Six of the Best was a reunion concert between the rock band

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

, their original lead singer

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

and former guitarist

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...

. It took place on a wet Saturday, 2 October 1982, at the National Bowl in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Genesis were introduced on to the stage by

Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...

, who discovered and christened the band fifteen years earlier. The support bands were

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

The Blues Band The Blues Band is a British blues band formed in 1979 by Paul Jones, former lead vocalist and harmonica player with Manfred Mann, and guitarist Tom McGuinness also of Manfred Mann and The Roosters. The band’s first line-up also included ba ...

and

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles " Talk Talk" (1982), " It's My Life", and " ...

Background

The classic Genesis quintet of

Mike Rutherford Michael John Cloete Crawford Rutherford (born 2 October 1950) is an English guitarist, bassist and songwriter, co-founder of the rock band Genesis. Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks are the group's two continuous members. Initially servin ...

, Tony Banks,

and

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

became a quartet when lead vocalist

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ� ...

left Genesis at the end of ''

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'' is the sixth studio album by the English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released as a double album on 18 November 1974 by Charisma Records and is their last to feature original frontman Peter Gabriel. It ...

'' tour in 1975. After a lengthy search for a new lead singer, the band decided that Collins could take on the role while remaining the band's drummer. For touring, they needed an additional drummer to play while Collins sang. Ex-

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talent ...

and

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

drummer

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording ...

joined for their 1976 tour before

Chester Thompson Chester Cortez Thompson (born December 11, 1948) is an American drummer best known for his tenures with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Weather Report, Santana, the progressive rock band Genesis and Phil Collins as a solo artist. Thom ...

took on the role for all future live dates. Lead guitarist Hackett's departure in 1977 made Genesis the trio they remained. In 1978,

Daryl Stuermer Daryl Mark Stuermer (born November 27, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer best known for playing the guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most solo tours and albums. He has al ...

was recruited as a touring guitarist and bassist on live shows. Peter Gabriel pursued a successful solo career, releasing four albums between 1977 and 1982. Also in 1982, Gabriel and his company planned and staged the first

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

concert. It was a commercial failure, put down to lack of suitable transport to the venue and publicity, and left Gabriel facing financial ruin and considerable personal pressure. At the suggestion of his and Genesis' manager, Tony Smith, he and his ex-band mates agreed to play together for a single show under the name 'Six of the Best' along with

and

. Genesis were completing their Three Sides Live Encore tour with three concerts at Hammersmith Odeon on 28th-30th September. At least one full band rehearsal took place on 29th September at Hammersmith Odeon. Gabriel opened the show by rising from a coffin carried to the stage by four pallbearers, a stunt that was not known by the other musicians prior to the show. Hackett appeared on stage during the encores after arriving late from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

. Rutherford celebrated his 32nd birthday on the day of the concert and the crowd sang 'Happy Birthday' to him during the show. The revenues generated by the concert allowed the WOMAD creditors to be paid, the festival to be established and Gabriel to resume his solo career.

Set list

#"Back in N.Y.C." #"

Dancing with the Moonlit Knight "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" is a song by the progressive rock band Genesis. It was released on their 1973 album ''Selling England by the Pound''. The song was originally going to be titled "Disney". The album takes its name from a lyric in ...

" (intro and first verse only) #"

The Carpet Crawlers "The Carpet Crawlers" is a song by the English progressive rock band Genesis, recorded for their sixth studio album ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway''. Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks wrote most of the music, with the help of Peter Gabriel. Ly ...

" #"

Firth of Fifth "Firth of Fifth" is a song by the British progressive rock band Genesis. It first appeared as the third track on the 1973 album '' Selling England by the Pound'', and was performed as a live piece either in whole or in part throughout the band's ...

" #" The Musical Box" #" Solsbury Hill" #" Turn It On Again" (vocals: Phil Collins; drums: Peter Gabriel) #"

" #"Fly on a Windshield" #"Broadway Melody of 1974" #" In the Cage" #"

Supper's Ready "Supper's Ready" is a song by the progressive rock band Genesis, recorded for their 1972 studio album ''Foxtrot''. At 23 minutes in length, it is the band's longest recorded song and almost takes up the entire second side of the vinyl. Frontman ...

" Encore #

I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" was the first charting single by the rock band Genesis. It was drawn from their 1973 album ''Selling England by the Pound''. The single was released in the UK in February 1974, and became a minor hit in ...

" (guitar: Steve Hackett) #" The Knife" (guitar: Steve Hackett)

Recording

No official recording of the concert has been released but several audience recordings were gathered during 2007 and digitally remastered. In 2015, Mike Rutherford expressed his regret that the concert had not been filmed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Six Of The Best Concerts Genesis (band)