As expected , the reunited Genesis will visit North America on a fall tour that begins Sept. 7 in Toronto, the group announced this morning (March 7) at a media event in New York. So far, 13 dates have been announced through Oct. 12 in Los Angeles but more will be added. Some tickets begin going on sale this weekend.
The trio, comprised of Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, acknowledged they had discussions a couple of years ago with former members Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett about touring behind a complete performance of the 1974 album “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.”
But after Gabriel said he couldn’t commit due to obligations with a still-unfinished album, Collins, Rutherford and Banks decided to go out alone for the first time since 1992. “This is a separate thing,” Collins said. “But ‘Lamb’ may still happen in a few years time.”
Banks promised “there will be one or two songs that go back a bit farther” into the band’s back catalog than on previous tours, and that the familiar Genesis medleys will be part of the set list. Rutherford added that there will be more of an emphasis on Collins playing drums alongside Chester Thompson. “Two drummers is a very powerful sound,” he said.
Interestingly, there is no corporate sponsor attached to the Turn It on Again tour, top seats for which will sell for $225. “We’re not doing it for the money, let’s face it,” Collins said. “We’re not trying to come out of this with a fistful of dollars. It’s very rewarding to know there’s still people out there that liked us the first time around.” To supplement the reunion, Rhino will on April 24 release a 12-disc boxed set, “Genesis: 1976-1981,” featuring newly remixed versions of the albums “Trick of the Tail,” “Wind & Wuthering,” “And Then There Were Three,” “Duke” and “Abacab.” The sixth disc rounds up B-sides and rarities like the surprise hit “Paperlate” from the 1982 EP “3X3.” Each album will be augmented with a DVD featuring 5.1 audio mixes, new interviews, videos and photo galleries.
