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Genesis 1984 Picture Sleeve

From Peeta G – Mr. Pop – Did Phil Collins cut his first solo album while still with the group Genesis? My sister said he left the band and came back, then left again. It’s all so confusing.

Mr. Pop History – No so. He was with them through 1993 after a very long run. Phil Collins, the solo artist and his group “Genesis” co-existed through the 1980’s. .

This group has had such a long history and earlier, featured Peter Gabriel as the lead singer. They once featured five members, then four, but during their 1980’s hit-making years, Genesis was a threesome. I’ll pick things up from about 1981. It went like this:

At this time, the group consisted of  Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. In March of 1981, “Face Value” – Collins’ first solo album was released. Just a few months later, Genesis “Abacab” hit the market. Collins released his second album “Hello” about a year later and the trio released something called “Three Sides Live” and then “Hello, I Must Be Going” which was a huge seller for Genesis. His next solo album “No Jacket Required” was another big seller. 

All along, Phil Collins said he took great pains to create an atmosphere separate from the band. Clearly Collins was still with the band, but was doing his own thing, too. 

Genesis hit its peak in 1986 with the hit “Invisible Touch,” then took a hiatus for several years, but Phil Collins eventually left in 1993. Also during the 80’s, he produced music by and with other artists. He must have been one of the busiest musicians during that period in pop history. 

Hope that helps. This was a little truncated, but to the point.

Come back soon, as I answer, to the best of my knowledge, another one of your pop history/culture questions.