159-708: Anthony Edwin Phillips (born 23 December 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, producer and singer who gained prominence as the original lead guitarist of the rock band Genesis , from 1967 to 1970. He left in July 1970 and learned to play more instruments, before he began a solo career. His departure from Genesis on the eve of the group's breakthrough to mainstream popularity has led him to be dubbed "the Pete Best of progressive rock " (though unlike Best, Phillips left voluntarily). Phillips released his first solo album, The Geese &
318-503: A Mellotron previously owned by King Crimson to his set of keyboards. The opening track, " The Musical Box ", originated when Phillips and Mayhew were in the group. The band developed the piece further including the addition of new guitar parts from Hackett. "The Musical Box" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" are the first recordings in which Hackett uses the tapping technique. Hackett and Collins wrote "For Absent Friends", which
477-463: A 30-minute track based on a fictional character named Albert, but the idea was cancelled to avoid comparisons to "Supper's Ready" from Foxtrot . In November, the band recorded Duke at Polar Studios with Hentschel reprising his role as producer. Its cover was by French illustrator Lionel Koechlin and featured the character Albert. Released in March 1980, Duke was the band's biggest commercial success at
636-401: A change in the band's sound with songs becoming more pop-oriented, including the group-written track " Follow You Follow Me ". Collins recalled it was the only song on the album written from scratch during rehearsals. Rutherford felt comfortable taking on lead guitar duties in addition to his usual rhythm and bass roles, although the band had considered auditioning replacement guitarists or using
795-412: A compromise by removing their name from the album cover, resulting in a minimalist design with the album title printed on a plain black background. When the album was released in March 1969, it became a commercial failure because many record shops filed it in the religious music section upon seeing the title. Banks recalled that "after a year or so", the album had "sold 649 copies". A third single, "Where
954-622: A considerable amount of writing sessions due to difficulties with his wife's first birth was something about which Rutherford and Banks "were horribly unsupportive". Gabriel also left the group when director William Friedkin asked him to write a screenplay, but returned after the project was shelved. In August 1974, production moved to Glaspant Manor in Carmarthenshire , Wales with Burns as co-producer, operating Island Studios' mobile equipment. Further work and mixing took place at Island, where Brian Eno contributed synthesizers and effects that
1113-555: A cottage owned by Macphail's parents, in Wotton , Surrey, to write, rehearse and develop their stage performance. They took their work seriously, playing together for as much as eleven hours a day. Their first live gig as Genesis followed in September 1969 at a teenager's birthday. It was the start of a series of live shows in small venues across the UK, which included a radio performance broadcast on
1272-450: A demo tape at a friend's home-made studio, inviting Banks, Gabriel and Stewart to record with them in the process. The group recorded six songs: "Don't Want You Back", "Try a Little Sadness", "She's Beautiful", "That's Me", "Listen on Five" and "Patricia", an instrumental. When they wished to have them professionally recorded they sought Charterhouse alumnus Jonathan King , who seemed a natural choice as their publisher and producer following
1431-698: A demonstration at The Farm, the band and Smith showed an immediate interest in the technology and became shareholders of the company. In May 1982, three tracks recorded during the Abacab sessions – " Paperlate ", "You Might Recall" and "Me and Virgil" – were released as an EP in Europe, 3×3 , which peaked at No. 10 in the UK. Its cover is a homage to the Twist and Shout EP by the Beatles , with sleeve notes written by that group's former publicist Tony Barrow . Basically, we reached
1590-439: A farmhouse with an adjoining cowshed near Chiddingfold , Surrey, as their new rehearsal and recording facility. The building was remodelled into a studio in four months before recording for Abacab began in March 1981. The new environment had a productive effect on the writing process as the band wrote enough for a double album, but they discarded one hour's worth of songs that sounded too similar to their past albums. Banks said
1749-650: A fox's head. The incident resulted in front cover reports in the music press, allowing the band to double their performance fee. In December 1972 Stratton Smith organised the band's first gigs in the US, with a show at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts and one at Philharmonic Hall in New York City with openers String Driven Thing , in aid of the United Cerebral Palsy Fund . They were well received despite
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#17328557905951908-402: A knife slash across the front, was designed by Paul Whitehead . It was the first of three covers designed by Whitehead for the band. Shortly after recording, Phillips decided to leave the group, which almost caused Genesis to split. After discussing the situation, they agreed to continue, and replaced Mayhew with drummer and singer Phil Collins before they resumed touring. Trespass was not
2067-466: A live act with Rutherford adding bass pedals and Banks playing lead guitar lines on a Pianet through a distorted fuzz box amplifier in addition to his keyboard parts, something that he credits in helping him develop his technique. In November 1970, after a second audition with Caryl fell through, Dave Stopps, owner of Friars club in Aylesbury , suggested they use Mick Barnard of The Farm, who joined
2226-644: A major success upon release; it failed to chart in the UK and the US and it received some mixed reviews from critics, but it was commercially successful in Belgium, which helped sustain the band's career. A reissue briefly charted the UK top 100 in 1984. In August 1969, Genesis decided to become a professional band. The founders – guitarist Anthony Phillips , bassist Mike Rutherford , vocalist and flautist Peter Gabriel , and keyboardist Tony Banks – had been joined by drummer John Silver . They split from producer Jonathan King and decided to write more complex material than
2385-443: A member of Garden Wall , another disbanded school group, to play keyboards. Banks agreed, and suggested involving his Garden Wall bandmates, singer Peter Gabriel (the same one who was the drummer for Spoken Word) and drummer Chris Stewart . After the five made a demo tape, it was given to Jonathan King , who signed them to his publishing company and had them record some singles. He named the group Genesis , and suggested they record
2544-584: A more humorous rapport with the audience, unlike Gabriel's theatrical approach, which was successful. The shows in Glasgow and Stafford were filmed for their concert film Genesis: In Concert , released in cinemas in February 1977 as a double bill with White Rock . In September 1976, Genesis relocated to Relight Studios at Hilvarenbeek in the Netherlands with Hentschel to record Wind & Wuthering . It
2703-423: A more proficient musician. In 1974, he became a qualified music teacher and gave lessons to students. By 1977, he was playing classical guitar and piano, and studied orchestration. After leaving Genesis, Phillips studied classical music (especially classical guitar) and made recordings in collaboration with Harry Williamson , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins , among others. His first solo album, The Geese &
2862-645: A new album, Genesis recorded Selling England by the Pound at Island Studios in August 1973, the second Genesis album that Burns co-produced. Much of it was written at Una Billings School of Dance and Chessington . Gabriel contributed lyrics based on the idea of commercialism and the decline of English culture and the rise in American influences. Its title refers to a UK Labour Party slogan to make it clear to music critics who may have thought Genesis were beginning to "sell out" to
3021-548: A new album. Anthony joined them as their producer and engineer, and the songs were recorded on 16-track tape . Phillips remembered that recording was "slightly more sophisticated" than on From Genesis to Revelation , with the 16-track capability allowing them to multitrack solos, "which would have been unheard of on the previous album." Rutherford and Phillips thought Anthony disliked having someone "drop in" individual parts, remembering by way of example that while recording "Stagnation", Rutherford had to listen to several minutes of
3180-400: A new guitarist and drummer began with advertisements placed in copies of Melody Maker . The invitation was spotted by drummer Phil Collins , formerly of Flaming Youth , who already knew Stratton Smith. He recalled, "My only knowledge of Genesis was through seeing the ads for their gigs. It seemed like they were constantly working. ... I thought 'At least I'm going to be working if I get
3339-530: A noticeable role "isn't the Genesis that everyone came to know". Following the band's growth in popularity in the 1980s, Trespass reached its peak of No. 98 in the UK for one week in 1984. Shortly after recording Trespass , Phillips quit the group. He had confided in Rutherford (his long-time friend) that he was thinking of leaving after a concert at Kingston Polytechnic on 9 July 1970, and announced to
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#17328557905953498-503: A number of tribute bands recreating Genesis shows from various stages of the band's career. In 2010, Genesis were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . The founding members of Genesis, Peter Gabriel , Tony Banks , Anthony “Ant” Phillips , Mike Rutherford and drummer Chris Stewart , met at Charterhouse School , a public school in Godalming , Surrey . Banks and Gabriel arrived at
3657-535: A one-off concert with Gabriel at the Milton Keynes Bowl under the name Six of the Best . The concert was organised to raise money for Gabriel's World of Music, Arts and Dance project that was, by that point, in considerable debt. Hackett, who flew in from abroad, arrived in time to perform the last two songs. Work on the twelfth Genesis album, Genesis , began in March 1983 with Padgham returning as engineer. It
3816-452: A pastiche of the Bee Gees , one of King's favourite bands, which was recorded with orchestral arrangements added by Arthur Greenslade . The group exchanged various names for the band, including King's suggestion of "Gabriel's Angels", before taking King's suggestion of "Genesis", indicating the start of his production career. King chose "The Silent Sun" as their first single, with "That's Me" on
3975-790: A period of inactivity as Collins's marriage was at risk of collapse after touring had made him frequently absent from his wife and children. Following a meeting with Banks, Rutherford and Smith, Collins went to Vancouver, British Columbia , Canada, to try and rebuild the family. He explained: "I was never going to leave the band. It was just that if I was going to be living in Vancouver then we'd have had to organise ourselves differently." Banks and Rutherford decided to put Genesis on an extended break and make their respective debut solo albums, A Curious Feeling and Smallcreep's Day , at Polar Studios in Stockholm , Sweden . In April 1979, Collins returned to
4134-412: A period of intense songwriting in between concerts which would produce the bulk of the material for Trespass . The group wanted to branch out from their earlier pop-oriented style, and write and perform songs that were unlike any other band at the time. Banks was also transitioning his main instrument from piano to Hammond organ, which was a difficult process for him. Rutherford later said that gigging
4293-458: A picture of a woman and did not credit Phillips or Williamson, which led to it often being filed under "female vocalist" in record shops. In the mid-1990s, he released an album entitled The Living Room Concert , which featured solo acoustic versions of his earlier material. He also provided archival material for the first Genesis box set, Genesis Archive 1967–75 , released in 1998. Several of his albums feature artwork by Peter Cross . In 2008,
4452-607: A professional band, touring the local university circuit, with new drummer John Mayhew . Mayhew, the oldest and most experienced musician, came from a different background to the rest of the band. Phillips recalled that, despite their efforts to make him feel comfortable, the drummer was unsure of his playing. Also in November, Genesis friend and ex-schoolmate Richard MacPhail arranged for them to take up residence in his family's abandoned weekend retreat house in Wotton, Surrey , called Christmas Cottage. Genesis remained there for six months,
4611-494: A recording contract with Charisma Records, and entered Trident Studios in London in July 1970 to record Trespass . The music marked a departure from more pop-oriented songs, as displayed on their first album From Genesis to Revelation , towards folk-flavoured progressive rock . This ranged from light acoustic pieces with multiple twelve-string guitars such as "Dusk", to the heavier live favorite " The Knife ". The sleeve, featuring
4770-551: A recording contract with Threshold went up in smoke when Banks started arguing with producer Mike Pinder , saying they needed to do another take because he had played a wrong note on his organ. In March 1970, they secured a six-week residency at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in Soho , London, during which they were spotted by Charisma Records producer John Anthony . He persuaded label boss Tony Stratton Smith to sign them. In July 1970, they retreated to Trident Studios in London to record
4929-664: A result of commercial pressures, and would subsequently eschew mainstream success in favour of more specialised material. He co-wrote "Tears on the Ballroom Floor" for I Hear Talk by Bucks Fizz . Since leaving Genesis, Phillips has remained involved in a variety of musical projects, including soundtrack work in England, often for the label Atmosphere, part of the Universal Music Group . In 1988 he recorded an album with Harry Williamson called Tarka . The album's cover featured
Anthony Phillips - Misplaced Pages Continue
5088-491: A result. The music press took note that Collins's success as a solo artist made him more popular than Genesis. Before the release of No Jacket Required , Collins insisted that he would not leave the band. "The next one to leave the band will finish it", Collins told Rolling Stone magazine in May 1985. "I feel happier with what we're doing now, because I feel it's closer to me. I won't be the one." He added, "Poor old Genesis does get in
5247-497: A semi-regular member whenever Genesis were on down time for the next five years. Collins's idea of Genesis continuing as an instrumental group was quickly rejected by the others as they thought it would become boring. Rehearsals for A Trick of the Tail took place in Acton where material was quickly written and with little effort; most of "Dance on a Volcano" and "Squonk" was put together in
5406-464: A session guitarist on the album. Collins later saw the album as "a very vocal, solid album" that lacked more rhythmic tracks like "Los Endos" or songs from Wind & Wuthering , as coming up with ideas on the drums while living in his flat in Ealing with his family was difficult. ...And Then There Were Three... was released in March 1978. It received some mixed reviews from critics at the time owing to
5565-418: A spiritual quest to establish his freedom and identity while meeting several bizarre characters on the way. Gabriel wrote the story with influences from West Side Story , "a kind of punk" twist to Pilgrim's Progress , author Carl Jung and the film El Topo by Alejandro Jodorowsky . Most of the album's lyrics were written by Gabriel, leaving much of its music to the rest of the group. His absence from
5724-399: A studio album, which became From Genesis to Revelation . Phillips was particularly angry when King added string arrangements to their songs without their knowledge, since the limitations of the recording technology meant that everything else on the album had to be reduced to mono as a consequence. Phillips said he had little role in Genesis's songwriting during this period, and that most of
5883-433: A surreal descending note which Banks produced by turning the organ off and then turning it back on. Rutherford later recalled there were around ten acoustic guitars on part of "Stagnation", but they cancelled each other out in the final mix. Gabriel described the track as a "journey song" with its lack of a more typical verse/chorus structure and the variety of mood changes it presents. Sections were removed or altered, but
6042-658: A teenager, Phillips briefly lived in the United States. In April 1965, Phillips attended Charterhouse , an independent school in Godalming , Surrey. In the following month, he formed a band with fellow pupils Rivers Jobe , Richard Macphail , Mike Rutherford , and Rob Tyrell, naming themselves Anon . They based their sets on songs by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones , and recorded one demo, Phillips's song "Pennsylvania Flickhouse". The group disbanded in December 1966. Phillips
6201-416: A trio, in September 1977 at Relight Studios with Hentschel as producer. It was then mixed at Trident Studios in London. In order to put across a greater number of musical ideas, the album is a collection of shorter songs. Most of its eleven songs were written individually; Banks contributed four, Rutherford three and Collins one while the remaining three were written collectively. Their new material signalled
6360-506: A year; Gabriel and Phillips stayed at Charterhouse to finish exams, Banks enrolled at Sussex University and Rutherford studied at Farnborough College of Technology . They regrouped in mid-1969 to discuss their future, for their offers in further education might result in the group splitting up. Phillips and Rutherford decided to make music their full-time career, for they were starting to write more complex music than their earlier songs with King. After Banks and Gabriel decided to follow suit,
6519-456: Is formed of group written material with an individual song from each member. " No Reply at All " features the Phenix Horns , the horn section of American band Earth, Wind & Fire . Abacab was released in September 1981 and reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 7 in the US. Three singles from the album entered the top forty in both countries; " Abacab " reached No. 9 in the UK and No. 26 in
Anthony Phillips - Misplaced Pages Continue
6678-435: Is the first of four Genesis albums designed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis . From November 1974 to May 1975, Genesis completed 102 dates across North America and Europe as part of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour . Their set included The Lamb... performed in its entirety with an encore, a decision that was not supported by the entire band considering most of the audience were not yet familiar with
6837-539: The B-side , released in February 1968. It achieved some airplay on BBC Radio One and Radio Caroline , but failed to sell. A second single, "A Winter's Tale" / "One-Eyed Hound", followed in May 1968, which also sold little. Three months later, Stewart left the group to continue with his studies. He was replaced by fellow Charterhouse pupil John Silver . King believed that the group would achieve greater success with an album. The result, From Genesis to Revelation ,
6996-747: The BBC 's Night Ride show, on 22 February 1970, and a spot at the Atomic Sunrise Festival held at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm a month later. During this time the band met with various record labels regarding contract offers. Initial discussions with Chris Blackwell of Island and Chris Wright of Chrysalis were unsuccessful. In March 1970, during the band's six-week Tuesday night residency at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho , members of Rare Bird , whom Genesis had previously supported live, recommended
7155-479: The Kent State shootings from the previous spring. Phillips later recalled that the songs "Everywhere is Here", "Grandma", "Little Leaf", "Going out to Get You", "Shepherd", "Moss", "Let Us Now Make Love" and "Pacidy" were not developed further in the studio. Banks said that "Going out to Get You" was too long to fit on the album as well as "The Knife", and the latter song had to have a portion of it cut out to fit on
7314-636: The Lyceum Theatre in London. Hackett auditioned with the group in a flat in Earl's Court and formed an instant rapport with Rutherford through a common interest in inverted chords . After Hackett joined in January 1971, Stratton Smith organised a UK tour with Genesis opening for fellow Charisma acts Lindisfarne and Van der Graaf Generator . Their first overseas dates took place in March with gigs in Belgium followed by their first of three consecutive appearances at
7473-491: The 1970s, during which the band also included singer Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett , Genesis were among the pioneers of progressive rock . The group were formed by five Charterhouse pupils, including Banks, Rutherford, Gabriel and guitarist Anthony Phillips , and named by former Charterhouse pupil and pop impresario Jonathan King , who arranged for them to record several singles and their debut album From Genesis to Revelation in 1969. After splitting from King,
7632-612: The 1977 tour, Bruford declined an offer to return as second drummer, leaving Collins searching for a replacement. He heard American drummer Chester Thompson , of Frank Zappa 's band and Weather Report , play a drum passage on " More Trouble Every Day " from Zappa's live album Roxy & Elsewhere . Collins said, "It floored me completely ... I had never met him. I rang him up and said, 'Hi Chester, I've heard your stuff, would you like to play with Genesis?' ... He didn't even audition!" Genesis toured Wind & Wuthering from January to July 1977 across Europe, North America and, for
7791-508: The Ghost , in 1977. He continues to release solo material, including further solo albums, television and film music, collaborations with several artists, and compilation albums of his recordings. Phillips was born on 23 December 1951 in Chiswick , England. He attended a preparatory school , during which he formed a group and took part in a performance of " My Old Man's a Dustman " in the school hut as
7950-503: The Ghost , was issued in 1977. Following the commercial failure of The Geese & the Ghost , Phillips was pushed in a pop direction by his record labels. They released his second album, Wise After the Event , in 1978. This was followed the next year by Sides . Both of these albums were produced by Rupert Hine and were intended to reach a mainstream audience, though neither album was successful in that regard. In its initial release in
8109-464: The LP. The album cover was painted by Paul Whitehead and features an engraving by Hungarian illustrator Willy Pogany . Whitehead also did the covers for the band's next two albums. Wanting his work to represent the band's music, Whitehead sat in on several Genesis rehearsals to get inspiration. The cover showed two people looking out of a window at mountains, which represented the pastoral themes of some of
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#17328557905958268-469: The Pigeon , an extended play of three tracks left off Wind & Wuthering . It peaked at No. 14 on the UK singles chart. It was the final Genesis release before Hackett left the group. He had been writing more material on his own and found it increasingly difficult to contribute more of his ideas within a group context. He wished to embark on a solo career and "take the risk in order to find out just how good I
8427-535: The Pops . The group thought this would not suit their image and they declined the offer. In June 1974, Genesis started work on their double concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway . This marked a point at which Gabriel's relationship with the rest of the group became increasingly strained, which contributed to his departure. The album was written at Headley Grange in East Hampshire , where upon their arrival
8586-416: The Pound , the 12-string guitar style developed during Phillips's era was still important to Genesis's work and he felt Phillips deserved more credit for "architecting the sound of Genesis". After leaving Genesis, Phillips lacked a solid direction. He recalled listening to Jean Sibelius around the time of his departure and recognised his musical ability was "terribly limited", which encouraged him to become
8745-645: The Skies " and the property-development-themed " Get 'Em Out by Friday ". Foxtrot was released in on 15 September 1972 and reached No. 12 in the UK. It fared even better in Italy, where it went to No. 1. Foxtrot was well received by critics. Chris Welch of Melody Maker thought Foxtrot was "a milestone in the group's career", "an important point of development in British group music" and that Genesis had reached "a creative peak". Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought Foxtrot marked
8904-500: The Sour Turns to Sweet" / "In Hiding", was released in June 1969. None of the releases was commercially successful. The lack of commercial success led to the band's split with King and Decca. King continued to hold the rights to the album, which has seen numerous reissues. In 1974, it peaked on the US chart at No. 170. After the album was recorded, the band went their separate ways for
9063-559: The UK after his attempt to save his marriage failed. With time to spare before working on a new Genesis album, Collins rejoined Brand X for the album Product , played the drums on former bandmate Peter Gabriel's third album and started writing his own first solo album, Face Value , at his home in Shalford, Surrey . In 1979, Banks and Rutherford moved into Collins's home in Shalford to write and rehearse material for Duke . The three found
9222-508: The UK and Selling England by the Pound (1973) reached number three, featuring their first UK hit " I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) ". The concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) was promoted with a transatlantic tour and an elaborate stage show, before Gabriel left the group. Collins took over as lead singer, and as a four-piece the group released A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering (both 1976) with continued success. Hackett left Genesis in 1977, reducing
9381-626: The UK and No. 70 in the US. By this time, Genesis had made little effort to organise their finances and were £150,000 in debt (equivalent to £2,291,300 in 2024). . They hired promoter Tony Smith as their new manager to improve their fortunes and published the band's subsequent music through his company, Hit & Run Music Publishing . The Selling England by the Pound tour visited Europe and North America between September 1973 and May 1974. Their six shows in three days at The Roxy in Los Angeles were well received by audiences and critics. The success of
9540-455: The UK in 1984. "The Knife" was released as a single in May 1971. Rolling Stone briefly mentioned the album unfavourably following its 1974 reissue: "It's spotty, poorly defined, at times innately boring". "Genesis seemed to be dying a death around our second album", Gabriel told Mark Blake . "We couldn't get arrested. So I got a place at the London School of Film Technique ." That was
9699-457: The UK, Sides was accompanied by a more experimental album entitled Private Parts & Pieces ; in the US and Canada the two albums were issued separately. Private Parts & Pieces II: Back to the Pavilion followed the next year, and several further sequels were issued in the 1980s and 1990s. According to Phillips, the series "arose partly out of poverty. I was just getting by, library music
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#17328557905959858-509: The US, "No Reply at All" reached No. 29 in the US, and " Keep It Dark ", a European-only single, went to No. 33 in the UK. Abacab was supported with a tour of Europe and North America from September to December 1981, ending with shows at Wembley Arena and the NEC Birmingham. The tour marked the band's first use of the Vari-Lite , a computer-controlled intelligent lighting system. Following
10017-406: The US, their highest-charting single in both countries since their formation. Its success introduced the band to a new audience, including a larger female interest, helped by its music video airing on Top of the Pops . Its success caused some fans to accuse the group of selling out to more commercial music. A follow-up single, " Many Too Many ", was less successful, for it had already appeared on
10176-455: The US. " Firth of Fifth " features an extended electric guitar solo from Hackett. The album's cover is a modified version of a painting named The Dream by Betty Swanwick who added a lawn mower to tie the image to the lyrics of "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". Selling England by the Pound was released on 5 October 1973 and received favourably by critics, though slightly less enthusiastically than Foxtrot . The album reached No. 3 in
10335-569: The US. The Mama Tour ran from late 1983 through to 1984, covering North America and five UK shows in Birmingham . The latter shows were filmed and released as Genesis Live – The Mama Tour . In February 1984, Genesis took a break in activity to allow each member to continue with their solo careers. Rutherford formed his group Mike + The Mechanics , Banks worked on his solo album Soundtracks and Collins released No Jacket Required , which achieved worldwide success and increased his popularity as
10494-546: The album led the group to disband. Banks, Rutherford and Collins reunited for the Turn It On Again Tour in 2007 and again in 2021 for The Last Domino? Tour . With between 100 million and 150 million albums sold worldwide, Genesis are one of the world's best-selling music artists . Their discography includes 15 studio and 6 live albums. They have won numerous awards (including a Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video with " Land of Confusion ") and have inspired
10653-463: The album only containing short songs, which excited new fans but disillusioned those who had been used to the band's previous work. Chris Welch wrote a positive review in Melody Maker , citing a "remarkably powerful" album. It was a commercial success and peaked at No. 3 in the UK and No. 14 in the US. "Follow You Follow Me" was released as its lead single and reached No. 7 in the UK and No. 23 in
10812-585: The album reaching No. 4 in the Italian charts. From November 1971 to August 1972, Genesis toured to support the album, including further visits to Belgium and, for the first time, Italy, where they played to enthusiastic crowds. In January and March 1972 they recorded radio sessions for BBC's Sounds of the Seventies programme and later in the year performed at the Reading Festival to some critical acclaim. During
10971-438: The album spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK and reached No. 3 in the US, and became the best-selling Genesis album with seven million copies sold. The album's five singles – "Invisible Touch", " Throwing It All Away ", " Land of Confusion ", " In Too Deep " and " Tonight, Tonight, Tonight " – entered the top five on the US singles chart between 1986 and 1987 with "Invisible Touch" topping the chart for one week. Genesis became
11130-522: The album's sleeve credits as "Enossification". When Gabriel asked Eno how the band could repay him, Eno said he needed a drummer for his track " Mother Whale Eyeless ". Collins said, "I got sent upstairs as payment". Gabriel was pleased with Eno's work but Banks was less enthusiastic. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was released in November 1974 and reached No. 10 in the UK and No. 41 in the US. "Counting Out Time" and " The Carpet Crawlers " were released as singles in 1974 and 1975, respectively. Its sleeve
11289-735: The album, and the versions changed rapidly." Rutherford recalled that since the songs had already been composed, arranged, and refined during live performances, there was no need to work out such things in the studio the way they did for later albums. The 1969 album In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson was a heavy influence on Genesis, with a copy being played endlessly during their extended stay at Christmas Cottage. The band also drew from Gabriel's soul influences, along with classical, pop and folk music, and made regular use of Phillips and Rutherford's twelve-string guitar playing. To break
11448-467: The album. In the search for a new touring guitarist, Rutherford tried out Pat Thrall and Elliot Randall , followed by Alphonso Johnson of Weather Report, but he was primarily a bassist and could not play Hackett's lead guitar parts comfortably. Johnson then suggested American guitarist Daryl Stuermer of Jean-Luc Ponty 's jazz fusion group, who was more comfortable with various guitar styles. During Stuermer's rehearsal in New York City, Rutherford
11607-462: The album. Rutherford said that Trespass was the only Genesis album where each track was contributed to by each band member equally; every other album contained songs that were written by one or two individuals, with only minor contributions from the remaining members. Phillips likewise remarked that during the months at Christmas Cottage, Genesis's habit of writing songs in their pre-Genesis writing partnerships (Phillips-Rutherford and Banks-Gabriel)
11766-441: The annual Reading Festival on 26 June. Rehearsals for the band's third album, Nursery Cryme , took place at Luxford House near Crowborough , East Sussex , which Stratton Smith had owned. Recording began at Trident Studios in August 1971 with Anthony and Hentschel reprising their respective roles as producer and assistant engineer. The band's sound evolved, with Hackett's more aggressive electric guitar work and Banks adding
11925-404: The band began touring, signed with Charisma Records and became a progressive rock band on Trespass (1970). Phillips departed after the album's recording, with Banks, Rutherford and Gabriel recruiting Collins and Hackett before recording Nursery Cryme (1971). Their live shows began to feature Gabriel's theatrical costumes and performances. Foxtrot (1972) was their first charting album in
12084-550: The band build up a live following. The album charted at No. 1 in Belgium , which led to the band's first overseas concerts there in January 1972. The album had a mixed reception by the music press at the time of its release. Jerry Gilbert, writing in Sounds , gave a positive review and singled out "Visions of Angels" and "White Mountain". A review in Melody Maker said the album
12243-415: The band complaining of technical issues. Gabriel's costumes expanded in the following months to include fluorescent face paint and a cape fitted with bat wings for "Watcher of the Skies", several guises throughout "Supper's Ready" and a mask of an old man for "The Musical Box". An album of recordings from the following UK leg, initially recorded for the American radio programme King Biscuit Flower Hour ,
12402-504: The band for their gigs; which included Genesis's television debut on BBC's Disco 2 . After two months of performances, the band found Barnard lacked in expertise and wished to try someone else. In December, Gabriel spotted a Melody Maker advert from Steve Hackett , formerly of Quiet World , who wanted to join a band of "receptive musicians, determined to drive beyond existing stagnant music forms". Gabriel advised Hackett to become familiar with Trespass and attend their upcoming gig at
12561-445: The band made an effort to keep melodies as simple as possible, which signalled further changes in their direction. The shift was underlined in its production when Hentschel, their producer and engineer since 1975, was replaced by Hugh Padgham after Collins liked his production on Face Value and Gabriel's third solo album . Production duties were solely credited to the band for the first time with Padgham as their engineer. The album
12720-410: The band settled on John Burns and a new producer, Dave Hitchcock . The album features the 23-minute track " Supper's Ready ", a suite of various musical segments. The track included an opening acoustic piece, a Gabriel-penned song called "Willow Farm" and a piece derived from a jam by Banks, Rutherford and Collins called "Apocalypse in 9/8". Other songs were the science-fiction -themed " Watcher of
12879-583: The band to a three-piece of Banks, Rutherford and Collins. Their ninth studio album, ...And Then There Were Three... (1978), contained the band's first major hit " Follow You Follow Me ". Their next five studio albums – Duke (1980), Abacab (1981), Genesis (1983), Invisible Touch (1986) and We Can't Dance (1991) – were also successful. Collins left Genesis in 1996, and Banks and Rutherford replaced him with singer Ray Wilson , who appeared on their final studio album Calling All Stations (1997). The disappointing commercial and critical reaction to
13038-437: The band to producer and A&R man John Anthony of Charisma Records . Anthony attended one of their shows and enjoyed them enough to convince his boss, label owner Tony Stratton Smith , to watch their next appearance. Smith recalled, "Their potential was immediately apparent ... the material was good and their performance was good ... It was a long shot, because they needed time to find their strength ... but I
13197-415: The building had been left in a very poor state by the previous band, with rat infestations and excrement on the floor. Gabriel objected to Rutherford's idea of an album based on The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , thinking the idea was "too twee". He proposed to the band a less fantastical and more complicated story involving Rael, a Puerto Rican youth living in New York City who embarks on
13356-470: 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. —Mike Rutherford. After Trespass was recorded, ill-health and developing stage fright caused Phillips to leave Genesis. His last show with the band took place in Haywards Heath on 18 July 1970. He felt
13515-429: The confident way Collins approached and sat at his drum kit and knew he would be the right replacement. Banks said, "It was a combination of things. He could make it swing a little bit ... he could also tell good jokes and make us laugh ... And he could sing, which was an advantage because Mike and I were not very good at back-up vocals". In August 1970, Collins became the new drummer for Genesis. Caryl's audition
13674-626: The first Anthony Phillips biography, The Exile , by journalist Mario Giammetti, was published in Italy (Edizioni Segno). Harvest of the Heart: An Anthology , a 5-CD box set chronicling Phillips's solo career and collaborations, was released in 2014. Genesis (band) Genesis were an English rock band formed at Charterhouse School , Godalming , Surrey , in 1967. The band's longest-existing and most commercially successful line-up consisted of keyboardist Tony Banks , bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford and drummer/singer Phil Collins . In
13833-547: The first girl he had a crush on. It gradually evolved into the Genesis song "In Hiding", which appears on From Genesis to Revelation . He was not entirely a self-taught guitar player; he received some tuition in rudimentary chords from classical guitarist David Channon, who became a big source of inspiration for Phillips, and used sheet music to songs by the Beatles that his mother would send him. Phillips then picked up more chord knowledge, and learned to copy "reasonably well". As
13992-425: The first group and foreign act to achieve this feat, equalling the five singles record set by Michael Jackson , Janet Jackson and Madonna . After Collins was parodied by the British satirical television series Spitting Image , he commissioned them to make puppets of the band for the video of "Land of Confusion". Nearly 300,000 people at Wembley ... I thought at the time, and I still think now, that moment
14151-462: The first three days. Recording began in October 1975 at Trident Studios with Hentschel as producer. As a replacement singer had not been found, the band decided to record the album without vocals and audition singers as they went. They placed an anonymous advertisement in Melody Maker for "a singer for a Genesis-type group", which received around 400 replies. Collins proceeded to teach selected applicants
14310-594: The first time "Genesis attacked like a rock band, playing with a visceral power". The Foxtrot tour covered Europe and North America from September 1972 to August 1973. Gabriel surprised the other members of the band at the National Stadium in Dublin on 28 September 1972 by wearing a costume on stage, following a suggestion by Charisma booking agent Paul Conroy . He went off stage during an instrumental section in "The Musical Box" and reappeared in his wife's red dress and
14469-447: The first time in their career Genesis filmed promotional videos for their songs, including "A Trick of the Tail" and "Robbery, Assault and Battery". Before the upcoming tour, Collins sought a drummer he felt comfortable with while singing; he chose Bill Bruford who offered to do the job. From March to July 1976, Genesis performed across North America and Europe with the A Trick of the Tail tour , to enthusiastic crowds. Collins adopted
14628-502: The first time, Brazil . The stage show cost £400,000 (equivalent to £3,139,000 in 2024). which featured a new PA system , lasers and smoke, and lighting supplied from two rows of Boeing 747 aircraft landing lights. Touring began on 1 January with three sold-out shows at the Rainbow Theatre in London, where 80,000 applications were made for the 8,000 available tickets. They returned to London for three nights at Earls Court , then
14787-504: The four returned to Regent Sound in August 1969 and recorded four more demos with Silver: "Family" (later known as "Dusk"), "White Mountain", "Going Out to Get You" and "Pacidy". The tape was rejected by each record label that heard it. Silver then left the group to study leisure management in the United States. His replacement, drummer and carpenter John Mayhew , was found when Mayhew looked for work and left his phone number "with people all over London". In late 1969, Genesis retreated to
14946-591: The fourth comprising the 3×3 tracks and two from the Duke sessions. The European release contains a fourth side of extra live tracks. The album coincided with the home video release of the Three Sides Live concert film recorded in 1981. A tour of North America and Europe followed that ran from August to September 1982, featuring guest appearances from Bill Bruford and the Phenix Horns. On 2 October, Genesis headlined
15105-579: The gig'." Roger Taylor , subsequently of Queen , turned down an invitation to audition. Collins went to the audition at Gabriel's parents' house in Chobham , Surrey with his Flaming Youth bandmate, guitarist Ronnie Caryl . As they arrived early, Collins took a swim in the pool and heard what the other drummers were playing. "They put on Trespass and my initial impression of a very soft and round music, not edgy, with vocal harmonies and I came away thinking Crosby, Stills and Nash ". Gabriel and Rutherford noticed
15264-412: The greatest threat to the band and the most difficult to overcome. Gabriel and Rutherford decided the group should continue; Banks agreed on the condition that they find a new drummer that was of equal stature to the rest of the group. Mayhew was therefore fired, though Phillips later thought Mayhew's working-class background clashed with the rest of the band, which affected his confidence. The search for
15423-401: The group a more unique and innovative sound. The album opens with "Looking for Someone", beginning with Gabriel's vocal accompanied only by an organ, later described as being "idiosyncratic enough to set them apart from the herd within seconds". Gabriel came up with the song as a soul piece, and it was then extended and developed by the group into a more folk direction. The coda at the end of
15582-424: The group seriously considered disbanding altogether in the wake of Phillips's departure. Nursery Cryme , the next Genesis album, opens with " The Musical Box " which is based on a piece written by Phillips and Rutherford originally titled "F#" (pronounced "F Sharp"). Steve Hackett , who became Genesis's guitarist half a year after Phillips left, commented that at the time of their fifth album, Selling England by
15741-401: The group to develop: Banks put forward "Heathaze" and "Cul-de-Sac", Rutherford used "Man of Our Times" and "Alone Tonight" and Collins had " Misunderstanding " and "Please Don't Ask". All three wrote the remaining five tracks, including " Duchess ", the first Genesis song to feature a drum machine , specifically a Roland CR-78 imported from Japan. In its original form, the album was to contain
15900-424: The increased number of gigs affected the group's creativity and several songs he wrote were not recorded or performed live. He had contracted bronchial pneumonia and became isolated from the rest of the band, feeling that it had too many songwriters in it. Banks, Gabriel and Rutherford saw Phillips as an important member, being the most instrumental in encouraging them to turn professional. They regarded his exit as
16059-413: The introduction remained unchanged. The vocal effect on the section referencing "bitter minnows amongst the weeds and slimy water" was created by having Gabriel sing into a narrow tube with the intent of making it sound like he was underwater. "Dusk" originated with a piece written by Phillips and Rutherford, with Phillips writing most of the lyrics. The music to the verse/chorus section of " The Knife "
16218-463: The large amount of new material. The stage show involved new, more elaborate costumes worn by Gabriel, three backdrop screens that displayed 1,450 slides from eight projectors, and a laser lighting display . Music critics often focused their reviews on Gabriel's theatrics and took the band's musical performance as secondary, which irritated the rest of the band. During their stay in Cleveland during
16377-589: The largest arena in Britain, supported by Richie Havens . The band's growing popularity in North America led to television appearances and concerts organised in larger venues than previous tours, including Madison Square Garden in New York City. Their Brazilian dates were attended by over 150,000 people and a proposed 100,000-person gig was cancelled over rioting fears. An armed bodyguard accompanied each member throughout their stay. In May 1977 Genesis released Spot
16536-459: The last gig in Hayward's Heath to Gabriel's house in Chobham , they decided they would carry on. In the liner notes to the Genesis box set Genesis Archive 1967–75 , Banks claims "Let Us Now Make Love", one of Phillips's songs, was not recorded for the album because the group thought it had the potential of a single, but following the guitarist's sudden departure following the album's completion, it
16695-411: The most rabid Genesis fans." AllMusic 's later retrospective review was only slightly more forgiving, summarising that the album "is more interesting for what it points toward than what it actually does ". They also commented that the guitars are so low in the mix that they are almost inaudible, leaving Banks's keyboard instruments far more prominent. They considered this troublesome because Banks having
16854-469: The nine-minute song " The Knife ". Trespass is the first in a series of three Genesis album cover designs by Paul Whitehead . He had completed the design before the band decided to include "The Knife" on the album. Feeling the cover no longer reflected the album's overall mood, the band persuaded Whitehead to slash a knife across the canvas and have the result photographed. Released in October 1970, Trespass reached No. 1 in Belgium in 1971 and No. 98 in
17013-469: The organ and Rutherford having grown into a major songwriter, he ultimately recognized that the band no longer needed him. While Phillips later described the Trespass recording sessions as "pleasant" and not considerably difficult, Rutherford recalled that Phillips looked unwell during the recording sessions, and he worried that Phillips's departure might mean the end of Genesis. After the group drove back from
17172-448: The other songs. Genesis subsequently reworked and expanded it with a new middle section which was written by the group as a whole. Phillips commented that while he was "rather heartbroken" when the song was rejected for From Genesis to Revelation , in retrospect it was a blessing, since if they had included it on that album, it never would have been developed into its best possible form. He also said that Gabriel realized sometime between
17331-400: The point ... where we either became a caricature of ourselves, and settled into a rut, or we changed. There was no doubt in our minds that change was the answer. —Mike Rutherford on the band's change in direction In June 1982, Genesis released the double live album Three Sides Live in two different versions. The North American edition contains three sides of live recordings with
17490-636: The recording for From Genesis to Revelation and Genesis going on tour for the first time that Phillips had written the lyrics as a love song to Jill Moore, Gabriel's girlfriend (and later wife), and it is likely that Genesis changed the lyrics before recording Trespass . The whole group worked on the music for "Stagnation", and Gabriel added lyrics to it. It was one of several Genesis songs to reuse sections of their never-recorded epic "The Movement". "Stagnation" and "Dusk" showed Phillips and Rutherford's combined twelve-string sound, along with Banks taking leads on piano, organ and Mellotron . The organ lead uses
17649-429: The remaining tracks. My real worry was actually what to say to the audience, because Peter had always had this offbeat charisma that gave the band a strange aura. I was much more friendly and approachable ... I spent more time ... worrying about what to say between songs than I did about what I was going to do once the songs started. —Phil Collins. A Trick of the Tail was released in February 1976 and
17808-541: The school in September 1963, Rutherford in September 1964 and Phillips in April 1965. The five were members in either one of the school's two bands; Phillips and Rutherford were in Anon with singer Richard Macphail , bassist Rivers Jobe and drummer Rob Tyrrell, while Gabriel, Banks and Stewart made up Garden Wall . In January 1967, after both groups had split, Phillips and Rutherford continued to write together and proceeded to make
17967-472: The shortage of time to develop new material. To further complicate matters he had developed stage fright which got progressively worse as time went on, and battled with it for three months thinking it was a passing phase. After falling ill with bronchial pneumonia, Phillips was advised by his doctor to quit the band. In June 1970, Phillips had recovered enough to reunite with his bandmates and record their second album, Trespass . Despite his various problems at
18126-456: The singer, but forgot the words during it and was kicked out. This led to his decision to learn the guitar. He learned enough to perform lead guitar to a rendition of " Foot Tapper " by the Shadows in the school lounge. The Shadows were a major influence for Phillips in terms of acoustic guitar. At thirteen Phillips acquired a Stratocaster and wrote his first song, "Patricia", an instrumental about
18285-405: The situation, "We just wanted to use what we agreed was the strongest material, irrespective of who wrote it". Wind & Wuthering was released in December 1976 and reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 26 in the US. Rutherford's track, " Your Own Special Way ", became its sole single and went to No. 43 in the UK. Its B-side is "It's Yourself", originally intended for A Trick of the Tail . Prior to
18444-526: The song was written by the group as a whole. Paul Stump wrote in 1997 that there is "the barefaced presence of a riff" from " I Am the Walrus " by the Beatles in the song. "White Mountain" originated with a twelve-string guitar theme composed by Rutherford and Phillips, for which Phillips has cited Mary Hopkin 's rendition of " Those Were the Days " as a likely influence. Banks wrote the lyrics. "Visions of Angels"
18603-407: The songs on From Genesis to Revelation were written by Gabriel and Banks. In September 1969, the 17-year-old Phillips chose not to pursue a university degree and instead reunite with Gabriel, Banks and Rutherford after they had decided to become a full-time band. However, early in 1970 the constant touring had become wearing on Phillips partly due to the lack of scope for solos in the band's set and
18762-435: The songs. Whitehead had finished the cover and then the band added "The Knife" to the running order. Feeling that the cover no longer fitted the mood of the album, they asked Whitehead to re-design it; when he was reluctant to do so, the band members inspired him to slash the canvas with an actual knife. Tony Banks has said Trespass is his favorite of the three covers Whitehead did for Genesis, feeling it eloquently captured
18921-440: The songs; Witches Brew frontman and flautist Mick Strickland was invited into the studio to sing, but the backing tracks were in a key outside of his natural range and the band decided not to work with him. Having failed to find a suitable vocalist, Collins went into the studio and attempted to sing "Squonk". His performance was well received by the band and they decided that he should be their new lead vocalist. Collins then sang on
19080-406: The sound system, light and laser displays and additional effects from six computer-controlled mirrors, all of which took eight hours to set up and five to dismantle. One of their shows featured a guest appearance from Gabriel, who sang "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". In June, Genesis headlined the year's Knebworth Festival , their only UK show that year. In December 1978, Genesis began
19239-436: The straightforward pop on their first album From Genesis to Revelation . Gabriel recalled that the group wanted to explore and mix musical styles. The group bought new equipment, including a bass guitar and a Hammond organ , and recorded songs at Regent Studios for a demo, including "White Mountain" and "Family" (which became "Dusk"). Silver then left to study in the US. In November, Genesis played their first live shows as
19398-686: The success of his 1965 UK top five single, " Everyone's Gone to the Moon ". A friend of the group gave the tape to King, who was immediately enthusiastic. Under King's direction, the group, aged between 15 and 17, signed a one-year recording contract with Decca Records . From August to December 1967, the five recorded a selection of potential singles at Regent Sound Studios in Denmark Street , London, where they attempted longer and more complex pieces, but King advised them to stick to more straightforward pop. In response Banks and Gabriel wrote " The Silent Sun ",
19557-457: The time as a strong period creatively for the band, with ideas "flowing out of us". " Invisible Touch " was developed in such a way, when the group were working on "The Last Domino", the second part of " Domino ". During the session, Rutherford began to play an improvised guitar riff to which Collins replied with an off-the-cuff lyric – "She seems to have an invisible touch" – which became the song's chorus hook. Following its release in June 1986,
19716-512: The time of release, spending two weeks at No. 1 in the UK and peaking at No. 11 in the US. The album spawned three singles; " Turn It On Again " went to No. 8 in the UK, "Misunderstanding" reached No. 14 in the US, and " Duchess " peaked at No. 46 in the UK. Duke was supported with a UK and North American tour from April to June 1980, which began with a 40-date tour of the UK for which all 106,000 tickets were sold within hours of going on sale. In November 1980, Genesis bought Fisher Lane Farm ,
19875-552: The time, Phillips enjoyed the recording sessions. By this time Genesis songs were more often written by the group as a whole, and Phillips was pleased when a song he had originally written by himself, "Visions of Angels", was expanded with a group-composed middle section that he felt made the song much more powerful. After recording finished in July the band resumed touring, though early into the tour Phillips announced his decision to leave. His final gig took place at Haywards Heath on 18 July. Tour manager Richard Macphail later said that
20034-448: The tour earned the group the "Top Stage Band" title by readers of NME . At its conclusion, Macphail resigned as their tour manager as he wished to pursue other interests. " I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) " was released as a UK single with "Twilight Alehouse", a non-album track recorded in 1972; it reached No. 21 following its release in February 1974. Its success led to an offer for Genesis to appear on BBC's national show Top of
20193-455: The tour, Gabriel told the band he would leave at its conclusion. He wrote a statement regarding his departure to the English press that was published in August 1975 titled "Out, Angels Out", explaining he had become disillusioned with the music industry and wanted to spend extended time with his family. Banks later stated, "Pete was also getting too big for the group. He was being portrayed as if he
20352-535: The tour, Genesis recorded "Happy the Man", a non-album single, with " Seven Stones " from Nursery Cryme on its B-side. Following rehearsals in a dance school in Shepherd's Bush , Genesis recorded Foxtrot at Island Studios in August and September 1972. During the early sessions, disagreements between Charisma and Anthony contributed to the end of his association with Genesis. After two replacement engineers were tried out,
20511-491: The track before putting down a guitar part, by which time he had become too nervous and played it incorrectly. The group had written an abundance of material, but with very little studio time in the budget there was no real opportunity to consider which songs should go on the album, and they had to simply record the songs which they had played the most in rehearsals and concerts. They worked well with Anthony, and later recalled that his contributions were important and helped shape
20670-481: The track originated from " The Message " by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five . Released in October 1983, Genesis went to No. 1 in the UK and peaked at No. 9 in the US, where it reached Platinum by December that year and went on to sell over four million copies. Three tracks were released as singles; "Mama" reached No. 4 in the UK, their highest-charting UK single to date, and " That's All " reached No. 6 in
20829-462: The twelve-string guitar out of its traditional role as a background instrument and allow the listener to hear its individual notes, the band ran the twelve-string guitars through an old tape recorder instead of the conventional method of putting the microphone on the sound hole, against engineer Robin Cable's objections. Gabriel was particularly fond of the combined twelve-string guitars and thought they gave
20988-597: The two different sides of Genesis. Whitehead's original illustrations for the three albums were stolen from the Charisma archives when it was sold to Virgin Records in 1983. Whitehead claimed that Charisma staff got wind of the imminent sale and proceeded to loot its office. Trespass was first released in the UK on the Charisma label in October 1970. In the US, it was first issued on ABC 's jazz label, Impulse! . "The Knife"
21147-527: The way sometimes. I still won't leave the group, but I imagine it will end by mutual consent." In June, Collins spoke of the band's intention to start work on a new album that year, ending rumours to a false announcement that aired on BBC Radio 1 suggesting Genesis had split. Genesis reconvened at The Farm in October 1985 to start work on Invisible Touch , which lasted for six months. They continued their method of songwriting used on Genesis by developing material from group improvisations. Banks remembered
21306-602: The whole band that he was leaving at the end of a show in Hayward's Heath on 18 July. According to Genesis road manager and friend Richard Macphail, the reason for Phillips's departure was the onset of acute stage fright that became so severe that Phillips began to suffer an "out of body experience on stage." Phillips confirmed, "My leaving was nothing to do with the music; it was just due to stage fright and my health, really." He initially feared that Genesis would not be able to continue without him, but with Banks gaining confidence with
21465-435: The writing process easier and less complicated than And Then There Were Three . Rutherford reasoned that this was the case because they were "getting back to the basic stage of ideas being worked on jointly". Banks put it down to their break in activity, resulting in "good ideas ... which hasn't happened for some time". Duke continued the band's transition into writing shorter songs. Each member contributed two songs for
21624-399: Was "something more dangerous" compared to their delicate acoustic numbers. He added: "It was the first peak of a darker energy that we discovered". It lasted up to 19 minutes in concert, but was reduced to nine for the album. Gabriel wrote the lyrics as a parody of a protest song . The song's spoken word interlude, in which a group of soldiers fire on a crowd of protesters, was inspired by
21783-500: Was "tasteful, subtle and refined", and named it "Album of the Month", despite it being the same month as prestigious albums such as Led Zeppelin III , Atom Heart Mother , and Tumbleweed Connection . Rolling Stone printed an extremely brief but unambiguously negative review of the 1974 reissue, saying "It's spotty, poorly defined, at times innately boring, and should be avoided by all but
21942-411: Was "tough, but a good way of getting the music into shape". Two songs that made it to the next album, "Looking for Someone" and "Stagnation", were recorded for a BBC session in February 1970. That same month, growing interest from audiences drew the attention of talent scouts and led to Threshold Records inviting Genesis to record "Looking For Someone" at De Lane Lea Studios . However, their chance for
22101-576: Was 'the man' and it really wasn't like that. It was a very difficult thing to accommodate. So it was actually a bit of a relief." Following the Lamb tour, Hackett recorded his first solo album Voyage of the Acolyte as he felt unsure that Genesis would survive following Gabriel's departure. He reconvened with the remaining group members in London in July 1975. During this time, Collins began drumming with instrumental jazz rock band Brand X , with whom he would be
22260-479: Was a commercial and critical success for the band. The album reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 31 in the US. The title track was released as a single, though it did not chart. In June, the album was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Institute for selling over 100,000 copies which helped the band clear the £400,000 of debt (equivalent to £3,636,500 in 2024) they owed when Gabriel left. For
22419-541: Was also a member of another band during 1966, Spoken Word, which included David Thomas (vocals), Ronnie Gunn (piano), Jeremy Ensor (bass, later of the Principal Edwards Magic Theatre ), David Chadwick (guitar), and Peter Gabriel (drums). They recorded an acetate , a cover of "Evening". In January 1967, after Anon had split up, Phillips and Rutherford became a songwriting unit and started recording several demos. They invited Charterhouse pupil Tony Banks ,
22578-440: Was broken and they all began collaborating on writing each work. Banks felt that the old songwriting process was still present to an extent, with most of the songs originating from one of the two pairs before being brought to the group for further development. Banks later said that "we had played live quite a bit and every song on the album had been performed on stage. We had a selection of at least twice as many songs as appeared on
22737-446: Was done at Trident Studios that October. Hackett, having already released a solo album, enjoyed the greater amount of control over the recording process that working within a group could not provide. He felt his songs, including "Please Don't Touch" (which he later released on his second album Please Don't Touch! ) were rejected from the final track order in favour of material that Banks, in particular, had put forward. Collins spoke of
22896-417: Was just getting going. I had to issue a collection of twelve-string or solo-piano stuff to boost my income." Phillips began writing material with Andrew Latimer of Camel in 1981, and was a featured performer on that band's album, The Single Factor (released in 1982). Phillips released a mainstream pop album entitled Invisible Men in 1983. He later claimed that this project went "horribly wrong" as
23055-454: Was never recorded in the studio. A live version was released on the box set, performed in February 1970. At the same time, the group decided to replace Mayhew with a more suitable drummer. He was older than the rest of the band and considered an outsider, and lacked confidence. Though Mayhew often wrote poetry and even had some published in a literary magazine when he was 12, he never participated in Genesis's songwriting. An urgent replacement
23214-481: Was on my own". News of Hackett's departure coincided with the band's double live album Seconds Out , recorded in Paris on the A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering tours and released in October 1977. It reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 47 in the US. By the time Seconds Out was released, Banks, Rutherford and Collins had already recorded ...And Then There Were Three... , the first Genesis album recorded as
23373-595: Was prepared to make that commitment". He agreed to a record and management deal within two weeks, paying Genesis an initial sum of £10 a week (equivalent to £200 in 2024). Genesis stayed at Wotton until April 1970, by which time they had enough new material for a second album. Recording for Trespass began in June at Trident Studios in London, with Anthony as producer and David Hentschel hired as assistant engineer. The album included longer and more complex songs than their first, blending folk and progressive rock elements with various time signature changes, as in
23532-455: Was produced at Regent Sound in ten days during their school's summer break in August 1968. King assembled the tracks as a concept album , which he produced. Greenslade added further orchestral arrangements to the songs, but the band were not informed of this fact until the album was released. Phillips was upset about Greenslade's additions. When Decca found an American band already named Genesis, King refused to change his group's name. He reached
23691-470: Was put together in a short amount of time and a considerable amount of material was written beforehand, of which the most suitable songs were picked for development. Rutherford spoke of the band's conscious effort to distance themselves from songs inspired by fantasy, something that their past albums "were full of". The band spent roughly six weeks writing the album with a basic form of each track put down in twelve days. Additional recording and production work
23850-456: Was recorded for the previous album From Genesis to Revelation , but left off because the band did not think it was good enough in its present form. It originated from a piano piece by Phillips at a time when his piano technique was limited, but could produce a "plodding" style similar to songs by the Beach Boys and the Beatles. It has a more straightforward verse/chorus structure than some of
24009-405: Was released as Genesis Live in July 1973. It reached No. 9 in the UK and No. 105 in the US. In the summer of 1973, Genesis re-signed their contracts with Charisma. Stratton Smith said they got "a much improved deal" despite them being able to get a better one with a bigger label, but the group were loyal and trusted the label with their careers. With a new contract and thus a green-light for
24168-539: Was released as single (split into two parts) in June 1971, but did not chart. The album was reissued by the main ABC Records label in 1974; then, after MCA Records bought out ABC, it was reissued on the MCA label. It was issued on CD in 1994 as a definitive edition remaster. A SACD /DVD double disc set (including new 5.1 and Stereo mixes) was released in 2008. Trespass sold 6,000 copies on its original release and helped
24327-433: Was required to fulfil live dates to promote Trespass . Phil Collins auditioned and joined in August, and the album was released in October. The group could not find a suitable replacement for Phillips, so they resumed gigging as a four-piece. In late 1970, they appeared on the television show Disco 2 to promote the album with Phillips' replacement, Mick Barnard . The group mimed with Gabriel singing live, who recalled
24486-453: Was satisfied with his performance after they played through "Down and Out" and "Squonk". When Stuermer was chosen, he familiarised himself with a list of 26 songs he was asked to learn by going through five per day. The ...And Then There Were Three... tour ran from March to December 1978 and visited North America, Europe and, for the first time, Japan. It cost an estimated £2 million to stage (equivalent to £14,492,800 in 2024). which included
24645-449: Was the first Genesis track with Collins on lead vocals. On the album's cover, Whitehead depicted a Victorian manor house based on Gabriel's parents' home, and scenes and characters from the lyrics to "The Musical Box". Nursery Cryme was released in November 1971 and reached No. 39 in the UK in 1974. Though the group still had a minor cult following at home, they started to achieve commercial and critical success in mainland Europe, with
24804-507: Was the first album written, recorded and mixed at the remodelled studio at the Farm. Banks remembered the band were scarce for new musical ideas that "felt at times as though we were stretching the material as far as we could". " Mama " concerns a man's obsession with a prostitute at a Cuban brothel. It originated from a beat Rutherford came up with on a LinnDrum machine that was fed through his guitar amplifier and an echo gate. Collins's laugh on
24963-451: Was the peak of our career. Trespass (album) Trespass is the second studio album by the English rock band Genesis . It was released on 23 October 1970 by Charisma Records , and is their last album with original guitarist Anthony Phillips and their only album with drummer John Mayhew . Genesis turned professional in autumn 1969, and began to rehearse intensely and play live shows. After several months of touring they secured
25122-452: Was unsuccessful; Rutherford thought he was not the player the group were looking for. After a short holiday, Genesis began to write and rehearse as a four-piece band in Farnham , Surrey. The now empty guitar sections in their songs allowed Banks and Rutherford to expand their sound and play what Gabriel described as "interesting chords". As they had not found a new guitarist, Genesis resumed as
25281-480: Was written by Gabriel and Banks, the lyrics were written by Gabriel and Phillips, and the remaining sections were written by all four founding members of Genesis. It was originally titled "The Nice" as a tribute to the Nice , and the organ part on the track was styled to resemble the playing of Nice keyboardist Keith Emerson . As fans of that group, Genesis were inspired to put together a heavier rock song which Gabriel said
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