’s more of the old-style Genesis in that it covers a lot of ground musically and has a fairly involved instrumental passage in the middle. We’ve done songs like this from the word go. The initial bit came from an improvised jam and the song and solo part in the middle were obvious from a longer section when Tony was just improvising sound over a rhythm being played by Phil and I and he just assembled a composed solo part.‘6

He added that Tony is ‘the most adventurous‘7 in terms of structure, always pushing the band to break from the traditional verse-chorus format.

Land of Confusion

Mike Rutherford wrote the lyrics for this rare political track, tackling international tensions. ‘It’s a political song about the mess we landed in. I’ve always shielded away from doing what I call a preachy song, a protest song, but it seemed to work. Maybe because the music was quite angry it made it work.’8

Musically, it was a group effort.

The Spitting Image Video

“Land of Confusion” became iconic thanks to its music video, featuring grotesque puppets from the British satirical TV show Spitting Image. Genesis, along with caricatures of politicians like Reagan, Thatcher, and Brezhnev, appeared in a surreal nightmare sequence.

The idea came when Genesis video director Jim Yukich saw Phil parodied on Spitting Image. On the show, puppet Phil performed a spoof love ballad called “Oh, You Must Be Leaving,” crying throughout.

In the video, Reagan is shown in bed with his wife and a monkey, a nod to his film Bedtime for Bonzo. The clip also features puppets of musicians like Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, and Michael Jackson. It won the band their only Grammy: Best Concept Music Video in 1987.

Tony Banks: ‘What other video can boast having all these stars, like Madonna and Prince?’9

In Too Deep

In 1985, Ray Cooper of Handmade Films (George Harrison’s company) asked Phil to write a song for Mona Lisa starring Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson. While touring in Australia, Phil composed the chorus of “In Too Deep.” But since Genesis were about to start working on a new album, he brought the idea to the band.

The result: a warm, elegant pop ballad. Phil’s tender vocals are complemented by Tony’s piano and Mike’s subtle guitar work. Cooper loved it, and the song became a hit in its own right.

Tony later noted the challenge of filming the video, which simply showed the band performing: ‘The most difficult videos for us in many ways were the ones that you didn’t really have anything do. So things like ‘so ‘In Too Deep’ I remember being a bit of a struggle because it’s just a love song. How do you do it? So we just did it with us, almost like a cabaret thing.’10

Anything She Does

Fast-paced and synth-heavy, this track features Tony Banks’ layered brass sounds and Phil’s punchy drums. The lyrics, about tabloid models, inspired the band to cast British comedian Benny Hill as Fred Scuttle in the video.

Phil called Hill himself. Though hesitant to reinforce his “dirty old man” image, Hill agreed if his character never actually got the girls. The video was set backstage at Wembley, with Hill as a doorman keeping out eager women. Phil cherished the signed photo he received afterward.

Domino

The album’s epic track, “Domino,” is split into two contrasting parts: “In the Glow of the Night” and “The Last Domino.” The first is slow and atmospheric; the second faster and rhythmically intense.

Tony Banks wrote the lyrics, capturing loneliness and despair during wartime.

Mike Rutherford: ‘His words are the reason why he’ll never write a hit single.’11

Phil Collins: ‘We were always a group of songwriters who would write 3-, 10- and 20-minute songs. We still write 10-minute songs, like ‘Domino’, but unfortunately, the three-minute songs have gotten better and become hits. I don’t feel we’ve bastardized the way we were, as we still work the same way. Diehard fans will say, ‘Rubbish. ‘The Carpet Crawlers, ‘I Know What I Like’ – that was progressive!’ But I don’t see that. We’d have killed for hit singles back in the early days!‘12

Mike added, ‘Looking back, people forget the show’s an hour and three quarters maybe and the costumes were probably 15 minutes of the whole thing. When we started having hit singles with MTV and videos, a hit single overshadowed the whole album and people started sort of saying ‘You stopped doing long songs.’ We never did, really, every album had a sort of 15-minute-long song on it till the very end. But they were album tracks, so they weren’t on television, they weren’t on the radio, but live they were a big part of the set.’13

Throwing It All Away

Built around a looping guitar riff by Mike, “Throwing It All Away” is another emotional song that plays to Phil’s strengths as a vocalist. Despite its melancholic lyrics, the song feels optimistic and breezy, another showcase of the trio’s songwriting synergy. Mike also penned the lyrics.

It became famous live for its audience call-and-response.

Drummer Chester Thompson called it his favourite to play live: ‘The crazy thing about that is that the full kit only comes in the last bit of the song, it’s mostly just hi-hat and bass drum and then you finally come in towards the end, but I just thought it was such a great feel, I loved playing that song.’14

The music video was composed of footage from the band’s 1986 tour, capturing Genesis in their prime.

The Brazilian

The final track on Invisible Touch is the instrumental “The Brazilian”, a piece filled with off-kilter electric percussion and eerie half-tone steps. It’s undeniably, as music journalist Chris Welch puts it, ‘the strangest and most demanding cut on the album.’ He describes it as ‘a re-affirmation of the band’s faith in its musical past, […] full of spacey sounds like a sea monster, breathing heavily and stomping up the beach.’15

Reception

Music journalist Chris Welch believes that Invisible Touch comes closest to being Genesis’s ‘ultimate album’.16 Biographers Dave Bowler and Bryan Dray agree, writing that it is ‘certainly it was their best album since ‘Wind And Wuthering’‘ and ‘one of the very best albums of the 1980s.’17 . Yet, fan reactions were not unanimously positive. Alan Hewitt, founder of the official Genesis fanzine The Waiting Room, famously remarked that Invisible Touch was ‘the first Genesis album he ever played once and then turned into a frisbee‘.18

Tony Banks, however, defends the album’s diversity and ambition: ‘On ‘Invisible Touch’, you’ve got the ‘Domino’ suite, which is 12 minutes long, and ‘Tonight, Tonight, Tonight’, which is about nine minutes. Both are identifiably Genesis, the sort of thing that no one else does. If you add, say ‘The Brazilian’, which again is like no other group, you’ve got at least 50% of the album. There are songs like ‘Invisible Touch’ and ‘Throwing It All Away’, but we’ve always done those. It’s just that we do them better now. With the songs, say off ‘The Lamb Lies Down’, maybe they’re lyrically more complex, but in terms of the songs themselves – ‘Carpet Crawlers’ or ‘Counting Out Time’ – they’re all attempts at the same kind of things. Even ‘From Genesis to Revelation’ was all short songs, all attempts at writing hit singles. And all failed.‘19

The multi-platinum success of Invisible Touch made it the band’s biggest commercial triumph, both critically and commercially. Tracks like “Invisible Touch,” “Land of Confusion,” and “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” dominated international charts in 1986 and 1987. In the United States, where chart rankings also factored in radio airplay, even the non-single “Anything She Does” managed to chart. Meanwhile, MTV played the band’s videos in heavy rotation, giving Genesis an added boost in the age of music television.

Tony Banks reflected on this success with some nostalgia: ‘It’s great having hits. I was brought up in the era of hits, in the 60s the next Beatles song coming out was the sort of high point of my existence.’20

Interestingly, Peter Gabriel, who had left Genesis a decade earlier, found himself sharing the spotlight with his former band. “Invisible Touch” was famously knocked off the No. 1 spot by Gabriel’s own hit “Sledgehammer.” His 1986 album So became his most successful release. It was, without a doubt, a remarkable year for both Genesis and its former frontman.

The Invisible Touch Tour

Mike Rutherford looked back on that time, saying: ‘A lot of people came to see us in the 80s and 90s in America because of the hit singles, but I always knew the long songs would grab them. They were songs that were visually were impressive with the vari-lites. Those who came to see us because of the singles and the radio tracks went away with a different impression of us.‘21

The album’s success led to a massive world tour that saw Genesis perform in stadiums and arenas across Europe and North America. The tour also included several dates in Japan — only their second visit to the country — and, for the first time, shows in New Zealand and Australia. It all culminated in a record-breaking run of four consecutive nights at Wembley Stadium in London in 1987.

Phil Collins later recalled: ‘The Wembley shows were very special. It was still the old Wembley; it was football territory. Everything just seemed to peak at that point. I’ve been thinking about the set of the time with ‘Home By The Sea’, where the lights were coming down.’22

Those iconic Wembley concerts were filmed using Sony’s then-cutting-edge High Definition technology and released as a home video, a first for the band.

After wrapping up the tour in 1987, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks returned to their respective solo projects. The band wouldn’t reconvene until 1991 to record what would become their final studio album with Collins, We Can’t Dance.

But that’s another story.

Sources

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

Barnett, Laura, ‘Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford: How we made Invisible Touch’, The Guardian (14 October 2014).

Bowler, Dave; Dray, Bryan (1992): Genesis. A biography. London: Sidgwick & Jackson.

CHESTER THOMPSON FULL INTERVIEW : HOW HE WENT FROM ZAPPA TO DRUMMING WITH GENESIS & PHIL COLLINS.

Genesis – Behind The Track (Land Of Confusion).

Hewitt, Alan, Opening the Musical Box – A Genesis Chronicle. (Firefly Publishing, 2000).

Holm-Hudson, Kevin (2008): Genesis and the lamb lies down on Broadway. Aldershot, England, Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

MIKE RUTHERFORD UNFILTERED: GENESIS GUITARIST/COMPOSER IN CONVERSATION.

PHIL COLLINS: HOW I GOT THE GENESIS AUDIENCES LAUGHING.

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

Room, Adrian (1990): An A to Z of British life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rutherford, Mike, The Living Years: The First Genesis Memoir. (Macmillan, 2014).

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

‘Tony Banks Interview from ‘Genesis Songbook DVD’.

TONY BANKS UNFILTERED: GENESIS KEYBOARD PLAYER & COMPOSER IN CONVERSATION . FULL.. 1 Hour 53 Mins.

Welch, Chris (2005): Genesis. The complete guide to their music. London: Omnibus Press.

  1. Collins 2007: 263. ↩︎
  2. in Platts 2007: 133. ↩︎
  3. Barnett, Laura, ‘Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford: How we made Invisible Touch’, The Guardian (14 October 2014). ↩︎
  4. Barnett, Laura, ‘Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford: How we made Invisible Touch’, The Guardian (14 October 2014). ↩︎
  5. Welch 2005: 68. ↩︎
  6. Bowler & Dray 1992: 202. ↩︎
  7. Ibid. ↩︎
  8. Genesis – Behind The Track (Land Of Confusion). ↩︎
  9. Tony Banks Interview from ‘Genesis Songbook DVD. ↩︎
  10. GENESIS ON THEIR 2007 LIVE TOUR – LOWERING THE KEY. COLLINS.BANKS.RUTHERFORD. BACK AT THE FARM .PT 3 (currently not available on YouTube.) ↩︎
  11. Rutherford 2014: p. 150. ↩︎
  12. Thompson 2005: 224. ↩︎
  13. MIKE RUTHERFORD UNFILTERED: GENESIS GUITARIST/COMPOSER IN CONVERSATION. ↩︎
  14. CHESTER THOMPSON FULL INTERVIEW : HOW HE WENT FROM ZAPPA TO DRUMMING WITH GENESIS & PHIL COLLINS. ↩︎
  15. Welch 2005: 70. ↩︎
  16. Welch 2005: 68. ↩︎
  17. Bowler & Dray 1992: 201; 205. ↩︎
  18. Thompson 2005: 225. ↩︎
  19. Platts 2007: 134. ↩︎
  20. TONY BANKS UNFILTERED: GENESIS KEYBOARD PLAYER & COMPOSER IN CONVERSATION . FULL.. 1 Hour 53 Mins. ↩︎
  21. MIKE RUTHERFORD UNFILTERED: GENESIS GUITARIST/COMPOSER IN CONVERSATION. ↩︎
  22. PHIL COLLINS: HOW I GOT THE GENESIS AUDIENCES LAUGHING. ↩︎
Posted on

Live Aid, July 13, 1985: Phil Collins appears in London and Philadelphia

Live_Aid_at_JFK_Stadium,_Philadelphia,_PA

On July 13, 1985, Phil Collins was the only performer to appear on both Live Aid shows in London and Philadelphia.

Phil Collins is all over the world

In the mid-1980s, it seemed as if Phil Collins had already achieved everything: As a solo artist and as a member of Genesis he had number one hit singles, chart-topping albums and sold-out world tours. By 1985, his third solo album No Jacket Required had been a massive success and produced hit singles that topped the charts worldwide. Phil Collins’ music was all over the world – and so would he be on July 13, 1985.

Phil Collins made rock history

On July 13, 1985, Phil Collins made rock history. He did something that no-one had done before (and probably not since): He appeared live on television around the world twice in a day from two different continents. And as usual with Phil, this had not been an elaborate act of profiling himself as an artist. It had been for the benefit of millions of starving people in Africa. The two appearances onstage and on television had been part of Live Aid, two shows that had been organized by Bob Geldof. The man of the day however, was Phil Collins.

Live Aid

The famous Live Aid concerts from 1985 were the continuation of the Band Aid single ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ from 1984, in which musician Bob Geldof had gathered many famous pop stars to raise money for the poor starving population in Ethiopia. The concept worked and half a year later, the Live Aid performances were celebrated with the same intention. There were two parallel concerts, one in London, one in Philadelphia, and the whole 80s pop world seemed to participate in the event. Phil Collins had already played drums on the the million-selling Band Aid single ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’. He did not sing on it, as he had recently recorded his own solo album and duets with Philip Bailey and Eric Clapton and the record company told him not to sing anymore until his album No Jacket Required had come out and the tour that followed.

So what exactly happened on July, 13, 1985, ‘the greatest day in the history of pop music’? Phil Collins proved the impossible, playing at both shows. He appeared at Wembley Stadium in London in the early afternoon and played ‘Against All Odds’ and ‘In The Air Tonight’ alone at the piano.

‘lt was blisteringly hot, the white stage. lt was so hot and l made a terrible mistake on ‘Against All Odds’ on the piano’, Phil remembers. ‘l thought, ‘Oh God, what a good start for the day this is.”1 The bum note was not only heard in front of 80,000 people in Wembley, but also by a global telly audience of 1 billion people.

Then he was joined by his friend Sting on guitar and vocals for ‘Long Long Way To To’ off No Jacket Required (Sting had also provided backing vocals for the studio version). Then the duo played ‘Every Breath You Take’. Afterwards, Phil left the stadium, crossed the Atlantic with a Concorde, and played his solo songs in Philadelphia the same way he did in London. In Philadelphia, he also joined his friends Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin. Phil had arrived at the John F. Kennedy Stadium at 7pm, was at the show at ten past, went to Eric to ask what they would play and then went onstage with him at 7.30pm. In between, he also rushed to Robert Plant’s caravan to have a chat with Led Zeppelin about their gig. This pretty much sums up the energy of Phil Collins in the 1980s.

Phil Collins had been an international superstar at this point, but his legendary performances as the only one who appeared at both Live Aid shows, certainly boosted his profile as a solo artist and personality.

Live Aid – The aftermath

Looking back, Live Aid was a terrible example of using clichés. It is the prime example of ‘rock musicians trying to help poor Africa’. The intention was certainly good, the realization was maybe good-hearted, but not that effective. The Christmas single with its awful lyrics (‘Do they know its Christmas time at all?’ – this is colonial thinking at its best) and the Live Aid performances raised a lot of money and made people aware of the problems, but the result was that much, if not all, of the money was taken by the corrupt Ethiopian government. They used it to prop up the brutal dictator Mengistu. Furthermore it turned out that part of the relief donations were diverted by a rebel group to buy weapons. And also, very little food and medicine left the port cities of Assab and Massawa. It was more important to unload military hardware from Soviet ships, leaving hundreds of thousands of tons of food rotting on the docks. Bob Geldof, founder of Live Aid, was seen on TV with Mengistu, smiling and joking around, as he handed over the famine money.

Geldof had actually been warned about Mengistu and his dismantling of tribes, resettlement marches and slaughterings in which 100,000 people died. However, here one can see how the charity for ‘poor Africa’ can turn out and how someone like Geldof, who might have had his best interests, can turn his favours against himself.

For Phil Collins, playing at both concerts helped him gain even more popularity and becoming a proper international superstar. He also helped the event to become even more memorable.

Title photo: Live Aid at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, PA. Source: Wikimedia Commons, own work. Author: Squelle. / CC-BY-SA-2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0).

*= affiliate link

  1. Phil Collins – A Life Less Ordinary (Documentary – 2002) ↩︎
Posted on

The end of the Invisible Touch Tour at Wembley 1987

On July 4, 1987, Genesis finished their gigantic Invisible Touch tour at Wembley Stadium. It was the fourth sold out night in a row at Wembley.

Invisible Touch

In 1986, Genesis released the album Invisible Touch. It became their most successful album, peaking at #1 in the U.K. and #3 in the U.S. It produced five hit singles: ‘Invisible Touch’, ‘Tonight Tonight Tonight’, ‘Land of Confusion’, ‘In Too Deep’ and ‘Throwing It All Away’. Songs like the title track, ‘Tonight, Tonight, Tonight’ and ‘Land Of Confusion’ with its famous spitting image video would dominate the radio and music TV stations and the international charts of 1986/1987. Genesis were everywhere and bigger than ever. So of course, the band went on a massive tour through North America, Australia, Japan and Europe before finishing in Britain with four sold-out nights at Wembley Stadium in front of 300,000 people.

Purchase Invisible Touch here on Amazon!*

The Invisible Touch tour

The tour began in the U.S. in September 1986 and included 112 dates and sold close to two million tickets. It ended in July 1987. In Australia and New Zealand, the five-man line-up was accompanied by a four-piece string section on ‘In Too Deep’ and ‘Your Own Special Way’. They had to invite the quartet because of local regulations that required them to employ local musicians.

At this time, the band was not only a hit-machine, but a working and brilliant live act. The Vari Lite light show was impressive as always. The band had much material to rely on, but chose mainly new songs from their hit album and the albums before.

The shows were always opened with ‘Mama’ (which sometimes lacked a bit of atmosphere in daylight) and ended with the ‘Turn It On Again’ hit medley that the band had established on the previous tour. The medley included ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’, ‘Satisfaction’, ‘Twist and Shout’, ‘Pinball Wizard’, ‘All Day and All of the Night’ and ‘Karma Chameleon’.

Older songs in the set included ‘Los Endos’, ‘Home By The Sea’ (including it’s meanwhile standard ghost-story introduction) and another ‘In The Cage’ medley. When the tour began, they had played ‘In That Quiet Earth’ and the second half of the epic ‘Supper’s Ready’ after ‘In The Cage’. However, during the tour Phil had difficulties reaching the higher notes in ‘Supper’s Ready’, so by the middle of the tour they had gone back to the usual ending of ‘In That Quiet Earth’ and ‘Afterglow’.

New songs included ‘Domino’ (with another – soon to be famous – introduction by Phil), ‘Tonight, Tonight, Tonight’, ‘Throwing It All Away’, where the call-and-response singing developed throughout the tour, and ‘Invisible Touch’ itself.

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 got to Wembley, they had performed the set so often that it had become a true piece of fine art and musicianship. Interestingly, only two shows were scheduled at Wembley, but the demand for tickets was so high, that a third and then a record-breaking fourth night were added. Genesis ended in Guinness World Records until Michael Jackson sold out Wembley Stadiums on seven nights on his Bad World Tour one year later.

The Wembley shows were filmed and released as video and as DVD in 2003. Unfortunately the famous ‘In The Cage’ medley was left out of the release because on every night, the tapes had to be changed during that song.

Apart from that, the results and the performance are astonishing. The band truly ended the tour on a high note there. Looking back at the videos and listening to the songs and performances, we can say that Genesis were at their peak at this very point at Wembley Stadium. Afterwards, the fans had to wait four more years for a new Genesis record.

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).

Listen to songs recorded at Wembley in 1987 on “Genesis – BBC Broadcasts” – Get it here!*

Genesis Music on Amazon*

Purchase Live at Wembley here on Amazon!*

*= affiliate link

  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. ↩︎
Posted on

Steve Hackett’s last show with Genesis

On July 3, 1977, Genesis played the last show of their Wind And Wuthering tour and (unbeknown to them at that point) also the last show with lead guitarist Steve Hackett.

Wind And Wuthering

In December 1976, Genesis had released Wind and Wuthering, their second album since Peter Gabriel’s departure. The band had become a foursome the year before, drummer Phil Collins had taken over the vocal duties. He had proved that he could fill this role easily on the previous album A Trick of the Tail and the following tour in 1976.

By this point, keyboardist Tony Banks and guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford were the main songwriters with Phil Collins being more of a player and arranger. Guitarist Steve Hackett felt that not enough of his material was used. He was frustrated about his role in the group and decided to leave Genesis after the 1977 tour.

The Wind & Wuthering tour

The band set out for a huge tour in 1977 that would lead them to South America for the first time and through Europe and the US. On drums, they were accompanied by American drummer Chester Thompson. It was his first tour with them and he would remain with the band as a live drummer until 2007 (with a short interruption in the 1990s).

Genesis reached a new peak in live performances and was voted ‘Best live group’ in 1977. This was captured in the double live album Seconds Out.

The last show

The last show of the tour (and also Steve Hackett’s last show as a member of Genesis) took place in the Olympiahalle, Munich, on July 3, 1977. They opened the set with ‘Squonk’ as they had done throughout most of the tour, then they played ‘One For The Vine’, a Banks composition from the new album. ‘Inside And Out’ from the recent EP Spot The Pigeon was added on some European dates and was also played in Munich. Among the highlights of the show were songs like ‘The Carpet Crawlers’, ‘I Know What I Like’ and ‘Supper’s Ready’, some of which had changed a lot since the days when Peter Gabriel sang them. Also, the band had started to play medleys on the tour before and continued to do so on the Wind & Wuthering tour. ‘Dance On A Volcano’ and ‘Los Endos’ were combined as well as ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’ and the closing section of ‘The Musical Box’. The band also played ‘Firth Of Fifth’ that night in which Steve plays the famous guitar solo. Neither the fans nor the band knew that they had witnessed him playing it live for the last time.

Steve leaves the band

Steve Hackett had been the first Genesis member to record a solo album. There, he included some of the music that was not used on Genesis albums. During the period as a four-piece-band, he wanted to have a certain percentage on each album for his own songs. The others disagreed; they were a democratic band. So he started recording solo albums and felt that his input on Genesis albums became less and less.

Also, when the band mixed the live album Seconds Out in July 1977, he could not stand listening to tracks like ‘I Know What I Like’ anymore after having played them for months at this point. Also, he felt that after playing shows with audiences of 20.000 people, there was nothing new to strive for. So one day he phoned Mike Rutherford and told him he wanted to leave. Mike knew that Steve had been unhappy in Genesis for some time, so he did not try to talk him out of it. Later that day or the following day, Phil Collins drove from West London to Trident Studios, where they mixed the live album. He passed Steve on the street and told him to jump into the car. Steve acted a bit oddly, said ‘Speak to Mike, he’ll explain’ and went off. When Phil arrived at the studio, Tony and Mike informed him that Steve had left the band.

The three remaining members then went on mixing Seconds Out and afterwards went into the studio to record their next album. They would remain a three-piece-band in the studio for the rest of their career and Steve Hackett would continue his career as a solo artist.

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.

*= affiliate link

Posted on

Genesis at Reading Festival 1971

Reading Festival Line Up 1973

On June 26, 1971, Genesis appeared at Reading Festival for the first time.

Peter Gabriel had broken his ankle

On their first appearance at Reading Festival, Genesis were low on the bill. Other artists that performed at the festival were Lindisfarne, Terry Reid, Renaissance and Sha Na Na. There were the usual problems that a festival and its visitors have to deal with: Rain, mud and an unscheduled police squad. For Genesis, the gig at Reading followed the incident at the Friars Club, where Peter Gabriel had broken his ankle.

On June 19th, Genesis had played at Friars in Aylesbury and during the encore of ‘The Knife’, Peter Gabriel had jumped into the crowd. Unfortunately, the audience parted when they saw him coming and he hit the floor, breaking his ankle. Following the incident, he played at least one show in a wheelchair at the art college in Lincoln. Tour manager, roadie, sound engineer and friend of the band Richard Macphail remembers: ‘And it scared the pants of me, because the stage was like a traditional theatre stage that sloped towards the audience. He was wildly cavorting in this wheelchair on this stage. I thought he was going to fall off the stage and break his neck!’1 Luckily, he did not and the band could play Reading Festival at June 26, 1971.

Reading Festival

The 11th National Jazz and Blues festival took place in Reading for the first time that year. Before, the event had taken place in Richmond, Windsor, Sunbury and Plumpton, but each time, the locals had complained, so the festival had to move on. The festival usually takes place in August, so admittedly it is a bit unclear to the author why the festival took place on 25, 26, and 27 June 1971. The ticket names the location as ‘Thames-side Arena, Richfield Avenue’ and the festival is titled ‘Reading Festival of folk and progressive music’. The ticket for Saturday, June 26, cost £1.50.

Over the next few years, the festival would become one of the leading British rock festivals. Not only the greatest bands of the age played there, but it was also the birthplace for future superstars. Organizer Harold Pendleton was allowed to stage the festival in Reading, because the local council wanted to celebrate the town’s 1000th anniversary and really believed it to be a jazz and blues festival, which it had originally been in the 1960s.

Genesis performed on Saturday

In 1971, Genesis was not the only act of Charisma Records that played at Reading Festival. As mentioned, Lindisfarne were there as well as Van der Graaf Generator, and Bell & Arc and Audience. Other notable acts that year were Arthur Brown, Rory Gallagher, Wishbone Ash, Medicine Head, Osibisa, Ian Matthews and Ralph McTell.

Due to their low billing, Genesis played midafternoon on the second day of the festival. Their performance was highlighted as one of the best of the event, and consequentially, they were invited back for the next two festivals.

During the summer of 1971, Genesis started to appear at outdoor rock festivals. Steve Hackett remembers that it used to rain for the first five years they played at festivals in England or Europe, always resulting in a mud bath. At Reading Festival, the power was fluctuating and the band could not get the organ in tune (and that meant that the Mellotron would be even worse to tune). They also tuned their twelve-string guitars in the dressing rooms and by the time they got on stage, they were already out of tune. Tuning a twelve-string guitar in front of an audience was almost impossible.

Not a festival band

Tony Banks thinks that Genesis were never a good festival group. It was difficult to build a dramatic atmosphere in daylight and most of the audiences did not really understand the long song with lots of chord changes. Also, the sound was mostly rubbish. Nevertheless, they builded a live following and got a reputation of being a good live band for festivals, but the best times were when they could play after dark at the end of a day with their own fans in the audience. However, at their first appearance at Reading, they already got some fans waving their Genesis flag during the gig.

Photo: Reading Festival Line Up 1973. Reading-festivaalin vuoden 1973 esiintyjälista Source: Wikimedia Commons, National Jazz, Blues and Rock Festival. / CC-BY-SA-2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0).

* = affiliate links

  1. Platts, Robin, Genesis. Behind the lines, 1967-2007. (Burlington, Ont., Canada: Collectors Guide Pub., 2007), p. 44. ↩︎
Posted on

Genesis’ First Gig Abroad: Belgium, March 7, 1971

Genesis played their first-ever overseas concert on March 7, 1971, at La Ferme in Woluwe St. Lambert, Belgium. This landmark performance marked a significant step in the band’s journey, as they ventured beyond the UK for the first time.

Trespass Had Charted in Belgium

At the start of 1971, Genesis had yet to achieve major success in their home country. However, things were different on the continent: their second album, Trespass, had reached number one in Belgium. Encouraged by this unexpected success, the band – now featuring new members Phil Collins on drums and Steve Hackett on guitar – headed to Belgium for their first international show.

A Rough Journey Across the Channel

The band crossed the English Channel on an overnight ferry, but sleep was out of the question. Unable to afford cabins, they spent the night sitting on deck – while Phil, suffering from seasickness, spent most of it throwing up. Running on little more than beer and sandwiches, they arrived in Belgium the next morning, drove straight to the venue, and played.

The Setlist: A Mix of Old and New

The setlist featured songs from Trespass, live favorites, and two brand-new tracks. As was typical for Genesis at the time, the performance started with acoustic material before building up to heavier numbers. Fortunately, a recording of this historic gig exists, allowing us to hear most of the show (though some parts are missing). It also contains the only known live recording of the rare song “The Light”, which features early elements that would later evolve into The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’s “Lilywhite Lilith.”

Opening with a New Song

The show began with the band’s latest composition, “Happy The Man” – introduced by Peter Gabriel as a song about a man who “eats his fingernails, probably.” Built around a Mike Rutherford riff, the song had a laid-back, folk-rock feel, reminiscent of Lindisfarne. It was an attempt at a radio-friendly single, and in this live version, it was performed at a slightly slower tempo.

Next came “Stagnation” from Trespass – which Gabriel jokingly described as being about “people with bad breath.” This live rendition, enhanced by Phil Collins’ drumming, had a swing that was missing from the studio version.

The Only Recorded Performance of “The Light”

After a few minutes of Peter’s humorous attempts to introduce the band, they launched into “The Light” – a rarity in Genesis’ catalog. The song’s opening bass riff would later be repurposed for “Lilywhite Lilith”, and Steve Hackett’s guitar parts would also find their way into that track. “The Light” then developed into a full-fledged progressive rock piece, featuring an extended instrumental jam between Tony Banks and Hackett. Eventually, the song returned to a section that closely resembled the later Lamb Lies Down classic. Compared to other Genesis compositions from this era, “The Light” stands out as a unique and intriguing experiment.

A Blend of Familiar and Unfinished Material

Next, the band slowed things down with “Twilight Alehouse”, a live staple at the time. The dramatic organ-driven climax showcased Tony Banks’ signature style. Then came another brand-new song: “The Musical Box”, which Peter introduced in both English and French. This early version was slightly different from the one that would appear on Nursery Cryme later that year. There was extra instrumental material before the “And the clock” section, which was repeated twice. Tony’s keyboard solo was extended, while Steve Hackett’s was shorter – unsurprising, as he had only been with the band for two months. Even the song’s now-iconic climax had subtle differences in Gabriel’s vocal delivery.

The band then launched into the Trespass classic “The Knife”, which Peter introduced in French. Tony’s organ led the charge, Mike Rutherford’s bass provided the driving force, and Steve Hackett – though still getting to grips with the song’s solos – delivered a strong performance by the end. Unfortunately, Peter’s flute section in the middle is missing from the recording. The audience, however, responded with enthusiasm, applauding loudly.

For the encore, Genesis performed “Going Out to Get You”, an early track that Peter described as “a very old number about passion.” Tony Banks dominated the piece, and Steve Hackett was barely audible – at times, it even seemed as if he wasn’t playing at all.

A Glimpse Into Genesis’ Creative Process

Listening to this rare recording is fascinating – not just because it includes unreleased songs, but also because it captures the band in the midst of developing their material, both musically and lyrically. Most notably, it features the only known live performance of “The Light”, making it an essential piece of Genesis history.

An Exhausting but Pivotal Moment

The concert was a success and a crucial milestone for Genesis. After the show, the exhausted band made their way back to the UK on the ferry, with Phil Collins limping home, nearly collapsing from sheer fatigue. Despite the rough journey, this first step into the international spotlight marked the beginning of Genesis’ rise as one of progressive rock’s most important bands.

Photo: FOH PA mixing desk and associated gear for Genesis at a concert in the Liverpool Empire, 1970s, precise year unknown. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Rodhullandemu / CC-BY-SA-2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0).

Posted on

Peter Gabriel’s First Solo Gig

Peter Gabriel’s first performance as a solo artist took place at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, on either March 2, 3, or 5, 1977.

The Album and the Tour

His debut album, Peter Gabriel, had been released in February 1977 and featured the hit single “Solsbury Hill.” Just like the album, the tour carried the motto: Expect the Unexpected. Gabriel assembled a band of top studio musicians and old friends to bring his new music to life.

Photo of Tony Levin during his visit to Caracas (Venezuela), playing bass for Peter Gabriel.

One of those musicians was Tony Levin on bass. Having already worked with artists like Paul Simon, Levin joined Gabriel for this tour and has been with him ever since. In fact, he remains the only musician from that first album who still plays with Gabriel today.

The rest of the lineup for the first gig and the initial leg of the tour included Allan Schwartzberg on drums, Larry Fast on synthesizers, Steve Hunter on guitars, Jimmy Maelen on percussion, and Phil Aaberg on keyboards.

A somewhat surprising addition to the tour was Robert Fripp, who had played on the album and joined as a live guitarist under the alias “Dusty Rhodes.” Fripp, known for his distaste for the traditional rock-tour experience, often positioned himself behind the amplifiers or even offstage. He preferred to be introduced as “the completely unknown Dusty Rhodes.”

When Was the First Show?

The exact date of Gabriel’s first solo performance remains uncertain, with sources citing March 2, 3, or 5. Regardless of the precise date, the opening of the show was both deliberate and striking. Gabriel took the stage alone, performing “Here Comes the Flood” with only his voice, piano, and Fripp’s guitar. It was a bold statement – shedding the elaborate masks and costumes of his Genesis days and presenting himself simply as a musician, dressed in jogging clothes.

The full band joined in for the second song, “On the Air,” with its driving synths instantly energizing the crowd. “Moribund the Burgermeister,” which some saw as a callback to his Genesis style, felt a bit rigid in its live rendition. But “Solsbury Hill,” his first solo hit, resonated with the audience, particularly with American fans who had discovered him through the song. Live, the tracks sounded less orchestrated than on the album – leaner, punchier, and more aggressive.

Surprising Cover Songs and a Relaxed Band

Alongside his solo material, Gabriel included a few unexpected cover songs in the set. Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar” paid tribute to his love of soul music, while The Kinks’ “All Day and All of the Night” was performed with a raw, heavy edge. The mostly American backing band was not only professional but also visibly enjoying themselves – especially during the R&B cover. The atmosphere on stage was relaxed and playful, something that even well-established bands sometimes struggle to achieve live. Gabriel himself seemed to revel in the experience.

The Fans’ Expectations

For the encore, Gabriel returned to the stage in Rael’s signature leather jacket, jeans, and T-shirt to perform “Back in N.Y.C.” from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. He was well aware that fans expected both his solo material and some Genesis songs. Throughout the show, some attendees had expressed disappointment at the minimal staging and the exclusive focus on his solo work. However, when he launched into “Back in N.Y.C.,” the audience erupted, leaving them wanting more.

And they got it. Peter Gabriel went on to become a hugely successful solo artist with a unique and ever-evolving career. Looking back today, his time with Genesis is merely a footnote in a career that firmly established him as one of the most distinctive voices in music history.

Photo: Peter Gabriel, Chateau Neuf, Oslo, Norway. Description=Peter Gabriel at Chateau Neuf in Oslo, Norway on August 31st 1978 |Source=http://www.helgeoveras.com/gabriel.shtml |Date=August 31st 1978 |Author=Helge Øverås (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0).

Posted on

The ‘Turn It On Again’ Reunion Tour

On 11 June 2007, Genesis kicked off their long-awaited ‘Turn It On Again’ reunion tour in Helsinki, marking the official return of Phil Collins as lead vocalist.

The Reunion Announcement

On 7 November 2006, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins held a press conference to announce that Genesis would reunite for a European summer tour in 2007, followed by a North American leg in the autumn. It was the first time Collins had officially rejoined the band since leaving in 1996, despite a few brief appearances over the years.

Joining them on stage were longtime touring members Chester Thompson (drums) and Daryl Stuermer (guitar/bass), both of whom had not performed with Genesis since the We Can’t Dance Tour in 1992.

Rehearsing After 15 Years

The band’s first full show was scheduled for 11 June in Helsinki. With no new album to promote, Genesis had the freedom to revisit their extensive back catalogue. But rehearsing after a 15-year hiatus came with unexpected challenges.

Tony and Mike not only had to relearn many of the songs, they also had to transpose them to accommodate Phil’s deeper vocal range. Phil, in turn, had to reacquaint himself with lyrics, particularly those written by Tony Banks, which he had always found tricky. Songs like “Domino” and “Home By The Sea” with lines such as “Sheets of double glazing” or “Nylon sheets and blankets” had always tested his memory.

Listening back to past live performances, Phil noticed how often he had deviated from the original songs. For this tour, he made a conscious effort to stick to the original versions.

On top of that, he had to get back into Genesis drumming shape. While he had continued to play on solo tours, most notably during “In the Air Tonight”, tackling complex pieces like “Second Home By The Sea” required serious effort. Thankfully, Chester and Daryl were there to support the process, with Daryl even helping Tony and Mike remember their own parts.

Despite the time apart, the old chemistry was still intact. In fact, the dynamic between the three had improved. Tony and Mike had mellowed with age, while Phil had grown more serious. This allowed them to communicate more openly, discussing things they wouldn’t have dared bring up 15 years earlier.

The Setlist

Genesis had a vast library of music to choose from and the setlist reflected that. Fan favourites like “Follow You Follow Me”, “Invisible Touch”, “Mama”, and “I Can’t Dance” were all included.

One highlight was a heavier version of “Land of Confusion”, clearly influenced by Disturbed’s popular metal cover. It gave the song a modern edge and fresh energy.

The band also included more intricate tracks from the later years, such as “Domino” and “Home By The Sea”, two of Tony Banks’s personal favourites. They opened the show with a medley titled “Duke’s Intro”, combining the instrumental from “Behind the Lines” with a section of “Duke’s End”. It made for a powerful, dramatic opening that set the tone for the entire night.

Phil played more drums than he had on previous tours, and for “I Know What I Like”, he even brought back the iconic tambourine dance from 1976, something he had to rehearse again after years off.

Two surprises in the setlist were “Ripples”, from 1976’s A Trick of the Tail (Phil’s first album as lead vocalist), and a fragment of “Duke’s Travels”, which was folded into a medley. In fact, the set covered nearly every album from 1973 onwards. Each show ended on a high note with the emotional “Carpet Crawlers”, a beloved classic from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

Behind the Scenes

Stage design for the tour was handled by the legendary Mark Fisher, while Patrick Woodroffe created a stunning lighting design. A massive screen behind the band displayed visuals tailored to each song, giving every track a unique atmosphere.

Nick Davis oversaw the live sound, and the band partnered with the Encore Series to offer high-quality soundboard recordings of every show, making each concert available to fans.

Opening Night in Helsinki

The tour kicked off in Helsinki on a warm summer night. The band delivered a flawless performance, the visuals hit every cue, and fans were thrilled to see Genesis live once again.

Phil would later reflect that while many had hoped for a new Genesis album, the ‘Turn It On Again’ tour felt more like a farewell than a comeback. The band continued through North America in the autumn before bringing the curtain down.

Looking back, all involved agreed: the best part of the tour wasn’t just the music, it was the joy of being back with old friends and laughing together again.

Photo: Genesis, ofwel: Phil Collins, Michael Rutherford, Tony Banks, Chester Thompson en Daryl Stuermer.}} |Source=Maikel Koek, via Wikiportrait |Date= |Author=Maikel Koek |Permission={{Wikiportrait|2008041010026495}} (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0).

Posted on

Archive I 1967 – 1975 (1998) – Genesis

In June 1998, Genesis released their first of two ‘Archive’ box sets: Archive 1967 – 1975 covers the era with Peter Gabriel as lead vocalist.

The plans to release ‘Archive’ box sets dated back to 1994

After the release of their last studio album Calling All Stations* in 1997, Genesis began putting together unreleased material from their history. The idea dated back to 1994. Originally there were plans to release three box sets. The first would have featured the Gabriel years, the second the period from the mid 1970’s to the early 80’s and the last the period from the mid 80’s to the early 90’s.

But over the years, there were delays and plans were changed. The recordings were released on two box sets, the first one being Archive 1967-75* , released in 1998, the second one being Genesis Archive 2 1976-1992*, released in 2000, which covers the era with Phil Collins on lead vocals. Both sets feature unreleased live performances, studio tracks and demo songs.

A complete live performance of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Archive 1967 – 1975 is a box set that includes four discs. The mixing was done by Genesis producer Nick Davis. The first two discs feature a complete live performance of Genesis’ magnum opus The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway*. When the band toured the concept album in 1974/75, they played the whole double album. After this tour, Peter Gabriel left the band. The live performance in the box set is from The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. Unfortunately, most of Peter Gabriel’s stories about the adventures of Rael between the songs were left out.

Peter Gabriel re-recorded his vocals at Real World Studios in 1995

Also, it is not a completely live recording. Peter Gabriel and former lead guitarist Steve Hackett re-recorded some of their parts in 1995. You can hear the difference in Gabriel’s voice if you compare the studio versions from 1974 to the live version on Archive I. Gabriel recorded his vocals at his Real World Studios. Also, the last song ‘It’, fades out because the tape machine at the Shrine ran out halfway through the song.

The live performance in general sounds more powerful than the studio version and the crowd seems to be enthusiastic. Apart from that, the songs are almost identical to the studio versions. The only exception is ‘The Waiting Room (Evil Jam)’, which was an instrumental with lots of space for improvisation that was therefore played differently every night. Apart from that, especially the title track, ‘Fly On A Windshield’ and ‘Carpet Crawlers’ stand out.

A live performance of ‘Supper’s Ready’ from 1973

Disc 3 includes live performances from the Rainbow Theatre in London, recorded on the Selling England By the Pound* tour in 1973. We finally get to hear songs like ‘Dancing With The Moonlight Knight’ and ‘Supper’s Ready’ live with Peter on vocals on an official release. Here, the stories are included. It also features a 1971 BBC recording of ‘Stagnation’ and b-sides and studio tracks from that era like ‘Twilight Alehouse’ and ‘Happy The Man.’

The last disc is the most interesting one, at least for the fans. It features songs from the band’s earliest period, still with Anthony Phillips on guitar. There are BBC sessions and many demo songs. You can hear the band becoming Genesis on this disc. Some of the tracks are real gems, from the early version of ‘Dusk’ to the appealing ‘Hey!’. There is an atmosphere in these early recordings that went missing after Ant Phillips left the band.

Apart from the four discs, there is a 82-page booklet which contains the band’s history and interviews with band members and associates.

So Archive 1967 – 1975 is a quite interesting box set. We finally get to hear official live versions of Gabriel-era songs sung by him. The only official live release with him had been Live* from 1973, which only covers songs from Trespass*, Nursery Cryme* and Foxtrot*. The inclusion of b-sides and unreleased studio tracks like ‘Twilight Alehouse’ make this box set special. Some would argue that disc 4 is only for the hardcore fans, but it also is the most surprising and most interesting of the four discs. Unfortunately some rare tracks and demos that are known to exist did not make it onto the box set. But all in all, Archive 1967-75 is an extraordinary release. Fans seemed to agree with that: It reached no. 35 in the UK charts in 1998.

The band met at Heathrow Airport to promote the release

To promote the release of Archive I, Genesis members past and present reunited for a photo shoot (and a following dinner) at Heathrow Airport in May 1998. There were Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Anthony Phillips, former drummer John Silver, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford. The band’s first drummer Chris Stewart only made it to the dinner. Trespass-era drummer John Mayhew did not attend the event.

Genesis’ next ‘Archive’ release would be in 2000. It would be entitled Archive II 1976 – 1992 and feature the period with Phil Collins as lead vocalist.

*= affiliate link