Saturday night marked the end of an era as Genesis performed their final concert at the O2 arena in London. The show took place across three sets, including an acoustic section and the encore, covering the band’s catalog from the early days as progressive, art-rock pioneers to the mega pop machine of the 1980s.

I watched a few bits of the performance online, and I would describe it sad, but in more than just the usual context of a band deciding to hang it up. While the instrumentation and visuals of the concert seemed to be quite strong, it is clear that Phil Collins was in a great deal of pain. He hasn’t been able to play the drums for years due to nerve damage in his hands and a spinal injury that has forced him to perform sitting down since 2017. The

The original lineup of Genesis; circa 1973. L to R: Keyboardist Tony Banks, Phil Collins (back then just the drummer), Peter Gabriel (lead singer), Steve Hackett (guitarist), and Mike Rutherford (bass)

singer has also struggled with alcoholism, a drop-foot, and type-2 diabetes. His physical condition and his willingness to perform despite it stood out to me more than any other  aspect of the performance. His voice was also more laboured, and it’s clear that a big sound from the rhythm section was needed to compensate for it. I found Collins physical condition really upsetting but moving as well.

After listening to what little pieces of the concert I could, the first thing I did was watch a few Genesis performances from better times. Give these a try because Genesis is a band that deserves to be remembered for its peak, not the final rally that we saw on Saturday.

Firth Of Fifth – 1973 

A classical piano intro, then a flute solo, then a guitar solo mimicking that flute solo note for note? “Firth Of Fifth” makes it easy to see how Genesis were every bit the prog-rock pioneers that Rush, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Uriah Heep were. Personally, I think Steve Hacketts guitar work make the song.

  Land Of Confusion – 1986 

Invisible Touch -1987

It blows my my mind that this is the same band that was performing ” Firth of Fifth” a decade earlier and to an entirely different fan base.

Saturday may have marked the end of Genesis, but the legacy on modern music isn’t going anywhere.