GENESIS - For Absent Friends

27. September 2018

Genesis

GENESIS - For Absent Friends

On the back of Genesis' first live album was this little picture of a bold looking man. Below the lines: "This album is dedicated to Richard Macphail who left April, 1973" Hardly any fan knew who it was at that time. Many believed that this man had died. Far from it, Richard Macphail, close friend and tour manager of the early Genesis, is among us. At 68 he has now written down his memories in "My book of Genesis". "Even so people know I'm still alive."

Legend has it that "Haldern Pop" was only founded to bring Peter Gabriel to the Lower Rhine. Richard Macphail is at least the former tour manager of Gabriel and Genesis at the 35th edition of the renowned festival. He is here to present his autobiography (review in this issue). He's in a very good mood. Perhaps also because the conversation takes place in the kitchen of the youth centre in Haldern. Macphail used to cook for Genesis.

eclipsed: How would you describe your role in Genesis?

Richard Macphail: I was the first one to fall in love with the band. They were my friends. I did everything that was necessary except write music and play. I cooked food and washed the pots. It was a wonderful coincidence that my parents had this country house. So we moved there with Genesis in the winter of 1969. Mike Rutherford once said to me: "That was the time when we became a band. Before, we were individualists making music together.

eclipsed: But you believed in the band even in its early days.

Macphail: Genesis was my calling. I realized in 1969 that they were good. And I wanted the world to know that. You can say that I was successful in it - now, 400 million albums later.

eclipsed: You were the singer of the Genesis predecessor band Anon. Is it true that Genesis wanted to get you for Peter Gabriel when he left the band in 1975?

Macphail: You thought of everyone back then. They invited many candidates to the auditions. They knew I could sing, but they never asked me to audition. I also have very mixed feelings as to whether I would have wanted to replace Peter of all people. And in the end it went very well with Phil [Collins].

Genesis - For Absent Friends (1971)

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