Mike Rutherford Mike’s tuning up the engine for night of hits
Mike Rutherford plays the National Stadium in Dublin tomorrow night with Mike & The Mechanics, which he founded in the mid-1980s as a side project to seminal ‘prog’ rock band Genesis.
He vividly remembers the last time he played Irish boxing’s spiritual home with the latter band, which he founded with Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks and later enjoyed huge success when the line-up was completed by Phil Collins.
‘We played there in September 1972,’ the bassist/guitarist says without hesitation.
September 28, 1972, is burned into the 68-year-old’s memory due to the bold sartorial choice lead singer Gabriel made that autumn evening in Dublin.
‘He came out on stage wearing a red dress and a fox’s head mask,’ Rutherford remembers.
‘It was the first time Peter had worn an outfit on stage. I was never likely to ever forget that. He walked offstage and then re-appeared wearing the costume. I thought “What the hell...?” The following week a picture from the show was on the front page of The Melody Maker magazine. That night is often cited in the history of the band. It was the first night he wore something outrageous on stage, but it wasn’t the last of course.’
Genesis enjoyed huge success with Gabriel on both sides of the Atlantic until he left in 1975 to pursue a successful solo career. However, the commercial success of the previous incarnation was nothing compared to when Phil Collins stepped from behind the drums to become the band’s front-man and started a run of multi-platinum albums and stadium tours over the next couple of decades in parallel with his own solo career.
Rutherford decided to throw his hat in the ring as a solo artist under the name Mike & The Mechanics. With Rutherford as the mainstay, a revolving group of musicians and singers played on their various albums and occasional tours. ‘Out of Genesis you had Peter and Phil’s solo careers, so I thought a third successful one unlikely. It instead gave us some lovely moments and songs that people took to their hearts through the years,’ he says. Songs including Over My Shoulder, All I Need Is A Miracle and tearjerker The Living Years were worldwide hits. ‘Mike & The Mechanics never toured that much, so many people have never got the chance to hear a lot of our songs live.’
Many fans hanker after a Genesis reunion.
‘None of us have ever ruled out trying to do something,’ Rutherford says.
Meanwhile, you can see Rutherford’s multiplatinum selling, much-loved ‘side project’ instead.
Mike & The Mechanics play Dublin’s National Stadium tomorrow night.