Tony Banks may not be the most flamboyant member of Genesis, but he certainly is one of the most interesting. I always think of Tony as a philosophical writer and composer. He’s been very important to the band, as a writer and as a player. He might even be one of the most underrated rock musicians in history. Because of his reserved character and introverted personality, he’s never really been in the spotlight.
With the release of Mario Giametti’s book ‘Man Of Spells’ I’ve been revisiting Tony’s solo career and back catalogue. ‘Still’ and ‘Strictly Inc.’ have always been my favourite TB albums – I know them inside out. Apart from these absolute gems, I’m not very familiar with Tony’s music. Some albums I’ve only played once or twice. Lately, I’ve been listening to ‘Bankstatement’ a lot more. The record is growing on me and I like its more commercial approach. I guess it’s just another piece of the puzzle that is Tony Banks.
It’s always been hard to find magazine cuttings on Tony, but somehow I managed to collect quite a few over the years. I recently added some new ones to the website, taken from German and Dutch magazines. My favourite piece in the gallery is the one from the German Me/Sounds magazine – probably from 1992 – about TB’s camper van! I’m curious to see if I’ll come across something about Tony’s gardening in the future.