Genesis could be construed as a band of two periods, with the progressive rock foundations of the Peter Gabriel era, changing to later poppier years, fronted by Phil Collins.
They were formed in 1967 while Peter Gabriel (vocals) and Tony Banks (keyboards) were at school together. With additional members Anthony Phillips (guitar), Mike Rutherford (bass & guitar) and Chris Stewart (drums) and with the production help of fellow Charterhouse ex-student Jonathan King, they recorded their first album From Genesis to Revelation in 1969. It didn't sell too well but they kept going. Stewart left and, after a brief period with John Silver, John Mayhew joined the band in time for Trespass. This and subsequent Genesis albums of this period shared a propensity for long, elaborate arrangements beloved of the prog rock genre, and shared by peers such as Yes and King Crimson.
When Anthony Phillips left the band in 1970 he left quite a hole, which the band feared would split them, but in the end Steve Hackett stepped up to the plate and Mayhew was replaced by Phil Collins. This line-up went on to record Nursery Cryme (1971), Foxtrot (1972), Selling England by the Pound (1973), and concept double album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The tour for The Lamb... resulted in strained relationships between the band members, and, exacerbated by personal problems, Gabriel left during that tour.
Though Collins lacked the sheer theatricality of Gabriel, he took centre stage as lead singer for the next album A Trick of the Tail (1976), which outsold all previous albums. By the end of 1976, Wind & Wuthering (1976) was released after which, Seconds Out, a live album of the 1977 tour, was released. Hackett decided to leave but the band carried on, releasing the autobiographically titled ...And Then There Were Three… in 1978. By this time the band were moving farther from their progressive roots, encroaching on radio friendly territory, such as their successful hit "Follow You, Follow Me". Duke (1980) moved further into commercial waters and was their first UK No.1 album, and Abacab (1981) followed in much the same vein. Genesis (1983) was to be their third successive UK No.1 studio album and generated the hit "Mama".
Six-time platinum-selling Invisible Touch was released in 1986 and was to become their best-selling album, yielding the singles "Throwing It All Away", "In Too Deep", "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" and "Land of Confusion". The title track finally resulted in the first US No.1 for the band. The band took a five year break until 1991 and returned with We Can't Dance, Collins' last album with the band.
Ray Wilson (Stiltskin) sang with them for one album, 1997's Calling All Stations, but the album failed to perform as well as those of the recent past and Wilson was unceremoniously dumped. The band then took another extended absence from recording. The classic 71-75 line-up reformed briefly in 1999 to record a new version of "The Carpet Crawlers", and the later line-up of Collins, Banks and Rutherford reformed for a one-off tour in 2007. The group officially ended in 2010 following their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame due to health issues of Phil Collins.
Their lengthy career has inspired other bands including Dream Theater and Camel - testaments to their enduring appeal.
