:: interesting incidents

This page is not just intended to be a list of shows where Genesis performed sub-perfect, but a list of interesting incidents that are worth hearing

Add your own incidents to the list

Date : Venue: Recorded :

Incident :

Email : Name :

Genesis

Date
Venue
 Incident
Recorded?
 Source / Submitted By
09 Apr 72
Lem, Verona
 Problems occur and Phil does one handed drum solo
Yes
 Simon Funnell (simon@genesis-movement.org)
14 Apr 72 (evening show)
Pavia
 During "The Return Of The Giant Hogweed", the electricity goes off. Phil Collins played a drum solo and when power returned, they didn't restart the song but continued it from the point they left it at.
Unknown
 Matteo (teocalle@hotmail.com)
19 Apr 72
Napoli
 Power failure at the mellotron - a drum solo occours while the technician (or Tony himself) fix the problem
Yes
 Casimiro Baldanza (baldanza@bo.infn.it)
18 Nov 72
Imperial College, London
 Steve played a wrong note during the guitar solo of Giant Hogweed and had some problems to find again the right way.
Yes
 Edoardo Cantù
(dr.dado@libero.it)
17 Feb 73
Sheffield
 Lost power during Musical Box which they had to then restart
Yes
 Simon Funnell (simon@genesis-movement.org)
23 Oct 73
Liverpool
 Steve completely botching up the opening guitar work for "Cinema Show". Peter of course quips about it, however, unfortunately, his voice is muffled during this moment, as the person recording was having problems with his equipment. So, you really can't hear what Gabriel related, in response to Steve's very embarrassing miscue. It perhaps was a tuning problem with his guitar, or an outright F**k up, hard to tell really.
Yes
 Mark Bataitas (genesisman@juno.com)
23 Oct 73
Liverpool
 Steve couldn't perform the intro to "The Musical Box" either. In place of the opening guitar to TMB, you hear Mike play his Bass pedal, reminiscient of what we hear on the "Live" album. Peter responds to this, simply saying "Michael Rutherford". After about 4 minutes or so of Peter making jokes, Phil seemingly attempting his infamous "One Handed Drum Solo", that he utilized during the really old days when technical difficulties arose, they skipped TMB all together and performed "Battle of Epping Forrest".
Yes
 Mark Bataitas (genesisman@juno.com)
08 Nov 73
Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada
 The band showed up at the venue, but the truck carrying their light show didn't! At some point in the show an audience member yells, "Where's the
lights"?
Yes
 Ted Sapp (Paperlatr1@aol.com)
06 Feb 74
Napoli
 Power failure at the mellotron - a drum solo occours while the technician (or Tony himself) fix the problem
Yes
 Casimiro Baldanza (baldanza@bo.infn.it)
16 Apr 74
Ford Auditorium, Detroit
 During the story of The musical box, someone in the audience shouts at Peter "Your mother eats shit !" and something else after that is not clear. Peter answers "My mother does not eat shit". After some audience applause, Phil adds "There's also a bar..." I guess inviting the offender to leave the venue and drink his strangely-originated anger away.
Yes
 Eduardo de Udaeta (e.udaeta@step.net.ar)
06 May 74
Academy Of Music, NYC
 Listen to the bootleg, Live At The Academy Of Music, Peter starts Firth of Fifth with the last verse and ends with the first.
Yes
 Ian Barrow (pleasedonttouch@shaw.ca)
06 Dec 74
Academy Of Music, NYC
 During the middle of the waiting room a fuse blows and the band is left in the dark.Phil instantly starts a drum solo while the roadies look for the fuse box which has and all of the stage area has been painted black. After about a minute or so the band picks up where it left off.
Yes
 apachon@hotmail.com
08 Dec 74
Providence
 Raindrops keep falling on my synthesizer. Tony has some problems with his keyboards. Pete makes light of it.
Yes

Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
10 Apr 75
Groningen, Martinihal (Holland)
 Peter starts singing "And the lamb lies down..." and falls flat on his face on the stage.
Unknown
 Willem Beens (willemenrosilda@home.nl)
16 Apr 75
Southampton
 During Windshield they interrupt due to technical problems, so Phil does his drum solo which then leads back into Windshield
Yes

Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
13 Apr 76
Pittsburgh
 After the first song Phil says "Hello Baltimore!", which is actually about 300 miles from Pittsburgh! He then tries to dig himself out of the hole he has created!
Yes
 Ted Sapp (Paperlatr1@aol.com)
15 Apr 76
Cleveland
 The wrong tape is played during Supper's Ready during the "we will rock you little snake" section
Yes

Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
10 Jan 77
Manchester
Your Own Special Way starts with a hideous 'Braaannnggg' because Mike's 12-string is out of tune. Phil chips in with the old "It was in tune when he bought it" gag. Mike re-tunes and the song re-starts.
Yes

Warren Banks (warren@wuzbug.freeserve.co.uk)
24 Mar 77
Los Angeles
During Supper's Ready Phil sings "666" too soon
Yes

Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
24 Mar 77
Los Angeles
 One overly enthusiastic fan managed to get on stage [during Carpet Crawlers] and, seeing that Phil's drum kit was vacant, decided to play along. The would-be stickman was forcibly removed from his throne by three roadies. PC said. "It could only happen in Los Angeles...I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now.."
Yes
 Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
Graham Collins (gpcollins7@aol.com)
25 Mar 77
Winterland
 The band refuses to start the show until everyone sits down, even though it is festival seating. They send an announcer out on stage to force the audience to sit down. It has no effect on the excited audience, and after about 15 minutes, the band gives up the idea and proceeds, playing to a standing crowd.
Yes
 Rob Lawrence (simons52@nvbell.net)
11 May 77
Porto alegre / Brazil
 On the second night in Brazil, half way through the show, Mike placed his hands over his mouth and ran off-stage due to illness. The band carried on for the rest of the instrumental song and then finished the gig.
Unknown
 -
04 Apr 78
Kalamazoo
 Show suffers from (keyboard?) technical difficulties. Phil does a brief drum solo to let the technicians do their job. Down and Out [Brief drum solo] One for the Vine.
Yes

Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
31 Jul 78
Saratoga
 Afterglow is played as a stand-alone w/o Cinema Show. Don't know why.
Yes

Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
03 Sep 78
Saarbruken
 Show suffers from (keyboard?) technical difficulties. Phil does a brief drum solo to let the technicians do their job. After Motherlode and before Vine
Yes

Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
03 Dec 78
Sun Plaza Hotel, Japan
 The synthesiser breaks down before Ripples, they play an improvisation. This synthesiser keeps getting troubles throughout a large part of the show and they keep playing improvisations before the next 4 songs. Phil doesn't know how to explain this in Japanese (embarrassed silences).
Yes
 Halley Ros (halja@wxs.nl)
17 April 80
Sheffield
 The man who shouts 'Albatross' during the story of Albert - I was that soldier. Also Mike split his yellow trousers at the start of the gig - no smoke machines allowed so the roadies came on smoking instead.
Yes
 Dave Hodgson (david@alternativecarelimited.co.uk)
07 Jun 80
Mecca Arena, Milwaukee
 On squonk phil finish the third verse of the song and then begins the song all over again!So it's about eight mins. long!
Yes

Andres Pachon (apachon@hotmail.com)
09 Jun 80
Clarkeston
 Daryl is off ill so the band play a reduced set as a four piece
Yes
 Simon Funnell (simon@genesis-movement.org)
11 Jun 80
Cleveland
 Someone decides to light a cherry bomb in the crowd after One For The Vine
Yes

Andres Pachon (apachon@hotmail.com)
11 Jun 80
Cleveland
 Phil sings a five second version of Supper's Ready
Yes

Simon Funnell (simon@genesis-movement.org)
26 Sep 81
San Sebastian
 Mike screws up the beginning of Abacab
Yes
 Simon Funnell (simon@genesis-movement.org)
03 Oct 81
Groenenoordhal, Leiden, Holland
 The infamous booing concert. The crowd boo the band and Phil has words.
Yes

Simon Funnell (simon@genesis-movement.org)
06 Oct 81
Essen, Germany
Daryl has problems with the beginning of Abacab
Yes

Simon Funnell (simon@genesis-movement.org)
16 Oct 81
Cologne
Initial verses of Duchess are missing. Possible mic failure?
Yes
 Casimiro Baldanza (baldanza@bo.infn.it)
18 Oct 81
Cologne
Phil starts Sarah Jane story and stops: "I f**ked up, this is Carpet Crawl !".
Yes
 Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
29 Oct 81
Frejus
 Phil makes mistakes on the start of I Know What I Like, it seems that he forget the words (listen in Me And Virgil or Picture About)
Yes
 Casimiro Baldanza (baldanza@bo.infn.it)

12 Sep 82

Copenhagen
During the Cage Medley, Tony gets a bit confused and begins the chord sequence into Afterglow too early during the Slippermen sequence.
Yes
 Will Ingram (seantheirishbastard@hotmail.com)

07 Nov 83

Normal
Phil does the "Masturbation will not make me go deaf !"-quote as in intro to Home by the Sea. Not really an incident but who expected this from Mr. Nice guy. .
Yes
 Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)

08 Nov 83
Ames
Phil does the "Masturbation will not make me go deaf !"-quote as in intro to Home by the Sea. Not really an incident but who expected this from Mr. Nice guy. .
Yes
 Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
10 Nov 83
Milwaukee
Mike's guitar dies and they start that's all without him. Phil says mike will catch up later.
Yes
 -
23 Nov 83
Maple Leaf Gardens - Toronto
 While Phil is telling his tale leading into "Illegal Alien", Mike, Tony, Daryl and Phil are putting on their 'prop' sunglasses for the "clandestine" effect, and Chester is sitting behind his kit, daydreaming, completely oblivious to what is going on around him, thus missing his cue to don his sunglasses. It was really quite funny, as Phil stopped talking he, Tony, Mike, and Daryl just stood in silence and stared at Chester, with their sunglasses on, until he realised it was time to put on his "Illegal Alien" sunglasses. He put them on, to boisterous applause!
Yes
 Mike Kameka
mlkameka@hotmail.com
27 Nov 83
Spectrum, Philadelphia
Tony screws up the cinema show solo. He makes some mistakes (bar counting mostly). It's recorded on the "No Reply At All" bootleg.
Yes
 Santi Jansen
(Genesis_midi@yahoo.es)
09 Jan 84
Vancouver
 Phil ends Squonk (part of the 11th earl medley) too early, after he try to sing the missing words
Yes
 Casimiro Baldanza (baldanza@bo.infn.it)
17 Jan 84
Denver, USA
 During Firth Of Fifth, inside the first medley, at the moment of the solo the Daryl's guitar dies after two notes. The other musicians continue to play the same section of the song until Daryl fixes or changes the guitar. So the FOF solo begins
Yes
 Casimiro Baldanza (baldanza@bo.infn.it)
21 Jan 84
Dallas
 There's a power-outage during Los Endos (twice !)
Yes
 -
25 Jan 84
Lakeland Arena, New Orleans
 Phil screws up lyrics to Home By The Sea
Yes
 Simon Funnell (simon@genesis-movement.org)
29 Jan 84
Kemper Arena, Kansas City
 Band are affected by a power outage during Illegal Alien
Yes
 Simon Funnell (simon@genesis-movement.org)
25 Feb 84
Birmingham NEC
 Had to restart Eleventh Earl after first couple of bars
Yes
 Simon Funnell (simon@genesis-movement.org)
01 Oct 86
NYC
 A woman comes on stage and starts hugging Phil. Phil misses a line from "Invisible Touch", and the woman is carried away. This can be seen on vid too !
Yes

Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
23 Nov 86
Auckland, NZ
Phil screws his voice completely during the tough singing of Apocalypse 9/8. Somehow he finishes the song, but he wasn't able to sing the lyrics correctly anymore and is mostly out of key. Not surprisingly, Supper was dropped from the setlist shortly (or immediately ?) after this concert.
Yes

Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
11 Jun 87
De Kuip, Rotterdam
 Band walk off stage halft way through the Turn It On Again medley due to a rather rowdy audience
Yes
 Simon Funnell (simon@genesis-movement.org)
20 Jun 87
Mannheim, Germany
Mike has a lapse of guitar playing ability during the last part of thats all,but he saves it just in time.
Yes
 Paul Bower (bows_25@hotmail.com)
17 May 92
Tampa, Florida
 Show cancelled after two songs due to Phil's throad problems
Yes

Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
25 May 92
Cleveland, Ohio
 A guy threw a cup of beer on stage and I think Mike slipped on the slippery steps when getting back onstage after doing the ICD "walk." . All without missing a note!
Unknown

Tony Lastoria (tlastoria@yahoo.com)

Matt Lathrum (Matt.Lathrum@motorola.com)
05 Jun 92
Syracuse, NY
 Phil announces a marriage proposal of an audience member
and this guy is literally set in the spot lights. Then Genesis play Hold on my heart. This event is also bootlegged on video-camera.
Yes

Martijn Van Beek (earl_of_genesis@hotmail.com)
04 Mar 98
Cardiff International Arena
 During Turn it on Again, when Ray Wilson introduces the band, he calls Tony "Tony Hatch" (obviously thinking of Crossroads and Neighbours!)
Yes

Andrew Ralph (andy@ralph9000.freeserve.co.uk)

Peter Gabriel

Date Venue Incident Recorded? Source / Submitted By
10 Aug 83 Seattle Peter forgets the lyrics to solsbury hill and a roadie has to bring out the words for him to read off a paper and the songs restarted. Yes

Frank (RAEL75@aol.com)
22 Nov 93 Milano, Italy PG announces Red Rain but the next song in the list is Kiss That Frog. Peter corrects himself and begins to joke with the names of the two songs "...mighty the Frog Rain!"
 Yes Casimiro Baldanza (baldanza@bo.infn.it)
16 Sep 02 Alcatraz Club, Milano, Italy Peter forgets the words at the begining of the new 'UP' song 'More Than This'. Peter stops the band, jokes about his memory with the audience: "Escusa, la memoria di Piter, kaputt! Ancora una volta, More Than This!" (Sorry, Peter's memory, dead! More Than This again!). Then the song is started again Yes Casimiro Baldanza (baldanza@bo.infn.it)
31 Aug 02 Munich KöniXXtreffen Peter forgets the words at the begining of "Jetzt kommt die Flut". He must read off the text and is very uncertain. Yes Tina Charoll
(tina.charoll@gmx.net)
15 Nov 02 Minneapolis A guy in the 6th row took a leak on the ground. P.A. System was all messed up. "Sky blue" is among 3-4 songs which they battle on thru even though the audience can't hear a note. Peter stopped the concert until the p.a. system could be fixed. During the delay, Ged Lynchplays an impromptu drum solo.
 Yes Don (Dwotal@aol.com)
30 Nov 02 Colisee - Quebec City Peter starts with the second verse on Sledgehammer. Melanie
looks at Tony in complete awe. Peter signals the band to
repeat the verse - the mishap goes virtually unnoticed.		 Yes Christian Berube (christian_berube@roche.ca)
11 Dec 02 Staples Center Instead of singing the third verse of "Solsbury Hill", Peter
repeats the second verse. David Rhodes shoots him a knowing wink as Peter rides by on his bicycle.		 Yes Tom Roche (tomroche@hotmail.com)
12 Dec 02 Phoenix, AZ When the Blind Boys came onstage for Sky Blue, the bass singer wasn't ready, trouble with his ear monitor. When they got it fixed it was too late for him to get to his position (center stage, half-sunken below the main stage, ready to rise up during the ending chorus) so he at the bottom of the stairs leading onto the stage, out of sight of everyone except those sitting right nearby, and sang his part flawlessly when the time came. Yes Rex (rexinlasvegas@yahoo.com)
26-Jun-03 Marcus Ampitheater - Milwaukee Peter has to restart due to forgetting the words. On "Darkness" he misses a few bars because he sneezes in which he calls "The first offical sneeze of the tour". During "Father, Son", very loud fireworks start going off in the background because it is the opening night of Summerfest. Everybody seems to be paying attention to the firworks rather than Peter who plays the song flawlessly. Yes Mike Lashua (mjlashua@yahoo.com)

Phil Collins

Date Venue Incident Recorded? Source / Submitted By
23 Feb 85 Birmingham
As a final encore Phil played You Know What I Mean, but has has a serious lapse of piano playing ability.
Yes

Joost (dutchtaper@email.com)
13 May 88 Atlantic 40th Anniversary
During his Piano set, Phil was playing "in the air tonight," when he forgot the lines. Where he should've said, "IT WAS THE FIRST TIME, THE LAST TIME WE EVER MET" his mind just blanked out, substituting it with a mumble, an embarrassed silence...and a loud "HA!"...
 Unknown

Kenny Jarus (Juliocigar@aol.com)
Jun(?) 90 Long Island, NY Right near the end of "In the air tonight", when Phil is pounding on the drums and singing...no more sound!! Maybe after five or ten minutes of the crowd banging on their seats, Phil came back, took the mic and said:"A f***ing fuse blew up!!" Unknown Yanick Cloutier
(cloutieryanick@hotmail.com)
13 Dec 94 Wembley When Phil is singing "Only You And I Know" he forgets some of the lyrics during the first verse Yes Paul Bower (bows_25@hotmail.com)
08 Jul 98 Copenhagen A drunk guy gets on the stage during "Sussudio" and takes the microphone and starts singing. Shortly afterwards the guards take care of him Unknown Michael (MTA@sns.dk)