Watch Genesis’ Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford Reunite on Stage
Genesis colleagues Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford appeared on stage together for the first time since the band’s last show in 2007 to perform their track “Follow You Follow Me.”
The unannounced event took place in Germany and Denmark on Collins’ current tour, on which Rutherford’s Mike + the Mechanics have been acting as support band.
You can watch “Follow You Follow Me” in Berlin below:
The subject of a Genesis reunion has been discussed frequently since Collins announced he was “no longer retired” in 2015. Last year he said he’d be interested in discussing the idea with Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks on the condition that they agreed to have his son, Nic Collins, replace him on drums. Back problems mean that Collins Senior is no longer able to play, and has to spend most of his solo shows seated. “Me, Mike and Tony are pretty close still,” he reported. “I can’t imagine what it would be like if I didn’t play the drums, but anything is possible.”
In 2017 Rutherford noted that he, Collins and Banks had enjoyed a “quite a special relationship” and there was no interest in continuing with Genesis while Collins was retired. “But we’ll see,” he said. “I do appreciate the fact that we’re all very good friends, which is nice, especially the three of us. Who knows?”
Banks started 2018 by saying that he was open to a reunion after having seen Collins perform the previous year. “[H]is voice sounds great, and his music still sounds fantastic and everything,” Banks said. “So I don’t rule it out at all. Mike and I see each other all the time, we get on well, no problem, so it’s never an impossibility.” However, later he expressed doubts about the quality of a theoretical return, saying: “Obviously, you could have someone else drumming and we could do a show, but it would have to be a very, very different kind of approach if we were to do anything again -- and, then, would that really be Genesis? You've got to make certain you can put on a show that is good enough to be a Genesis show.”
Collins’ Still Not Dead Yet tour continues across Europe until June 26, with North American dates beginning on September 23 and ending on October 19.
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