Simmons is an electronic drum brand, which originally was a pioneering British manufacturer of electronic drums . Founded in 1978 by Dave Simmons, it supplied electronic kits from 1980 to 1998. The drums' distinctive, electronic sound can be found on countless albums from the 1980s. The company closed in 1999 and the Simmons name is currently owned by Guitar Center .
184-711: Invisible Touch is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band Genesis , released on 6 June 1986 by Atlantic Records in the United States and on 9 June 1986 by Charisma / Virgin Records in the United Kingdom. After taking a break in 1984 for each member to continue his solo career, the band reconvened in October 1985 to write and record Invisible Touch with engineer and producer Hugh Padgham . As with their previous album, it
368-503: 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
552-458: A 3 by 3 matrix. The samples can also be further manipulated by applying positive or negative values on a matrix (routed to both position and dynamic), simultaneously affecting the following aspects of the sound: volume, pitch, brightness, panning, noise element, and sample start point. All or any of these aspects of the sound, are both programmable and continuously variable dependent upon strike position and strike velocity and were user programmable in
736-463: 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
920-466: A 9" monochrome CRT screen with a GUI controlled by a trackball , similar to the early Mac OS . SDX OS allows users to fully modify sounds with an easy-to-use interface. It also features a full 64-track real-time sequencer with the ability to nondestructively quantize recordings and sync them to MIDI. Sales of the SDX were limited due to its high price, costing around $ 10,154. The factory sounds included with
1104-512: A USB port that allows playback of WAV and MP3 files from a USB drive, plus recording in WAV format back out to a thumb drive. At the time of this writing the SD2000 has not been publicly released, thus potential features like midi over USB or USB out to a computer (either for kit-to-machine recording or machine-to-kit programming) have not yet been evaluated. Country of origin has not yet been made public. As
1288-407: 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 a result. The music press took note that Collins's success as a solo artist made him more popular than Genesis. Before
1472-425: A built-in digital delay . This kit was yet another well received product for Simmons as it combines realistic sounds in an inexpensive, compact brain. Following customer feedback, Simmons also produced a new series of drum pads using "floating" drum heads and changeable shells. The snare drum had an extra trigger for the rim. Again, this improved the playability of the kit. Another brain was introduced in 1986 called
1656-401: 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
1840-412: 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
2024-622: 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
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#17330924593432208-555: 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
2392-463: A couple of Simmons pads to their kit on a budget. Some of these products also feature the run generator, which allows drummers to play a descending drum roll with a single pad hit. In 1985, Simmons introduced the SDS-9, a hybrid digital/analog brain with three changeable EEPROM channels (kick, snare, and rim) and analog-synthesized toms. It also featured 40 presets (20 factory and 20 user-programmable) and
2576-450: 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
2760-698: 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
2944-439: 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
3128-584: 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 a one-off concert with Gabriel at the Milton Keynes Bowl under the name Six of
3312-650: 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
3496-405: A greater number of songs for Invisible Touch than before, which required additional time to select which tracks to release. This was not the case with Genesis , where strong enough ideas were more scarce; Banks said that "if a song was around, we put it on". Rutherford noted that Genesis had a dark mood to it, yet Invisible Touch had a bigger energy. During the writing sessions Collins realised
3680-437: A guitar riff from Rutherford, who also wrote the lyrics. Collins described it as like a "one-note samba". It was a heavy guitar song in its original form, with Collins "drumming in a John Bonham style". As the chorus developed, its mood changed to that of a softer one "matched by the single love-song lyric". " The Brazilian " is an instrumental based around a sample that Banks had recorded on his E-mu Emulator playing throughout
3864-466: 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
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#17330924593434048-492: A lot more musical changes, although the development is largely unconscious." Invisible Touch was recorded between October 1985 and February 1986 at The Farm , the band's private recording studio in Chiddingfold , Surrey. They were joined by engineer and producer Hugh Padgham , who had worked with the band since Abacab (1981) and produced the album with the group, with Paul Gommersall as assistant engineer. Earlier in 1985,
4232-584: 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
4416-645: 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
4600-533: A new company logo. Along with the SDS-2000, Simmons manufactured pads with real drumheads called Hexaheads, along with Minihexes, smaller-sized pads sometimes used as cymbal pads. This system saw a commercial decline in the face of competition from companies such as Roland and Yamaha , and the evolution of musical styles from the 1980s into the 1990s. During the 1990s, Simmons shifted their focus from drum synthesis to drum triggering and MIDI control, with products like
4784-437: A new record. The final show was a benefit in aid of The Prince's Trust and attended by Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales , a fan of the group. Recordings from the tour were released on the live albums The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts (1992) and Genesis Archive #2: 1976–1992 (2000). The Wembley shows were filmed and released on home video in 1988 entitled Invisible Touch Tour . In 2003, it
4968-503: 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
5152-660: A number of smaller devices, such as an SDS-EPB E-PROM Blower to write samples onto the chips, a Digital ClapTrap unit, which is a digital clap sound device, a sound very popular in 1980s music. Simmons began to expand their product line with smaller kits and pads, including the SDS-1, which was a single pad with a built-in EPROM reader for playing a single drum sound sample, and the all-analog SDS-200 (2 tom system), SDS-400 (4 tom system), and SDS-800 (bass, snare, and 2 tom system). These products were aimed at acoustic drummers who wanted to add
5336-452: 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
5520-790: 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
5704-418: A rhythm Collins and Rutherford were playing. Similar to that of "Invisible Touch", Collins then came out with the word "monkey" and explored it vocally which led to the song's working title to be "Monkey/Zulu". The rest of the lyrics were then written around the word. Rutherford thought the track resembled the "old-style Genesis" as it covers more ground musically with a "fairly involved" instrumental section in
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5888-497: 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
6072-597: A series of demos featuring Bill Bruford , dozens more music store owners from all over the country signed up to this electronic revolution, and that expansion quickly established the Simmons name in the rest of the US. During the lifetime of the SDS-V, Simmons also produced a compact trigger unit about the size of a suitcase , containing seven small pads. Used in conjunction with the SDS-V brain, this allowed players to add Simmons sounds to an existing acoustic kit without incorporating
6256-464: 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
6440-569: A set of full-size pads. This unit was used extensively by New Order at the time. Also available at the same time was the SDS-6 drum sequencer, used to great effect by artists such as Howard Jones . Following the success of the SDS-V, Simmons expanded their range in 1984, with another modular rack-based brain called the SDS-7, which features digital sampling sounds on EPROM for the first time, expandable up to twelve modules, and redesigned pads, featuring
6624-419: A skin of rubber to make playing a little easier. The unit uses 8-bit samples and a programmable memory, but is prone to malfunctioning and loss of memory, making it unpopular in a live context. The same year, they also produced the cheaper analog-only SDS-8, which featured a single, non-expandable desktop-style brain with one unalterable factory preset and one custom user preset for each channel. The SDS-8 kit
6808-595: A solid hook. Much of the credit for this belongs to Tony Banks, whose synth style has never seemed more appropriate; it's his keyboards that set the mood for 'In the Glow of the Night' and maintain the tension in 'Tonight, Tonight, Tonight'." Daniel Brogan of the Chicago Tribune was not as impressed, saying the album had "none of the inventiveness, illumination or power" of former Genesis singer Peter Gabriel 's album So , released
6992-418: 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
7176-422: A track were written after the music was recorded, and were penned by a single member as the group considered the individual had a strong enough direction to carry the song's message through. Collins wrote the words for "Invisible Touch", "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight", and "In Too Deep"; Rutherford wrote for "Land of Confusion" and "Throwing It All Away"; Banks wrote "Domino" and "Anything She Does". The group arranged
7360-465: 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
7544-506: 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,
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7728-423: Is far from a Collins solo effort. The band's material is more complex than Collins' pop sound". He complimented the album's "great variety", picking out "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" as a highlight which reminded him of "the spare, art-rock sound of the early Genesis". In a retrospective review from Stephen Thomas Erlewine for AllMusic , the album received three stars out of five. He commented that " Invisible Touch
7912-456: 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
8096-435: 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
8280-585: 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 ,
8464-793: 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
8648-554: The Los Angeles Forum . Each date on the leg grossed an average of $ 300,000. The US legs were sponsored by Michelob beer. It was followed by the band's first and only tour of Australia and New Zealand; the former dates saw Genesis perform "Your Own Special Way" from Wind & Wuthering (1976) with a string section. A Chinese leg was announced, but later cancelled. The tour ended with four sold out shows at London's Wembley Stadium , totalling 288,000 people in attendance, which set
8832-686: 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
9016-497: The Lyricon wind synthesizer as played by John L. Walters of Landscape . Walters introduced Richard James Burgess to Simmons and Burgess began using the SDS-3s and SDS-4s live, on stage, with Landscape. Recognizing the potential for a fully electronic drum set that could replace the traditional acoustic set rather than supplement it, Burgess began collaborating with Simmons. They mocked up
9200-571: The Mount Rushmore Head sets were also built. Burgess has two of these sets. The basic descending tom-tom sound was modeled after the way Burgess tuned his Pearl single-headed concert tom kit on which he would loosen one tension rod, causing a wrinkle in the head and creating a descending pitch after the tom was hit. Burgess had recorded extensively with the prototype of the SDS-V on the Landscape album, with Shock and Spandau Ballet before
9384-513: The Pollard Syndrum and the Synare , were introduced in the 1970s, but their unrealistic sound made them generally more suitable for use as a percussion effect than as a replacement for traditional drums. They became a popular element in disco records, especially after the release of music from Star Wars , and can be heard on songs by The Jacksons and Rose Royce . Around 1978 while working for
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#17330924593439568-491: 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,
9752-612: 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
9936-413: The 5-piece) configurations. The additional tom and cymbal units can also be purchased separately as an add-on, however it does not appear that there is additional room to add components beyond upgrading the 5-piece. (The upgraded 5-piece is, when upgraded, identical to the 7-piece; photos of the control unit indicate that this occupies all the available inputs.) This newly designed kit employs mesh heads -
10120-602: The ADT (acoustic drum trigger) and Trixer (triggered electric drums (digital samples) from acoustic drum mics), Drum Huggers (small clip-on acoustic drum triggers/pads), and the Silicon Mallet (a xylophone-style MIDI controller). One of Simmons's last products, the Turtle Trap, is a MIDI controller made from the shell of a bass drum pad, with the pads being the surfaces of Minihexes. However, all of these products sold poorly compared to
10304-469: 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 was the first album written, recorded and mixed at the remodelled studio at
10488-499: 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 the track originated from " The Message " by Grandmaster Flash and
10672-695: 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 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
10856-469: 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
11040-535: 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
11224-602: The Pops with the instrument, many other musicians began to use the new technology, including A Flock of Seagulls , Howard Jones , Jez Strode of Kajagoogoo , Roger Taylor of Duran Duran , Darren Costin of Wang Chung , Steve Negus of Saga , Bobby Z. , Rick Allen of Def Leppard , Thomas Dolby , Prince , Phil Collins , Neil Peart of Rush , Bill Bruford , Talk Talk , Tangerine Dream , Cameo , Jonzun Crew , Depeche Mode , Jean-Michel Jarre , Donna Summer , Yukihiro Takahashi of Yellow Magic Orchestra and Vangelis . Single-pad analog drum synthesizers, including
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#173309245934311408-530: The SDS-1000, and was, in effect, the same sounds as the SDS-9 (without the ability to change the EPROMS) in a slim 1U, MIDI-enabled, rack mountable unit. The snare sounds, however, are more realistic and clear than the SDS-9. The SDS-1000 also includes a "second skin" feature, which simulates the sound of dual-headed drums. In 1987, after the SDS-9, Simmons decided to enter into the high-end professional market and created
11592-558: The SDS-V (5), was introduced commercially in 1981. The world's first fully electronic drum set, the SDS-V featured the famous hexagonal pads and distinctive sounds heard in countless songs by 1980s bands, including Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet . The standard configuration consisted of an expandable rack-mountable "brain", containing the various drum sounds, and pad modules for bass drum, snare, and three toms. Two spare slots are available so that cymbal or extra tom modules can be added; drummers may choose to use acoustic cymbals rather than
11776-424: The SDS-V was featured live and on lot of TV shows (e.g. Rockpalast ) The SDS-V's biggest disadvantage was the use of solid polycarbonate heads on the pads. Simmons chose this material for its durability, but the heads' lack of "give" often resulted in wrist discomfort. Soon after, Simmons began shipping pads with softer rubber surfaces. The SDS-V became an instant hit, with Simmons endorsing several drummers, and
11960-650: The SDX did not match the quality expected for a system of such advanced technology, so many drummers chose to sample their own sounds. In 1988, the SDX software was updated to make SDX suitable for use with MIDI keyboards, thus offering a sound source rivaling the Fairlight CMI for a fraction of the price. Approximately 250 SDX Consoles were sold. Primary users of SDX included Bill Bruford with ABWH , Peter Gabriel, Jean Michel Jarres' drummer and King Crimson and also Danny Carey with Tool . The SDX also featured on Pip Greasley's The 5k Pursuit Opera C4TV [1991] where it
12144-492: The Simmons sounds, which have been compared to that of a trash can lid. Connections to the unit were by XLR plugs , and it can be interfaced with a drum sequencer . In Germany and the rest of Europe, Simmons had also a great success. Sibi Siebert counterpart of Baz Watts, both clinicians for Simmons, was travelling from Stockholm to Barcelona to show and play the kits. He played more than 700 workshops and had great success with his band Twelve Drummers Drumming (Phonogram), where
12328-645: 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
12512-500: 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
12696-559: 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
12880-508: 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
13064-463: The UK and " I Can't Dance " reached No. 7 in the UK and the US. In 1993, We Can't Dance was nominated for a Brit Award for Best British Album. The We Can't Dance tour visited North America and Europe from May to November 1992 with each concert attended by an average of 56,000 people. The tour spawned two live albums; The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts reached No. 3 in the UK and The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs went to No. 1 in
13248-626: 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
13432-455: 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
13616-510: The UK. A live home video, also titled The Way We Walk , documented one of the band's six consecutive shows at Earl's Court during November 1992. Following the tour, the band took a break in recording and performing activity. Banks, Rutherford and Collins performed at Cowdray Castle , Midhurst in September 1993 for a money-raising event with Pink Floyd touring guitarist Tim Renwick and drummer Gary Wallis and Queen drummer Roger Taylor . Rutherford also played bass on Pink Floyd's set at
13800-509: 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
13984-406: 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
14168-455: 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
14352-421: The album "could easily pass as a Collins album. His thin voice and familiar MOR&B songwriting dominate, with only occasional evidence of input from Rutherford and Banks". He also suggested the record "was made to provide material for the next season of Miami Vice ". Associated Press writer Larry Kilman disagreed, who opened his review with "Genesis have come up with an irresistible Invisible Touch ... This
14536-546: 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
14720-463: 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
14904-585: 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
15088-424: The album showed "new ideas, new sounds, but still very definitely Genesis". The Rough Guide to Rock describes Invisible Touch as "calculated and oddly emotionless AOR " and stated the hits were "by now barely distinguishable from Collins' songs as a solo artist". In 2014, Stevie Chick, writing for The Guardian , said the album's "bright, polished pop title track, the baby boomer agit-rock of 'Land of Confusion',
15272-438: 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
15456-674: The album was re-released with new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes. In February 1984, the band completed their 1983–1984 tour in support of their previous album Genesis (1983), which became their biggest selling album at the time of release and spawned the UK top five hit " Mama ". The group followed this with a period of inactivity to allow each member to continue their respective solo careers; Mike Rutherford formed his group Mike + The Mechanics and had success with their debut album , Tony Banks concentrated on film scores and released Soundtracks (1986), and Phil Collins released his third solo album No Jacket Required (1985), which
15640-424: The album's sessions but were cut from the album's final track selection. They were subsequently released as B-sides across the five singles released from the album. The tracks were included in the 2007 box set Genesis 1983–1998 as well as the 2000 box set Genesis Archive 2: 1976–1992 . The cover art was designed by 26-year-old David Baker (known as "Baker Dave") of Assorted iMaGes, who had previously designed
15824-573: 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
16008-410: The album's title had been agreed upon. Baker took the themes suggested by the title and produced fifteen ideas, one of which was a graphical representation of how the inner ear takes in sound. Another was the image of a transparent hand which all three members liked, and Baker used that with a schematic design of a sound wave pattern with an image of a nuclear family in the background. Invisible Touch
16192-467: 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
16376-441: 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
16560-470: 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
16744-496: 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 a new guitarist and drummer began with advertisements placed in copies of Melody Maker . The invitation
16928-404: 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
17112-415: 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 ,
17296-504: 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
17480-433: The band listened back to them and picked out the strongest moments with the aim of arranging them into a song. A drum machine was used to create a guiding rhythm, before the guitar and keyboard parts were fully arranged and re-recorded before Collins would replace the drum machine with his own drums last. The band discussed a song's potential length, and whether to write lyrics for it or keep it as an instrumental. The lyrics to
17664-445: 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
17848-410: 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
18032-583: 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
18216-437: 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
18400-408: The band were coming up with fresh and unique material that it had not done before, "which is not easy after 15 albums", and considered them stronger than those on Genesis . Banks maintained this view, thinking the shorter tracks on Invisible Touch were stronger than the previous album. " Invisible Touch " originated as the band were working on "The Last Domino", the second part of " Domino ". During
18584-401: The band would cut out and place on the wall of their recording studio. It features a brass sound that Banks sampled from "some tape" that he had; he clarified that the brass was not from the Phenix Horns , the brass section for Earth, Wind and Fire that were previously used on Abacab . " Domino " is a track split into two sections—"In the Glow of the Night" and "The Last Domino". Banks wrote
18768-404: 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
18952-415: 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
19136-586: The classic Simmons sounds. In 2017 Simmons announced the new SD2000 series with a planned release for retail on Aug 4, 2017, while simultaneously making public the return of Dave Simmons to the company. The SD2000 is a top-to-bottom redesign (with the exception of the included HEXX rack), and will be available in five-piece (11″ triple-zone SimHex snare; three 9″ dual-zone SimHex toms; 9″ mesh bass drum with nonslip stand; 13″ dual-zone chokeable crash; 15″ triple-zone ride; 12″ hi-hat) and seven-piece (add one 9″ dual-zone SimHex tom and one 13″ dual-zone chokeable crash to
19320-483: 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. 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 the increased number of gigs affected
19504-600: The company Musicaid in St Albans , Dave Simmons developed a device with similar capabilities to the Syndrum and Synare, which he called the SDS-3. The SDS-3 featured four drum channels and a noise generator ; the SDS-4 was a functionally similar two-channel version. At this juncture, the drum pads were round, with wooden frames and real 8-inch drum heads. Musicaid was also the distributor for
19688-472: The company's peak period. In 1999, the company closed. In 2005, Guitar Center acquired the rights to the Simmons trademark and began marketing affordable Chinese-manufactured electronic drums (commercialized under other names in the world) under the Simmons name and original logo. These kits have no relationship to the original company. However, some of the kits' designs feature traces of the familiar hexagon shape, similar model numbers, and built-in samples of
19872-429: 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
20056-667: The dark day in Genesis history when this record was released, the band fully transitioned from art-rock glory to radio-ready piffle, replete with all the worst that '80s overproduction had to offer. The fact that just the tiniest bit of the 'old' Genesis is discernible in a couple of tracks is the only thing that edges this album a notch ahead of We Can't Dance ." The Invisible Touch Tour consisted of 112 shows between September 1986 and July 1987. The core trio were joined by their longtime touring musicians, drummer Chester Thompson and guitarist/bassist Daryl Stuermer . Every song on Invisible Touch
20240-577: The distinctive pad shape becoming an icon of the 1980s. With the agreement of Simmons, Group Centre Inc. became the sole distributors of all Simmons Electronics products in the US. After visiting and demoing the SDS-V to music stores in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Chicago, he secured orders from them all. Manufacturing was ramped up quickly in time for the NAMM Music Expo in Chicago and after staging
20424-455: The extreme. The SDX is the first Simmons kit since the SDS-7 to support cymbal sounds, using pads called "Symbals" which simulate the swaying motion of real cymbals with a swivel rod. The SDX include a built-in sampler with a floppy disk drive, internal SCSI hard disk drive and optional external SCSI ZIP or Syquest drives as the methods of data storage. The SDX introduced a new way of modifying sounds. Rather than knobs and switches, it features
20608-485: The first band and foreign act to have five singles from one album reach the top five on the US Billboard Hot 100 , with " Invisible Touch " being their first and only song to reach No. 1 on the charts. The album received mixed reviews upon its release and retrospectively, with its more pop-oriented approach and perceived similarities to lead singer Phil Collins ' solo work receiving both praise and criticism. In 2007,
20792-425: 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
20976-463: The first in the Simmons line to do so - which are tensionable with a standard drum key. The pre-programmed sound bank includes classic acoustic kit samples, sounds pulled from vintage Simmons kits like the SDS-5, plus world percussion and effect sounds (e.g. handclaps, cowbell, etc.). Additionally users can add their own samples to the library. The control module includes full-color LCD, built-in mixer, and
21160-412: 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
21344-594: 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
21528-447: 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
21712-502: 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
21896-504: 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
22080-427: The genuinely affecting ballad 'Throwing It All Away' – could have easily fitted on his [Collins's] solo albums". Chick reserved particular praise for "Domino", saying the track "proved a final gasp of brilliance before the blandness of 1991's We Can't Dance and 1997's inexplicable, Collins-less Calling All Stations ". Ultimate Classic Rock ranked Invisible Touch as the 13th best album by Genesis, stating "On
22264-401: 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
22448-409: 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 the greatest threat to
22632-501: The increased capacity the CD offered and released over 71 minutes of new music across 12 tracks. Collins wrote the lyrics to "Since I Lost You" for his friend Eric Clapton following the death of Clapton's four-year-old son Conor. The album was released in November and reached No. 1 in the UK for one week and No. 4 in the US, where it went on to sell over 4 million copies. The album spawned several hit singles; " No Son of Mine " went to No. 6 in
22816-420: The instrumental rock piece " Top Gun Anthem " by Harold Faltermeyer and Steve Stevens . In 2007, the album was reissued with a new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mix. The album received a mixed reaction from music critics upon release. J. D. Considine gave it a positive review for Rolling Stone , stating that "every tune is carefully pruned so that each flourish delivers not an instrumental epiphany but
23000-463: 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
23184-589: 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
23368-434: The lyrics are about his first wife Andrea Bertorelli, to whom he was married from 1975 to 1980. The group wanted to keep the song simple in structure, but thought an eight-bar bridge with a key change and using a sequenced keyboard part complemented the arrangement. Banks produced eight different versions in step time, some ideas for which he had thought of ahead of time while others were a rough improvisation. The chosen version
23552-452: The lyrics based on the idea that politicians often fail to think through their ideas and the consequences of their actions. Rutherford thinks "Domino" is "one of the best things" the band has done. He was aware that due to the popularity of MTV and the increased pressure to deliver hit singles, people would often forget about their longer songs like "Domino" in favor of the shorter, more commercial hits. " Throwing It All Away " developed from
23736-421: The middle. Banks agreed with Rutherford's view on the song, pointing out its complexity. The lyrics to " Land Of Confusion " were written by Rutherford, and they were the last set of words written for the album. Rutherford was behind schedule to get the lyrics to the song finished, but thought the "time was right" for him to write a protest song . He was struck with the flu when it was time for Collins to record
23920-530: The mixing desk, Padgham also fed the tracks through a mixer and into a PA system before playing it "very, very loud" in the studio. Padgham later said that the Simmons sounded "a bit thin and toneless." Collins also used a Roland Pad-8 , an electronic pad that triggers percussion sounds from the MIDI instruments used on the album, including a Roland TR-727 drum machine with Latin-inspired samples and Collins' own E-mu Emulator. After several jams had been put down on tape,
24104-518: 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
24288-491: 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. 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 the fourth comprising the 3×3 tracks and two from the Duke sessions. The European release contains
24472-546: The prior month. He thought the contributions from Rutherford and Banks "seem far less apparent than usual", and that the first side of the album "could almost pass as outtakes from No Jacket Required ". He concluded: "Will the Free World ever tire of Phil Collins?" Several of Brogan's criticisms were mirrored in a review from Steve Hochman of the Los Angeles Times . Hochman asked "Was this record really necessary?" and stated
24656-448: 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 the way sometimes. I still won't leave the group, but I imagine it will end by mutual consent." In June, Collins spoke of
24840-407: 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. A Trick of the Tail was released in February 1976 and
25024-514: The revolutionary SDX. It introduced new features that were unheard of in other electronic drums such as "zone intelligence" and "pad layering". Some of these ideas were not revisited by other companies until nearly 15 years after the SDX. Zone Intelligence allows for up to three samples to be assigned to different positional locations on a pad for a more realistic sound. With pad layering, up to nine different samples can be triggered via different strike velocities and positions, selecting samples from
25208-473: The same concert. Simmons (electronic drum company) The SDS 5 (or SDSV; notated as SDS-5) was developed in conjunction with Richard James Burgess of Landscape and released in 1981. The first recordings of the instrument were made by Burgess, on From the Tea-rooms of Mars .... , " Chant No. 1 " by Spandau Ballet , and "Angel Face" by Shock . After Landscape and Spandau Ballet appeared on Top of
25392-541: 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
25576-495: The session Rutherford began to play an improvised guitar riff with an added echo effect, to which Collins replied with the off-the-cuff lyric, "She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah". This led to Collins writing the lyrics to the song, with his improvised line becoming its chorus hook . He wrote the lyrics based around a person who gets under one's skin which he had "Known a few. You know they’re going to mess you up, but you can't resist". Collins later said that "large chunks" of
25760-456: 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
25944-399: The sleeve for No Jacket Required and several of Collins's singles. The band had no music prepared and no title at the time of the first briefing, but wanted a design that combined the personality of each member and the outer sleeve to not contain a group photograph. Baker produced several rough designs and presented them to the band for feedback, by which point some music had been put down and
26128-401: The song's vocals. He recalled Collins "came over to my house ... he sat on my bed like a secretary ... I was in a kind of delirious state with a very high temperature and I dictated it to him and I remember thinking, 'I think I told him the right thing ... Was it all rubbish or was it any good? ' ". The lyrics to " In Too Deep " were written by Collins after he was approached to write a song for
26312-430: The songs on the album evolved from Banks using the recording function on his E-mu Emulator to capture sounds in the studio, and listening back for potential sounds and rhythms that could be used in a song. The keyboard allowed just 17 seconds to be recorded. The album features Collins playing on a Simmons electronic drum kit. In order to capture more of a sound from the Simmons kit rather than feeding it directly into
26496-440: 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
26680-406: 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
26864-439: The sounds and flowchart using an ARP 2600 synthesizer. Since Burgess was using the instrument in a live setting, they developed the four customizable preset buttons. The distinctive hexagonal shape came about after triangles and bat-wing mock-ups had been tried. Burgess finally decided that a honeycomb shape would fit together ergonomically and be simple yet distinctive in appearance. A limited edition of what Simmons referred to as
27048-471: The soundtrack of the British crime drama film Mona Lisa (1986). He wrote the chorus during some spare time at a hotel in Sydney , Australia, but he was unable to write verses for it until the band were recording the song in the studio. They had difficulty in writing a chorus, so Collins suggested the part that he had written. Banks gained inspiration for " Anything She Does " from pictures of scantily clad women
27232-472: The studio was upgraded to a plan supervised by Masami "Sam" Toyishima. "On day one, we had no songs, no ideas, and a blank bit of paper. Phil was always keen to fill that bit of paper – he was very organised – and we let him." The group approached the writing sessions for Invisible Touch with a greater sense of confidence, as they had now become a big live act in the US and had reached a new level of commercial success worldwide. As with Genesis , they entered
27416-445: The studio with no preconceived ideas and developed songs from recorded jams and improvisations, a process Collins compared to as "close to jazz". The group considered their strongest songs were those arranged in this way, so they repeated this approach for Invisible Touch . Collins said: "You never quite know what's going to happen. It's just the three of us chopping away, fine-tuning and honing down all these ideas." A typical session saw
27600-686: 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 ",
27784-457: 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,
27968-512: 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 ,
28152-487: The top five on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Genesis the first group and foreign act to achieve this feat, equalling the five singles record set by Michael Jackson , Janet Jackson , and Madonna . In 1987 , Genesis received an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo, or Group . At the Brit Awards in 1987 co-producer Hugh Padgham was nominated for British Producer , while Collins
28336-448: 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
28520-602: The tour ended, Genesis took a break while each member committed to their solo projects. They performed twice during this time; on 14 May 1988, they performed a 20-minute set at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden. This was followed by a set at a charity gig at the 1990 Knebworth Festival on 30 June, headlined by Pink Floyd . In 1991 Genesis recorded their fourteenth album, We Can't Dance , from March to September with their new engineer and co-producer, Nick Davis . The band took advantage of
28704-405: 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
28888-535: 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,
29072-449: The track highly and picked it as his favourite Genesis song. He added: "It's a great pop song. It encapsulated the whole record and it pushed Genesis into a bit of an R&B area, a little like a Prince thing", and also compared his drumming on the track to American singer Sheila E , of whom he is a fan. The basis for " Tonight, Tonight, Tonight " came about from Banks, who spent some time improvising with different keyboard sounds over
29256-498: The track, which he achieved by sticking a knife onto the keyboard. He realised he could have done it electronically, but the knife "looks better that way." Collins recalled it was put together when the group were "fooling around" in the studio, and he had been experimenting with sounds that could be programmed into his Simmons kit. Three additional songs - "Do the Neurotic," "Feeding The Fire," and "I'd Rather Be You" - were recorded during
29440-460: The trio work from 11am to as late as 2am the following morning, and start with Collins setting up a drum pattern on the drum machine so Banks and Rutherford could jam ideas. Collins would then sing vocal lines, which created an atmosphere and the basis for a song. Collins recalled his impetuous attitude during the writing sessions and suggested bits of songs be pieced together as early as possible, but Banks and Rutherford were reluctant to do so. Many of
29624-435: 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
29808-623: 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
29992-479: 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
30176-420: Was a major worldwide commercial hit. In the summer of 1985, towards the end of his solo tour, Collins confirmed that Genesis had agreed to start work on a new album that October. This put an end to a false announcement that aired on BBC Radio 1 suggesting the three had split. Rutherford felt that the break affected the group's musical style: "We had done so much work outside the band, it seemed we had gone through
30360-446: 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
30544-680: Was first released on 6 June 1986 in the US by Atlantic Records ; its release in the United Kingdom followed on 9 June 1986 by Charisma and Virgin Records . The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart for three weeks from 21 June 1986 during a 96-week stay on the chart, and peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 during an 85-week stay. Genesis released five singles from Invisible Touch from 1986 to 1987—" Invisible Touch ", " Throwing It All Away ", " Land of Confusion ", " In Too Deep ", and " Tonight, Tonight, Tonight ". Each one reached
30728-522: Was nominated for British Male Artist for his contribution to the album. In 1988, the band received one of the only two Grammy Awards issued for the short-lived Best Concept Music Video category for " Land of Confusion ". It was also nominated for MTV's Video of the Year Award , but lost to their former lead vocalist Peter Gabriel 's " Sledgehammer ". " The Brazilian " received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Performance , but lost to
30912-481: 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
31096-453: Was performed live during the tour, except for "Anything She Does" which was used during the show's introduction. The 1986 dates included a Genesis medley that included the final two sections of " Supper's Ready " from Foxtrot (1972). The stage production included 400 Vari-Lites which required five lorries to transport. The tour opened with a sold out North American leg which included five nights at Madison Square Garden and also five at
31280-433: Was played by Bruce Mason. By the time of the launch of the SDX, the company had seen a dramatic fall in their sales as drummers abandoned electronics to return to their acoustic kits. Additionally, due to expensive R&D and manufacturing costs of the SDX, Simmons was losing money. Their final kit was released in 1989, called the SDS-2000, featuring sounds from the SDX library, digital effects, further refined pads, and
31464-595: 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
31648-455: 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
31832-470: 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
32016-777: Was reissued on DVD and renamed Genesis Live at Wembley Stadium . All music written and arranged by Tony Banks , Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford . Lyricists as noted. Credits are adapted from the album's sleeve notes. Genesis Production Sales figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Notes Citations Sources 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
32200-405: 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
32384-453: 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
32568-440: Was seen at the time as a bit of a Phil Collins solo album disguised as a Genesis album ... Genesis' poppiest album, a sleek, streamlined affair built on electronic percussion and dressed in synths" and he said "the heavy emphasis on pop tunes does serve the singer, not the band". He said that "[the] songs had big hooks that excused their coldness, and the arty moments sank to the bottom". Mark Putterford of Kerrang! remarked on how
32752-402: 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 the gig'." Roger Taylor , subsequently of Queen , turned down an invitation to audition. Collins went to
32936-411: Was supplied with four tom pads and a bass pad, using similar hardware to the earlier SDS-V, but in a more budget style, such as using jack leads instead of XLR connectors. The sounds were similar to the SDS-V, but, to the discerning ear, not up to the same quality. However, the kit has remained a popular alternative to the SDS-V for those seeking analogue Simmons sounds. Also available at the time were
33120-427: Was the "most random" one. As the band performed "Invisible Touch" in a lower key on tour, Banks had to produce a new sequenced section which was "a real drag" as he was unable to make one as strong as the one on the album. Rutherford expressed a desire for the band to explore different musical themes for the song, but later felt the lyric had "always felt so comfortable" to him and saw no reason to change it. Collins rates
33304-449: 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
33488-414: Was the peak of our career. The Invisible Touch Tour was the band's largest world tour in its history, which included 112 dates from September 1986 to July 1987. Genesis received some criticism for their decision to have Michelob beer as a sponsor. The tour concluded with four consecutive sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium in London. The shows were released in 1988 as The Invisible Touch Tour . When
33672-452: 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
33856-400: Was written entirely through group improvisations and no material developed prior to recording was used. Invisible Touch was a worldwide success and reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 . It remains the band's highest selling album after it was certified multi-platinum for over 1.2 million copies sold in the UK and 6 million sold in the US. Genesis became
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