Genesis are an English rock band formed in 1967. With approximately 150 million albums sold worldwide, Genesis are among the top 30 highest-selling recording artists of all time. In 1988, the band won a Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video. The longest-tenured members of Genesis are Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks. Peter Gabriel, Anthony Phillips and Steve Hackett were also members of the band in its early days.
Genesis began as a 1960s pop band playing moody, simple keyboard-driven melodies. During the 1970s, they evolved into a progressive rock band, incorporating complex song structures and elaborate instrumentation, while their concerts became theatrical experiences with innovative stage design, pyrotechnics, elaborate costumes and onstage stories. This second phase was characterised by lengthy performances such as the 23 minute "Supper's Ready" and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the 1974 concept album. In the 1980s, the band produced accessible pop music based on melodic hooks; this change of direction gave them their first number one album in the United Kingdom, Duke, and their only number one single in the United States, "Invisible Touch".
Genesis has changed personnel several times. Founding member Anthony Phillips left the band in 1970 due to stage fright. In 1975, Collins, then the band's drummer, replaced Gabriel as lead singer after a lengthy search for a replacement. To facilitate Collins's move to lead vocals during concerts, Bill Bruford, and later Chester Thompson, played drums for the band, with Collins joining in briefly during lengthy instrumental passages. After Phil Collins left the band in 1996, Genesis recruited Ray Wilson (formerly of Stiltskin), who appeared on the 1997 album Calling All Stations. As a result of the commercial failure of Calling All Stations, the band announced an indefinite hiatus. However, in 2007, Banks, Collins and Rutherford reunited for a 20-city tour of Europe and North America, which included a free concert at Rome's Circo Massimo in front of 500,000 fans.
