DOWN BY THE RUINS
Phil Collins’ last gig with Genesis before leaving
by ahand83
It must have been a strange feeling for Phil Collins, having put Genesis on hold, awaiting the release of his newly finished record Both Sides, but then getting sucked back into the machine for a one-off, rather posh charity event. It happened in September 1993 when things were still safe and sound in the Genesis camp. Had Phil Collins made up his mind already about leaving Genesis, or was his loyalty still there? After another highly successful album (We Can’t Dance) and a massive world tour it was clear that everyone needed a bit of space from each other, probably Collins the most.
Michael Pearson, fundraiser and owner of Cowdray estate, asked the aristocrats of English rock to perform a charity gig in the fresh air of autumn’s arrival. Phil Collins was rarely seen wearing a winter coat and a beanie on stage, but for this event exceptions were made. The charity event was in aid of the X-ray department of the King Edwards VII Hospital. Held at the Cowdray Ruins, situated just outside the village of Midhurst in Sussex, England, it was an exceptional outdoor event trampled underfoot by people wearing their finest evening dresses, tuxedos and leather Oxfords. The ‘Ruins Band’ was put together by members of Queen, Pink Floyd and Genesis. Not only did Eric Clapton reinforce the band with his presence, but Paul Young from Mike & the Mechanics also joined in.
The Cowdray Ruins Charity Event had room for 1000 guests who paid 140 quid for an evening dinner and a performance of good old classic rock. The concert commenced with Queen playing a set of 6 stage favourites like ‘A Kind of Magic’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’ and ‘We Will Rock You’. Paul Young from the Mechanics joined Queen on ‘Another One Bites The Dust’.
Then it was Genesis’ turn to ‘turn it on again’. So they did… Banks, Collins and Rutherford opened their set with their classic radio hit accompanied by Roger Taylor and Gerry Wallis on drums and Tim Renwick (also a Mechanic) on bass. Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer were not part of this special event. ‘Turn It On Again’ was followed by ‘Hold On My Heart’, ‘I Can’t Dance’, ‘Tonight, Tonight, Tonight’ and ‘Invisible Touch’. All of these songs had been part of the We Can’t Dance Tour setlist and the band had played them continuously over the last year. Stirring them up again was the final straw for Collins as he explained himself later in an interview with Hello magazine about leaving the band:
“In the middle of my writing and making Both Sides, Genesis did a concert with Queen. But I didn’t enjoy it… As I was singing these songs, it didn’t feel natural. Obviously, it was a bad timing, going just like that from doing my most personal thing to a Genesis thing and back. But it definitely felt like, ‘What am I doing here?’, like shoes don’t fit anymore.” (Platts, 2001)
After Genesis’ performance, Pink Floyd was on for a set of 3 tracks from their substantial back catalogue. Phil Collins never made it a secret he wasn’t into Floyd at all and even Banks once said he didn’t care much for their music. Mike Rutherford, however, picked up his bass and played all three tracks with Floyd, accompanied by his Mechanics colleague Paul Young on backing vocals. In the meantime, Phil Collins must have caught up with Eric Clapton backstage because after Pink Floyd it was Clapton’s turn to play two tracks before the Ruins Band ended the gig with the encores ‘Gimme Some Lovin’ and ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’.
Considering the Cowdray Ruins concert was Collins’ last gig with Genesis before his official statement of leaving, it’s an important moment in the band’s history. I recently stumbled upon the official program for the concert for a reasonable price. It appears these things don’t come cheaply. There’s a few images of the program above. It’s rather strange that both Queen and Pink Floyd have their own page in the program, but Genesis has not.
I also happened to have a small magazine cutting of the Ruins gig on which Phil Collins can be seen wearing his beanie. Maybe he wore it because it was September, or maybe because a gig together with Floyd gave him the chills. Who might say? The sure thing is that September’s winds of 1993 were to bring the winds of change for Genesis.