SIX OF THE BEST CONCERT
Milton Keynes National Bowl, England, 2nd of October 1982
by MGS
Though it’s nearly 40 years ago since this gig was played, I still have memories of that day. The mind might forget a few things, but it’s willing to try.
We set off early on the morning of the show so we could get there in plenty of time, and try to get a good spot to see the show. Being October we knew it wasn’t going to be the warmest time of the year, but the rain didn’t make it feel too promising. Put the words Genesis and outdoor concert in the same sentence, and rain is usually the result. It happened at the 1978 Knebworth show too. We arrived at the venue and were surprised to see the size of the crowd already there. I wondered how many would turn up and found out in later years there was an estimated 60,000 people. Managing to worm our way through the crowd we found a spot to our liking. It was going to be a long day so sitting on the rain soaked ground was the only option. A couple behind us very kindly gave us some plastic sheets to sit on. The Bowl was an old quarry back in the day, so it turned into a mud bath. Not a good start to the day and uncomfortable.
The support acts took their turns to play their sets. I had no real interest so just talked with people around me, drinking and trying to keep warm. Although I did later become a fan of Talk Talk. I just wanted to see Genesis. I’d already seen them 4 times on this tour at Birmingham NEC & Ingliston Exhibition Hall. Both indoor venues and I remember thinking I wished this show could have been indoors.
The time came round for the main event. Jonathan King came on stage to introduce them. The crowd booed and gave him an unwelcome greeting, me included. The band came onstage but no sign of Peter Gabriel. A couple of minutes later he arrived, being carried in a coffin by 4 pall bearers. Resurrection time. I laughed at this, as did many others. I recall reading later that the rest of the band had no idea he had planned to do this. Back to his ‘red dress days’.
The set list is well documented, I don’t remember it in entirely, unless I look at the track listing, but I can recall some great and not so great moments. The crowd sang Happy Birthday to Mike Rutherford at some point. One of the loudest noises of the event. Phil Collins took to the vocals while Peter Gabriel claimed the drummer’s position. Although it was Chester Thompson who did the bulk of the work.
The encores were greeted with huge applause and cheering, as Steve Hackett appeared on stage to perform them. Although my thoughts are that he should have been invited to play the full set. Especially as they performed a lot of the Lamb and earlier songs. Although Daryl Steurmer is a very capable and respected guitarist who puts his own twist on the old songs, he doesn’t play them the way Steve Hackett played them on the original and live versions. This was going through my mind when they played Fly On A Windshield.
All in all, I really enjoyed the show, mainly for the nostalgia of seeing the main 5 collaborators back on stage together, for what we now know as the last time this will ever happen. It was by no means the greatest show I have seen them play, and I am not defending the mistakes, but to have been there in that atmosphere at such a unique event, was a special occasion. A lot of people I spoke to afterwards felt the same way but enjoyed just being there.
I saw several cameras scattered around the venue and thought it might have been recorded for the TV news or even a possible video, but to my knowledge not 1 second of footage has appeared anywhere. Rumour has it that it was filmed but the band themselves deemed it unsuitable for release. The rumour mill also says that the recorded footage is in the hands of one Mister Peter Gabriel. We all know about rumours, maybe one day all will be revealed.
They have all stated at various times that they were happy it wasn’t filmed and it is now a part of their history. As For the nostalgia of it all…
I WAS THERE!