Transcribed by David Owen.
"MIAMI VOICE"
Or the night that PHIL COLLINS lost it! When GENESIS hit America with their spectacular "We Can't Dance" Tour, CHRIS WELCH joined the band in Miami for a glimpse of life backstage and preview of the Genesis wigs!
DENIS O'REGAN snapped happy!
"Here you are, you know the set - you do the show!"
Phil Collins snatched monitor plugs out of his ears seconds before he was dur on stage to sing in front of 56,000 eager fans, packed in the sweltering heat of the massive Tampa Stadium in Florida.
"Good luck", I muttered as Phil strode up the ramp to face the music. Just two songs, and 15 minutes later, the plugs were pulled - for real - and the entire Genesis show ground to a halt.
The singer had lost his voice, and the band had lost its lynch pin. After a terse and regretful speech, Phil led his cohorts sadly back to the dressing room.
It was a moment of high drama, during the band's first US tour in five years. This was the dreaded "Plan C" - the unthinkable decision to cancel a show. It came as a disappointment to the fans. Dazed and confused, they asked cops "How do we get our money back ?" There were boos, but cheers of sympathy too, as the crowd eventually dispersed and went home.
The warning signs had been building up in the nervous hours before showtime. Phil, with a two and a half hour set to sing, drum, and dance his way through, had been suffering from a bad cold. His throat was sore and his doctor had ordered him not to speak.
The normally ebullient Mr. C. covered his face in a towel and then stretched out on a sofa backstage. "You feel such a prat", he said. "I went to sing and the notes just wouldn't come out". It had all been so promising the night before. Genesis had played a superb show at the Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami. So good, even thhe afternoon soundcheck sounded like a classic jam! Right from the start of the tour, which began in Dallas on May 8, the reviwes had been encouraging. Suddenly eveyone seemed to be heaping praise on a band more used to press brickbats.
Not surprising, because the show that British and European fans wil see during July and August is undoubtedly the most spectacular and entertaining the Rock giants have yet devised. It's packed with great hit songs, stunning musicianship , and special effects. And it's delivered with remendous energy and high good humour. From the lugubrious dance routine in "I Can't Dance" to the pulsating Rock of "Jesus He Knows Me", Genesis '92 turn it on - again and again.
And don't worry - Phil recovered from his cold and is unlikely to go through the same traumas again. The rest of the scheduled American dates progressed without problems.
We saw the superb Miami show - intact - and travelled with the band in vans, limos, and even on a luxurious private jet. On a grand tour of America's south east, we flew from Miami, to Tampa, then on to Washington, and back to Miami. Although all eyes are on the main man, this isn't the Phil Collins show. Genesis are a team, just like they were back in the hrady days of the early Seventies. Phil, Mike Rutherford (guitars), Tony Banks (keyboards), Daryl Stuermer (bass, and guitars), and Chester Thompson (drums), between them create the effect of a finely-tuned orchestra.
Genesis on the road may not be Guns 'n' Roses, but there is a kind of PMT - pre-music tension.
Despite all the planning, and back up resources available, once the band are out on stage, they are on their own. They have to deliver sophisticated songs and complex arrangements, They must also create, on cue, the magic that makes a great concert, and pour their souls into the void beyond the footlights.
On that vast, floodlit, televised stage, each artist is alone, a potential hero, or Aunt Sally. The pressure comes, as they say, with the territory.
No wonder that Phil goes 'for a nervous' to the loo, in those final moments befoer the band hits the stage; or that Chester Thompson practices with a frenzy if sticks on anything within hitting distance, or that Tony Banks, normaly so calm and collected, snatches at a bottle of beer. Even cool Mike Rutherford plays a ferocious game of ping pong to release the tension.
But lets start the Genesis journey - in Miami, Florida, where the humidity fights the air conditioning, where the yachts drift regally into their marinas. abnd where the golf courses are fringed with palm trees. Genesis checked into the Turnberry Isle Country Club, and Phil arrived with wife and three year old daughter (Phil, Jill, and Lil), and a whole posse of Fleet Street wallahs in hot pursuit. Consternation when it was revealed that Phil couldn't speak. Doctor's orders!
*Joe Robbie Stadium, May 16*
Backstage - and a world of sweating roadies, frantic technicians, and stadium staff.
The stadium is vast, and brand new. Through a complex of tunnels, motorised carts carry staf from room to room. We hitch a ride and hurtle from the production office to the dressing room.
"Let us in, we are Her Majesty's Press!" demands a photographer, when the dressing room door is closed. But Phil has to see a Doctor. He needs a massage , acupuncture, medicine, anything that would help preserve those vital vocal cords.
He sounds fine out in the afternoon soundcheck. I have to admit, as an old time Genesis fan, it brings a tear to the eye when the band, without warning launch into a medley of their greatest early songs. "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" indeed, in the vast emptiness of the stadium! There is Tony Banks, staring intently into space, as his massed array of keyboards produce the definitive Genesis sound, mournful, and rhapsodic, while Phil, stripped to the waist, calls a greeting through the PA. As the band launch into a rocking "Jesus He Knows Me" to an audience of one, it seems they are really enjoying the chance to blow their heads off.
The stage is a striking visual and technical innovation, metal tubes arching over their heads to create a unique low roof, huge twin towers ballasted with vats of water, and equipped with lifts to hoist up the banks of speakers, and diagonal cables supporting sliding spotlights. Behind them are three remarkable Sony Jumbotron Screens that show perfect pictures in daylight. Unfortunately, the heat of the afternoon causes dozens of cells in the in the screen to black out. Frantic efforts are made to replace the cells, which delay the start of the show.
Manager Tony Smith, who manages to smile even during the most adverse conditions, takes me on a guided tour around the stage. "Everyone is going to start setting up like this. The beauty is you've got a lift inside the towers, so you can stack the speakers inside and take them up. Tanks of water act as the ballast. It's so much quicker to set up, and you get better sound quality. The Jumbotron screens run on tracks around the back of the band and the lights run up and down on cables. It's a very original design. I ran a test last August in Texas stadium. We had to discover if the PA towers would work, so we hired a stadium for a day! The stage roof has a see-through cover which means we can lower the roof right down and show light through it.
"The big problem with outdoor roofs is you need them to be high for lighting. Once they are high, they're no longer efective as roofs as the rain blows right underneath them. The lower you can get the roof the better. We wanted to get away from that boxed shape.
That evening the stadium was transformed with the arrival of thousands of fans, many holding "tail-gate parties" in the car park, setting up elaborate barbecues. Girls with "Genesis" emblazoned across their ample chests ran excitedly into the arena. As the sun sank and the moon rose, Genesis came alive, and this time I had to share the experience. Spitting Image caricatures of Phil, Tony and Mike dissolved into their real life mug shots, on the giant screen as the band kicked into a rousing "Land of Confusion". Clocks ticked on the screens as Phil, clad in black and gold, sat on the stage to sing "No Son of Mine" and "Driving the Last Spike" the brilliantly illustrated tale of 19th century railway navvies. The "old stuff medley" included choice fragments of "Dance on a Volcano", "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", "Firth of Fifth", and "I Know What I Like". "Dreaming While You Sleep" floated past or conciousness, and on the insidious "Home By The Sea" Phil took complete charge of the audience getting the fans to emit ghostly howls. Even more stunning was "Mama" complete with hideous croaking groans and Phil's "Silence of the Lambs" expression, beamed down from the triple screens.
"Domino" involved more audience participation, then Phil and Chester launched into their drum duet played with the precision of a display team of jet pilots. The bluesy theme of "I Can't Dance" is just about the raunchiest number Genesis have ever performed, and the famed dance was a killer, as Mike, Tony, and Phil looped across the stage. But there were starnger movements to come. "Why is he doing that ?" asked an alarmed young lady sitting next to me, when Phil began rummaging about vigorously in his trousers, while another Genesis fan guffawed: "What Phil is doing tonight got Jim Morrison arrested here twenty years ago!".
Gas lighters flared around the darkened stadium for the gently romantic "Tonight Tonight", then the entire audience stood and cheered for the stomping "Invisible Touch", one of the great Pop songs of all time. Encore numbers "Throwing It All Away" and "Turn It On Again" saw Phil back on the drum kit, before the music stopped dead with a crashing climax and the entire team took a bow in front of the roaring crowds.
Next day the band and crew headed for the airport and the flight to Tampa on board the MGM Grand airline's Boeing 727. No trucking through terminal buildings - we drove straight up to the plane on the tarmac and boarded at our leisure. It was like something out of a James Bond movie, with the cabin divided into Pullman style compartments and a spacious bar. Leg room was not a problem. Mal Craggs the tour manager depped as flight steward and came on the PA to apologise for the late arrival of "the singer" who'd been to see his doctor.
Immediately after take-off, individual TV screens in each compartment showed the latest Genesis video for "Jesus He Knows Me" with hoots of laughter and disbelief greeting the sight of Phil, Mike, and Tony, unrecognisable in suits and wigs as they acted out the roles of TV evangelists. Ominously it was pourng with rain in Tampa, and after a worrying soundcheck, the band disappeared behind curtains for an impromptu conference. They emerged with drastically cut down set lists - A and the B. There was also Plan C.
"We've got problems" said Mal, as everyone began pacing up and down. "This is PMT - pre-music tension. It's showtime in twenty minutes, and Plan C means no show after one number if Phil's voice is gone," sighed Tony Smith. Oblivious to it all, Chester Thompson set up his practice pads, Mike and Tony returned to their ping pong, while Mal got on his walkie-talkie shouting instructions. "There's nothing like having a good time" said Tony. "And this is nothing like having a good time."
Phil appeared from behind the curtain. "Don't let them start without me!:- as he headed for the loo. Minutes later I walked with Phil towards the stage, when he offered me his monitor headphones and suggested I did the show. Instead I headed for the mixing desk.
It was 8:30 p.m. and "Land of Confusion" was pounding out across the arena. Sound engineer Robert Colby was staring at the stage with a concerned expression , while the vast 56, 000 strong audience cheered with unsuspecting enthusiasm.
All seemed well until "No Son Of Mine", when the vocals showed more than a trace of pain and strain. As the last notes faded away, there was a hush as Phil stopped the band and said: "I don't know what to say really. I've had a very bad cold for three days and the doctor told me to rest. I really haven't got a voice... I'm very disappointed. I hope you understand..." As the audience streamed away, backstage Phil lay on the sofa. It was left to Mike Rutherford to sum up their feelings. "Sorry Chaps - we tried."
/* End of main article - start of subsequent interview */
The next Genesis show in Washington a couple of days after Tampa, was much better. Said Phil: "Washington was great. I felt a little nervous because it takes your confidence away when you've stood on stage and blown it. It takes a while to go on and actually do it again. You're not sure how strong your voice is gonna be, but I went to a specialist in Washington every day. The first songs were a little tentative, but I'm definitely on the mend now. It's our most adventurous show. Sometimes the simple shows can be just as effective, but considering we are playing stadiums on this tour, it's probably the only way to go. We give people something that's more than just a band - five people standing on stage. And although this is our most abmitious presentation, fans in Europe and Britain will get the same show."
The "Jesus He Knows Me" video is a damning endictment of religious commercialism , but is also very funny. Phil in particular looks very strange in his suit and glasses. How did it feel seeing himself in such a disguise ?
"Well, it's always scary looking into a mirror and forgetting what you actually look like, and forgetting that you've got these awful wigs on. You look in the mirror and see a different person. And it was a bit dangerous because Tony, Mike and myself felt quite normal by the end of the day - which is a bit scary! As for the video causing any furore in the states, I hope it does. These evangelsists have an amazing amount of power and yet they keep abusing it. People just keep giving them money and if we can draw attention to that - great. Genesis has never been very controversial, so any controversy we can fire up the better as far as I'm concerned. But we had great fun making it and it's merely meant to be against the fringe TV evangelists. There are some genuine guys out there of course, and you can't offend them." After more than two decades would this be the last ever Genesis tour ? "Oh, I can't say whether this is the last Genesis tour or not, because in all probability there's not going to be another one for at least four years. By the time we have a break, do an album, and then do a tour, who knows ? It's just too far away. Will we stil be doing this when we are 46 ? I can't tell."
(c) Rock Team Publishing And Production Ltd.
Reproduced Without Permission.