1978 (Mirrors) Tour

  • We had a briefly active thread about Knebworth 1978, the sole UK gig on the ATTWT mirrors tour. That everything gets videoed now can make us forget that it was rare back in the 70s and to an extent even the 80s - for example it's practically impossible to find a video of Cage/ITQE/Apocalypse on the IT tour US leg. The 78 tour is similarly very difficult to find video footage of, although there are a fair few audio recordings out there.


    I came across some videos on youtube from a guy who's pieced together a 78 show with a mix of pro and amateur footage and pretty good audio. I don't yet know if all the setlist is there as so far I've just found separate videos - he says there's a dvd so presumably he doesn't want to just splurge the whole thing on youtube. Anyway, here is In The Cage. I found it interesting that a few years later they used varilites to recreate some of the same mirror cues such as the white beams converging on PC centre-stage at "Outside the cage..." and the 'panic' spread during "Keep on turning".


    The track was the 2nd number on that tour and not linked to any other songs as it subsequently became, but has the added-on closing section with the ascending sequence which would later segue into Cinema/ITQE etc, but here just comes down to a conclusion. The "dressed to kill" variation of the "pinned for kill" line is already there. Perhaps he always found his version easier to get his mouth around, although it's a song full of short rapid lines that could be challenging for a singer.


    From the same guy using the same treatment, Eleventh Earl. Not a song I like, but this live version sounds very good. My brother went to the Knebworth 78 show and said at the dramatic "features are burning" break a laser beam shone out over the band and into the sky, then fanned and pulsed as they went into the next verse. He said he'd heard they had to get permission from the aviation authorities to do this but knowing him he might have been making that up! The laser doesn't seem to be used in this clip but these videos don't always capture the notable cues.


    Did anyone here see them on this tour?

    Abandon all reason

  • I regret I missed the Mirrors Tour. Great setlist and from all I hear, read and can pick up from available video the light show was truly dazzling. As for the clip you posted of In the Cage from that tour, all I can say is ah, Tommygun. He’s famous/infamous (depending upon who you ask) among collectors of bootlegs. He has an impressive collection of Genesis concert bootlegs, but rubs many the wrong way by breaking what some consider to be the cardinal rule of the bootleg universe (always engage in trade for free and never charge). I noticed the clip is 4 years old. Could be he’s got the full show available for purchase by now? Personally I don’t mind paying for a bootleg as I don’t really have anything to trade anyway.

  • I love the standalone "In The Cage" from this tour. The one from the Daryl's Birthday in Japan boot is my favorite version ever - the mix, the ambience and the tempo create an absolutely ferocious atmosphere that captures the dread at the heart of the song. I listen to it when I want to amp my speed while out running.

  • What I love about this tour is the overall sound (there are a few soundboard recordings available on Youtube...). Phil Collins has a particularly gigantic drums and percussion kit (even timpani !). The lead sounds coming from Tony's ARP 2600 and Polymoog (first and only time he went on tour with these two) are the ones I prefer. The most curious thing for me is the electric guitar sound coming from both Mike and Daryl. A bit "synthy", if it makes sense to you... Probably because they're using the new synth guitar equipment.

    (Yes, I'm a bit of a stage gear nerd, hihi...)

  • I also like the live recordings a lot, Phil was still a beginner as a singer and frontman and you can hear this…

    Was too young to attend any of the shows, unfortunately.

  • was this tour officially called the "mirrors tour", like on posters etc? And why - just because of use of mirrored lighting?

    No it wasn't officially called that. As far as I know if it had an official name it was just the And Then There Were Three tour. Many fans refer to it as The Mirrors Tour because, yes, it was the tour that had the big mirrors.

    Abandon all reason

  • No it wasn't officially called that. As far as I know if it had an official name it was just the And Then There Were Three tour. Many fans refer to it as The Mirrors Tour because, yes, it was the tour that had the big mirrors.

    So I take it it's just because "the And then there were three tour" is a bit of a mouthful? (Why not just call it the '78 tour?)

  • I saw this tour at the Montreal Forum in July of '78. It was not called the "mirrors tour" lol. By the way, they weren't mirrors. It was mylar (the same stuff they use to make inflatable balloons) stretched across gambles that rotated. They would shoot lights on these mylar frames and reorient the lights accordingly. Think of it as primitive varilights lol. What I most enjoyed about this tour is the chances Genesis token their setlist. Fountain of Salamis, In the Cage, Ripples were songs that had either never been played live or not played for some time (3-4 years). They became much more predictable on future tours. The lasers were also cool in '78 and an expansion what they had done on the previous 2 tours. All great memories, though admittedly sketchy ones 43 years later.

  • I saw this tour at the Montreal Forum in July of '78. It was not called the "mirrors tour" lol. By the way, they weren't mirrors. It was mylar (the same stuff they use to make inflatable balloons) stretched across gambles that rotated. They would shoot lights on these mylar frames and reorient the lights accordingly. Think of it as primitive varilights lol. What I most enjoyed about this tour is the chances Genesis token their setlist. Fountain of Salamis, In the Cage, Ripples were songs that had either never been played live or not played for some time (3-4 years). They became much more predictable on future tours. The lasers were also cool in '78 and an expansion what they had done on the previous 2 tours. All great memories, though admittedly sketchy ones 43 years later.

    G-i-m-b-a-l-s

  • So I take it it's just because "the And then there were three tour" is a bit of a mouthful? (Why not just call it the '78 tour?)

    Hey, And Then There Were Three tour is better than the Mama Tour. I was in college at the time. I remember wearing my concert t-shirt while walking across campus thinking how cool I must look only to have someone point and laugh out loud in a mocking voice “The MAMA tour?”

  • I stand corrected. I always thought it was mylar. I've never heard of micron. What's more interesting is that this concept of rotating lighting really gave way to the idea of varilights 2-3 years later. And those were a mess during the Abacab tour also apparently. It looked great form where I was standing but the band moaned about how often they broke down and needed to be replaced. People forget how instrumental Genesis was in concert sound and lighting.

  • Geez, I re-read the interview and it's an interesting one. I stopped counting how many times the author refers to the French as "the Frogs". Being French-Canadian, that doesn't go over terribly well and would absolutely never be in an article written in 2021. But 1978 was a long time ago..... I was also reminded of how acrimonious Hackett's departure was (at least from his side). He really comes off as an ass (sorry) in this interview (and I remember reading many similar interviews around 1978 in the music press). And you still get a sense of that "anti-Genesis" vibe from him on occasion, even in 2021, an odd thing since he's playing a Genesis Show! I wish they would just let things go but musicians being musicians (many are emotionally stuck in their teenage and young adult years, even in their '70s), I"m not holding my breath. I should scan and upload the ancient articles I have about Genesis too; it's interesting to read some of that stuff 45+ years later...