What Genesis have been doing for 13 years
Rock legends to reunite for first shows since 2007
Genesis fans across the UK are gearing up to watch the band perform live together for the first time in 13 years.
Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford announced the Last Domino? reunion tour on Zoe Ball’s breakfast show on BBC Radio 2 this morning.
“I think it’s a natural moment,” said Banks. “We’re all good friends, we’re all above grass and... here we are.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The veteran rockers will begin the tour in Dublin in November, before playing shows in Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Belfast, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow. They will also put in two nights at London’s O2 Arena.
The trio, all aged 69, will be joined by Collins’ son Nicholas on drums and long-time touring buddy Daryl Stuermer on guitar and bass.
Founder member Peter Gabriel is not expected to be involved, after leaving the band in 1975, and nor is Steve Hackett, who jumped ship two years later.
Genesis started life in the 1970s as a progressive rock band but evolved to become one of the most successful mainstream rock bands of the following decade. The chart-toppers sold more than 100 million records worldwide, claiming 21 UK Top 40 hits and half a dozen No.1 albums. Their best-known hits include Invisible Touch, Turn It On Again and In Too Deep.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues for £6–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The band last played together live in 2007. So what have its members been doing in the intervening years?
Collins announced his retirement in 2011, after nerve damage left him unable to play the drums.
He had been living in Switzerland with his family since the 1990s, but his third wife, Orianne Cevey, had left and moved to Miami in 2008.
In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Collins recalled: “It left me with a lot of time on my hands to think about what happened. I went through a few bits of darkness, drinking too much. I killed my hours watching TV and drinking, and it almost killed me. But I haven’t had a drink in three years.”
Collins also later moved to Miami and has since reunited with Cevey. And following back surgery, he returned to the stage in 2016, touring extensively over a two-year period.
Former bandmate Rutherford published his autobiography, The Living Years: The First Genesis Memoir, in 2014. He also performed in the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics.
Meanwhile, Banks has released classical albums, including Six Pieces for Orchestra and most recently Five.
In 2010, Genesis were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The band also took part in a BBC documentary called Genesis: Together and Apart in 2014 - but some commentators claimed all was clearly not well.
“Even with all the bonhomie of the TV studio reunion, you could feel the tension as Gabriel accused his former bandmates of failing to make allowances when he was dealing with his baby daughter’s illness,” wrote TV critic Ceri Radford in The Telegraph at the time.
“It showed that while times may change, some things are eternal, from bickering to the lure of a good ballad to Steve Hackett’s mullet.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
One great cookbook: 'The Zuni Café Cookbook' by Judy Rodgers
The Week Recommends A tome that teaches you to both recreate recipes and think like a cook
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Stephen Miller is '100% loyal' to Donald Trump
He is also the architect of Trump's mass-deportation plans
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: November 14, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listings
Speed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
By Mike Starling Published
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequel
Speed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binary
Speed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?
Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday television
Speed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
By The Week Staff Published
-
Coco vision: up close to Chanel opticals
Speed Read Parisian luxury house adds opticals to digital offering
By The Week Staff Published
-
Abba returns: how the Swedish supergroup and their ‘Abba-tars’ are taking a chance on a reunion
Speed Read From next May, digital avatars of the foursome will be performing concerts in east London
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Turning down her smut setting’: how Nigella Lawson is cleaning up her recipes
Speed Read Last week, the TV cook announced she was axing the word ‘slut’ from her recipe for Slut Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly
By The Week Staff Published