Tony Banks says he wouldn’t rule out a Genesis reunion
Echoing comments Mike Rutherford made last year, Tony Banks says wouldn't rule out reuniting with Genesis.
Tony, Mike and Phil Collins last performed together as Genesis at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles back in October 2007 on the Turn It On Again: The Tour.
Now, buoyed by seeing Phil perform live last year, keyboardist and co-founding member Tony has told US radio station 91.9 WFKP he’d be up for a reunion should the opportunity arise.
“Phil is out there again, which is fantastic … a year or two ago I would have thought he was never going to be out there again,” Tony said.
“He found a way to do it. It involves quite a static performance, but his voice sounds great, and his music still sounds fantastic and everything. 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.”
Tony added: "We’re all getting a bit long in the tooth, and who knows whether, if we came back together, anything of any worthwhile nature would actually happen. We could get into a room, say, ‘let’s do it’ and find there’s nothing to do! But we don’t rule it out. Phil’s got to survive his tour, first of all, and we’ll see where it goes!”
Reflecting upon how a new ‘version’ of Genesis could happen, Tony conceded: “The trouble is (Phil Collins is) our drummer, you must remember that, and he can’t drum anymore, so that’s a slight problem.”
Tony also heaped praise on Phil’s live production: “It was funny seeing him sitting down and everything, but the show was great and the music, the band is fantastic. The show itself is very good too, all the production and everything. It was great fun to see him.”
In an interview with the Daily Mirror last year, Mike Rutherford said that now Phil Collins is out of retirement the doors are open for a reunion – especially as he has maintained close contact with Phil and Tony.
Asked about the likelihood of them joining musical forces once again, Mike said: “With Phil retired, we never wanted to go on. But we’ll see. I do appreciate the fact that we’re all very good friends, which is nice, especially the three of us. Who knows?”
Tony Banks is releasing his new orchestral album ‘Five’ on Friday 2nd February.
Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett is embarking on a six-date Genesis Revisited tour featuring a 41-piece orchestra this coming October.
Taking in shows in Nottingham, Manchester, London, Birmingham, Gateshead and Glasgow in October, the tour was inspired by the success of Steve’s one-off show with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra at Kleinhans Music Hall in New York last March.