BRAND X: An Unorthodox History - Website Special

    • Official Post

    A few month ago we have completed yet another website special, this time spanning the unorthodox history of Brand X. For many, the band was Phil's side project, but it was actually more than that.


    You can find three parts of this special here:


    Part 1: Early years

    http://www.genesis-news.com/c-…-History-Part-1-s660.html


    Part 2: 1978-1982

    http://www.genesis-news.com/c-…-History-Part-2-s663.html


    Part 3: Reunions / Today

    http://www.genesis-news.com/c-…-History-Part-3-s668.html


    [Blocked Image: http://www.genesis-fanclub.de/media/collins/brand-x/unorthodox-history/brandx_historypt3_header.jpg]

  • I have always liked the music of Brand X but don't know much of the background so this will be good reading for me. Thanks

    “Without music, life would be a mistake”

  • An incredible band. I've got all of their stuff up to Do They Hurt (after Phil left I wasn't that interested) including Peter And The Wolf and Marscape which, although credited to Jack Lancaster and Robin Lumley, is often recognised as the beginning of what would be Brand X.


    Fellow Liverpudlian Percy Jones had a unique sound and was a big influence on the bass player with Indie band Stump. I think Phil and Percy played on some Brian Eno sessions in the early seventies if I'm not mistaken.


    My favourite Brand X album would probably be Moroccan Roll. I recently played Sun In The Night to my wife and asked her to guess who was doing the sanscript vocals at the start. She said Jon Anderson!

  • Brand X - The Movie ... coming in Fall 2019.



    See https://www.brandxthemovie.com/for details ....


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    "The Indie documentary project about Brand X has begun filming, and will shoot throughout 2019. The film looks at the price that true musicians must often pay for their art. With roughly one third of filming accomplished, the project still needs months of ongoing interview work, travels, hiring crew members & equipment, leading-up to post-production : months of editing, sound mix, writing, voice-overs, color grading, titles, research, acquisition of old footage, photographs, musical and publishing rights. It may require another eighteen months of production before every musician, manager, engineer, Rock n’Roll journalist, and ex-wife has been interviewed — and key performances have been filmed — shooting should wrap in the summer/fall of 2019. You or your loved ones may possess relevant Brand X props, photos (scans) from other decades, and heirlooms, that you wish to contribute so they can appear onscreen. Perhaps some of you simply have super 8 or 16mm film in the attic that shows ordinary footage of the Canterbury, London, or New York scenes in the 1970s/early ’80s… they can be seemingly banal visuals, even — Send a message. Many thanks! — Sylvain Despretz, Director/Producer"

  • Simply put, Tony Smith & Phil Collins walked away from Brand X after 1981. The last Brand X tour was really in 1980, Phil was on the Duke tour.


    Since then Brand X released a few albums but until then semi reformed in 2015. Supposedly Tony Smith has consistently told the other members of Brand X there is no money and no royalties from their music, this is often cited because touring costs from the 1970's and that 1980's tour are still being recouped in 2018.


    So the odds of Tony Smith and Phil Collins, suddenly wanting to get involved and take questions about Brand X are exceptionally slim.


    Kind regards


    Mark

  • From memory, there was a period when some ex-members of Brand X were going to reform as "Loud, Confident and Wrong", the proposed drummer was Graeme Edge of the Moody Blues. Rehearsals happened, nothing more.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • I knew about the money issues from reading an interview with Percy Jones so I can understand why Tony Smith might not be involved in the documentary. I don't see any reason why Phil wouldn't want to be interviewed about Brand X, though. He left the band, yes, because of his workload, not because of any bad feelings (indeed, both John Giblin and Peter Robinson were involved with his early solo records) and he's been interviewed about the music he made with the band many times since.

  • There's plenty of material out there:


    http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk/category/live/brand-x-live/


    http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk/category/brand-x-albumsong/


    Let's see if I am asked or if it is stolen.


    As for Phil he often describes BX as his mistress and Genesis as his wife! I'd be very surprised if he is that keen to do anything on camera, that said he was candid about BX in a few pages of his autobiography.


    Regards


    Mark

  • Yes, the reference is in Hugh Fielder's Book Of Genesis if memory serves. He refers to Genesis as the "staid wife" and Brand X as the "mistress with the big t*ts". In A Life Less Ordinary he describes Brand X as a "nice place to visit but you wouldn't want to live there".


    Undoubtedly, when the opportunity came to join Brand X, it was hugely appealing to Phil as jazz fusion was a lot closer to what he wanted to do than songs about hermaphrodites and lawnmowers. Here was a chance to be involved in music that had the chance of ranking alongside Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Miles Davis as opposed to Yes, Pink Floyd and ELP.


    And, for a brief period, his commitment to Brand X was total. In my opinion, some of the best music he has written (or co-written) was with that band: Nuclear Burn, Why Should I Lend You Mine (When You've Broken Yours Off Already) and And So To F. I think the first song Phil ever composed with a drum machine was with Brand X, too: Wal To Wal.


    During the Radio One documentary The Compleat Collins he said that as Brand X got tighter, so Genesis got a little looser, so it's clear that Phil's being in Brand X had a positive effect on Genesis's music. Again, I can't see any reason why he wouldn't want to be interviewed about his time in the band.

    • Official Post

    For those of you who haven't seen that yet

    check out our detailed Brand X special here

    https://www.genesis-news.com/c…rthodox-History-c274.html


  • Just read the very detailed 3-part history. I thought I had all their stuff, but it seems I have a few more to get! I've always thought Livestock was one of the greatest live recordings out there. Thanks for taking the time to put this together, Christian. A very pleasant read :):thumbup:

    • Official Post

    Just read the very detailed 3-part history. I thought I had all their stuff, but it seems I have a few more to get! I've always thought Livestock was one of the greatest live recordings out there. Thanks for taking the time to put this together, Christian. A very pleasant read :):thumbup:

    thx. I'll forward that to Steffen!

    • Official Post

    Following recent events (the sad passing of John Goodsall), we have updated part III of our website special about the history of Brand X


    https://www.genesis-news.com/c…-History-Part-3-s668.html