The Year of Genesis

While a number of rock bands have spawned one or more successful solo artists, few bands can boast that every single band member became an artist in their own right.  Fewer still can lay claim to the fact that every single member AND the band released new material simultaneously.  But that’s exactly what happened in 1986 or, as I like to call it, the year of Genesis.

The year began with Phil Collins hitting #1 with a song from the “White Nights” soundtrack even as Mike (Rutherford) & the Mechanics’ debut album placed two songs in the Top 10.

By spring, the fourth and final single from Phil Collins’ “No Jacket Required” album had made its way into the Top 10.

In June, Genesis released its thirteenth album, “Invisible Touch”.  It would become their biggest-selling, generating five Top 5 singles including the #1 title track.

That was also the same month that the third single from Mike & the Mechanics hit the Top 40.

Around that time, former vocalist Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” was making its climb up the chart.

By late July, Gabriel’s song had hit #1 just as former guitarist Steve Hackett and his band GTR released their self-titled debut.  That album generated a Top 20 hit.

Keyboardist Tony Banks also released solo music in 1986, composing the score for the Kevin Bacon film “Quicksilver”.  “Shortcut to Somewhere” was released as a single but failed to chart.  It featured Marillion’s Fish on vocals.

Finally, former guitarist Anthony Phillips released his “Private Parts & Pieces IV:  Ivory Moon” album, which was a series of pieces written for solo piano.

Unfortunately, like Banks’ efforts, Phillips’ album also failed to generate a Top 40 single.

Nevertheless, 1986 was a very good year for fans of Genesis.  In all, the band’s members accounted for eight albums and a dozen charting singles with nine of them reaching the Top 10 and three hitting #1.