Brighton date for Genesis tribute

For more than 30 years, Canada’s The Musical Box have been known for their huge commitment to authenticity as they recreate the music of Genesis.

On their latest UK tour, they will bring that same attention to detail to the Phil Collins era, revisiting the pivotal years 1976-1980.

They do so endorsed by Genesis themselves, with dates including Brighton Theatre Royal on June 28.

The band began in 1993. Singer Denis Gagné joined them a year later.

“I saw the band a few times but the singer left and there was an article in the newspaper saying that he had left. A friend saw that and said to me ‘This is your gig!’ Everybody that knows me knew that I had been a big Genesis fan and that I’d been a Genesis fan since I was a kid. I was ten years old when I heard Supper’s Ready. I was hooked. I was exposed to classical music when I was seven or eight, and I think the strings were part of what I really enjoyed about Genesis. Being a progressive rock band they used to do something that simulated classical music in a way. I also loved acoustic instruments, and that also attracted me.

“I was brought up speaking French. At the age of ten I didn't really speak much English so I was thinking what were they talking about. And to be honest I'm still not sure what some of the songs are about! It's about playing with words and having fun.”

Denis added: “On this tour we are focusing on the period after Peter Gabriel left and when Phil Collins became the singer, the albums A Trick Of The Tail, Wind & Wuthering, ...And Then There Were Three... and Duke.

“Some people predicted that after Peter left that would be the end of Genesis and they would just die. But far from it! A Trick Of The Tail is for me the best Genesis album ever. They went back to using those 12-string guitars that I always loved, and the opening track is just an amazing song, a fantastic opener. The whole album was just the biggest proof that they were far from over, that they still had some fantastic songs to do.

“I think with Phil it was just different. They were different characters. Peter was very strange on stage whereas there was much more of the guy next door about Phil. Phil was forced to be the singer. He didn't want to be the singer but I think he was accepted as the singer. His voice was known to Genesis fans and I think it was easier to accept him as the new singer than it would have been if they had auditioned somebody new.

“What we love about this era is that it bridges two worlds. You still have the big prog pieces, but you can hear the songwriting tightening up, becoming more direct. Phil stepping forward was the spark that allowed that shift to happen. It’s Genesis on the edge of becoming the band that would dominate the 80s.”

As always for the band, authenticity will be key: “It is not easy at all. You make it sound like it's easy but it's far from being easy but I suppose we've been doing it for a long time now and maybe it gets easier. A lot of people ask how we do it but the only way to do it is to know exactly what Genesis used on the albums and to acquire all that stuff from that time. We've got so much gear that we take on tour. It's just crazy!”

Tickets available from venue box office, themusicalbox.net and https://www.rg.live/events/the-musical-box-and-then-there-was-phil