25 years ago today: GENESIS announce Phil Collins had left the band

  • I remember reading the announcement in the news paper and was crushed. The thought of there being no Genesis was disappointing because I was really getting into prog rock. Months later I read an online announcement from the bands website that they were going to carry on and their music would be heavier and darker. This got me excited because I was led to believe that this meant they were going back to their prog rock roots, but this really wasn't the case. I bought the CAS CD the day it came out and when the intro to the title track was playing, I was blown away! The rest of the album was just ok to me, but when I started collecting the CD singles with the unreleased material, I thought most of it should have been on the album and that would have made it much better!

  • I couldn't believe Phil left Genesis to "concentrate on his solo projects" but then released, 'Dance Into the Light' his only album that I'm not a fan of. I remember thinking "maybe Phil needs Genesis more than Mike and Tony need him." I liked Ray's voice and "Calling All Stations", despite all the ridiculous fade-outs, and thought it seemed like a good place to start-again from... the real test would be the follow-up album. I was lucky enough to see the tour at Earl's Court which I thought was a fantastic gig and I had high hopes for the future of Genesis... And then the wheels came off and Genesis with Ray Wilson was no more. And so it goes... Still feel lucky we got the Turn it On Again Tour and the Last Domino? Tour. Whilst Tony, Mike and Phil are still alive although they won't perform live again, I'll always hold out hope for one final studio album, but I do accept it's incredibly unlikely.