Mike Rutherford is non-committal about new music arriving from Genesis in the future, and not just because he’s restarted his other band Mike + the Mechanics. He said, in fact, every one’s busy — even the recently unretired Phil Collins. Peter Gabriel has been touring an anniversary show in celebration of So, while Steve Hackett is doing dates in support of Genesis Revisited II.
“We’re all busy,” Rutherford tells Radio.com. “Pete’s touring, I’m doing Mechanics stuff. But as Peter said, we’re all above grass still.”
Meanwhile, the forthcoming release of a new BBC documentary and career-spanning box set has provided another moment of validation for a band that, aside from belated recognition in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, rarely gets it due — even from Collins, who tends to downplay his contributions to music.
“We were huge for years,” Rutherford says. “When the bubble burst — which was always going to happen — Phil took it personally. And he took a lot of flak about being a balladeer. If you do a certain sort of music, you’re not ‘cool.’ He’s written some amazing songs, and he gets so much stick about it. And, as a defense mechanism, he does this [dismissive] thing, which is a bit silly. He’s loved by so many people.”
Rutherford, for his part, is clearly glad to see Collins return, after years of back problems. Certainly, that’s given fans hope for some sort of reunion down the road.
“I don’t know,” Rutherford said. “You know, drummers always complain, even when they’re healthy. But you never know. I’m not sure retirement suits him; it’s hard to retire.”
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