...and Genesis, the band whose original stage presentation wins them the Best British Live Act title
Genesis are not best Live Act in the MM Pop Poll by accident. They work hard at their stage act, which has become renowned as one of the most original and meaningful in rock, transcending the normal use of visuals as a superior prop.
Whatever Peter Gabriel unleashes on stage, in the way of masks, machinery or lighting, it is usually intended to relate to their special brand of music.
And where music is concerned they work even harder, as the original purpose of Genesis was that it should be a vehicle for song writing.
Their work has of course expanded over the last few years, into major pieces of startling fantasy.
But as one of their main writers, keyboard player Tony Banks explained this week, their new album, still under wraps, sees a move back to perhaps less complex works.
Tony is soft-spoken, intelligent and sharp. He gave up a university course to throw in his lot with Genesis, and hasn't regretted it.
Genesis seem to have been out of the public eye since their seasons of concerts at Drury Lane Theatre last winter, but they have been busy touring America, Europe and in recent months, working on the next LP to follow up 'Selling England By The Pound'. During their absence they had a hit single with 'I Know What I Like', much to their surprise.
"We were going to record the album in a house in Hampshire where Led Zeppelin record, but that fell through when we used up too much time rehearsing. So we went to a studio in Wales - it was the only place we could find.
"No, there's not been any drastic change in the band's policy, but the LP is quite different from the previous album. It's going to be a double, and the reason for that is in the past we have tried to put 28 minutes of music on each side, which reduces quality.
"You're supposed to have only 21 minutes. We also had a lot to record, 25 different sections, which are shorter than say, 'Supper's Ready' which was one idea in seven sections.
"The album has a story line which will be self-explanatory, but it's another fantasy, and the lyrics carry it through. I contribute the music, while the lyrics come from Peter. We always write the music first, we can never find another way of doing it.
"I suppose we have been out of the public eye in Britain, but we toured America twice, and one was an extensive ten week tour."
Were the men in Genesis tempted to indulge in any solo projects as is the wont among established bands? "Mike Rutherford is trying to get a solo LP together, but it's just a question of time. I'd like to do something myself, because working with the group all the time can be restrictive.
"You get to know exactly what everybody is capable of and work towards that. But there are lots of different things I'd like to try.
"Oh, I don't know...simpler things. Something like Stevie Wonder does, but not the same of course. Something where technique does not take the strongest role.
"But in the meantime, we have to concentrate on Genesis and the LP is due out after the British tour. I suppose it would have been better to put it out before.
"But on the tour we won't just play the new material, we'll play some of the old things, and we'll probably break up the new stuff into sections. We haven't decided how yet."
It is often a source of mystery how some of our more advanced and writing-conscious bands get their work done together. Eavesdropping at rehearsals is no good. Even the most precise and ordered groups seem to work in a psychological shell that the outsider finds impossible to pierce.
Fragments of music are played, notes struck, tapes run - none of it makes sense.
I remember a Genesis rehearsal where the band seemed to spend hours making tea and discussing cameras. But the real work seems to go on inside their heads, and the only communication is by telepathy.
"We all write individually," explained Tony, "and when we come together as a group, we pool all the ideas, and work on the best bits. The last LP we did was a weird one.
"To my mind, none of the numbers were good or strong enough. They never made the group sound as good as they do on 'Musical Box' or 'Giant Hogweed', except perhaps for 'Cinema Show'. Somehow they didn't come across on stage. 'The Battle of Epping Forest' never came off live, mainly because there was a battle within the band, between the fast vocal line and the full band backing.
"Peter was careering around the stage so much that he kept going off microphone. I felt this was true of the whole album to an extent. But it's difficult to tell what it's like on stage, and we don't know what the audience hears or whether they are enjoying it. We can't tell unless we get a response from them."
Was the band solvent now, and into the wads of cash our super groups are alleged to earn?
"I don't know! It costs us such a lot to put on our big stage show, considerably more than we get from it. It would be nice to do a show without theatre, but people expect it and would be disappointed if we didn't.
"We've been working on ideas all the time for a new show, to work in conjunction with the music, perhaps less spectacular than before, but more effective. We used slides before that popped up on a screen behind us, but now it will be more of a backdrop for us.
"Big light shows were a phase that rock went through, but they rarely seemed to involve the band, and seemed to be run more for their own sake. We had a show once with drops of oil projected on us, but it didn't really mean anything to our music. It didn't coincide - it just came up at odd places.
"But we don't think that visuals are restricting. Of all our total effort, the main part goes into the music, a smaller part goes into the lyrics, and the least goes into stage presentation. But that is what most people like us for. I'm not complaining! It's nice if people like it, and it doesn't worry us."
With such a rare bunch of individuals in the band, Peter, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford, were there ever any major clashes or crises?
"No, not really. Every LP is a test to see if the band can still work together. There are always small crises but nothing serious. There are a lot of different musical personalities within the group, but we find common ground to build on."
"Phil enjoys playing a lot, perhaps more than the rest of us, so he has his own little band that goes out and does odd gigs. I suppose drummers are more adaptable than other instrumentalists.
"In fact, I've never played in any other band than Genesis, except at school, and even that was with Peter. I wouldn't have been in a band at all, but I became obsessed with the music we were writing, and I gave up everything for that.
"I was at Sussex University for a year before we went professional. I was studying philosophy and physics. I suppose I drifted along with the tide, although Genesis had a real struggle in the early days."
-Chris Welch