After tons of speculation and press leaks, the news are official as of this morning: Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford will tour together again under the Genesis moniker, playing eight shows between November 23 and December 11 in the UK. The concerts will take place in Liverpool, Newcastle, London, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester, England, and Glasgow, Scotland and the tour is dubbed “The Last Domino?” in a nod to the band’s two-part 1986 song “Domino”
GENESIS last performed together in 2007 to mark the 40th anniversary of their formation at Charterhouse School in Surrey.
Founding lead singer Peter Gabriel and lead guitarist Steve Hackett are not involved in the GENESIS reunion. Gabriel left the band in 1975 to pursue a solo career and Hackett departed in 1977. Collins‘s 18-year-old son Nicholas will play drums on the tour while Daryl Stuermer will handle guitar and bass.
A Genesis reunion of any sort seemed very unlikely just a few years ago. Collins was not only unable to play drums because of extensive nerve damage to his hands, but he also said he was retired from the music industry. He declared himself “no longer officially retired” in 2015 and began playing solo shows in 2017. His teenage son Nicholas played the drums and Phil sat in a chair for the entire show, but it still packed arenas and stadiums all over the globe across a two-year period.
Collins said of his son’s involvement: “For me, it wasn’t a deal breaker, but… it was a problem we had to overcome, with me not playing, although I’ll be doing my best to play some bits on the tour.”
Rutherford guested at a 2019 show in Berlin to perform the 1978 Genesis hit “Follow You Follow Me” and Collins began hinting about a possible reunion. “We remain good friends,” he told the crowd at most shows, “so you never know.” The three of them were spotted together at a New York Knicks game in January amid reports that they were rehearsing for a tour.
“I think it’s a natural moment,” Rutherford said Wednesday on BBC Radio 2. “It’s happened very naturally. Phil‘s been out on tour the last two and a half years doing his stuff and it sort of seemed … the natural moment to have a conversation about it. We’re all good friends, we’re all above grass and here we are.”
“I’m looking forward to doing it,” Rutherford added “I worked it out and we’ve only done two shows in the U.K. in the last 28 years, so we haven’t over-worked it.”
Tickets for “The Last Domino?” tour go on sale Friday, March 6 at 3 a.m. EST (9 a.m. BST).
Genesis “The Last Domino?” Tour Dates:
November 16th – Dublin @ 3 Arena
November 19th – Belfast @ SSE Arena
November 23rd – Liverpool @ M&S Bank Arena
November 26th – Newcastle @ Utilita Arena
November 29th – London @ The O2
November 30th – London @ The O2
December 2nd – Leeds @ Leeds Direct Arena
December 5th – Birmingham @ Birmingham Arena
December 8th – Manchester @ Manchester Arena
December 11th – Glasgow @ SSE Arena
