April 23, 2009
John Mayhew is Laid To
Rest; Friends, Fans, and Family Pay Their Respect
The funeral of John Mayhew took place yesterday in Glasgow, Scotland. While
Mayhew's former bandmates were not present at the funeral, flowers from
Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Tony Smith and Richard McPhail
were present. The ceremony was attended by a small collection of friends,
family, and fans.
April 15, 2009
Tony Banks Comments on the
Passing of John Mayhew
On the official
Genesis site, Tony Banks has posted his condolences on the passing of
former Genesis drummer John Mayhew. Banks writes:
"We were
very sorry to hear about the death of John Mayhew, who had only recently
appeared back in our lives after over thirty years. His time with the
group was short, but it was a very crucial period and his contribution was
very important. After John Silver, the drummer who had played on 'From
Genesis to Revelation' decided to leave we rehearsed for a while as a
four-piece before auditioning for a replacement. The trouble was we didn't
have a full drum kit for them to use. I remember one poor chap having to
play with the cymbals hanging from the ceiling, almost decapitating
himself every time he used one. When John Mayhew arrived he had the great
advantage of owning a kit as well as being a very competent drummer. At
the time, one of our favourite drummers was Rob Townsend of Family, and
when John showed he could reproduce a few of his riffs he was hired.
How we must have appeared to him I hate to think. We
had all been to the same school so we were a very closed unit with our own
language and humour, and we
were very inexperienced both in the business and in life in general. John
was a bit older than us and had played live in the group 'Steamhammer' so
had some knowledge of what was expected on stage. I remember him at the
first show changing to go on stage; this had never occurred to us, strange
since later we became almost better known for Peter's costumes than
anything else. For this reason he was a very important factor in those
early days on the road, having already been there before.
During the few months we worked together, writing music for the
'Trespass' album, John became very much part of the group sharing
everything from the legendary immortal yoghurt through to the first
experience of Monty Python. His carpentry was a great asset in these early
days; he built me a copy of the Leslie style speaker I had, (still in
existence I think) and put a seat in the back of the bread-van
we used as the group's vehicle
amongst many other things. He was a very solid drummer, but not really a
writer, a lot of his parts came from the rest of us, particularly from
Ant. This was really why we decided that if we were to continue after Ant
left, we had to find a more creative drummer, a hard decision because by
this time John had become a friend."
April 15, 2009
Atlantic Records Announces
New Mega Box Set Spanning Their 60 Year History
Atlantic Records, Genesis' North American record label for the majority of
their career, has announced the forthcoming release of
The Time Capsule, a new limited edition 8-CD box set (also available
as a 16 180-gram LP set) with a stunning 130-classic tracks than span the 60
year history of the record company. Among the artists included are Genesis,
Phil Collins, Aretha Franklin, Matchbox 20, Stone Temple Pilots, Bette
Midler, Led Zeppelin, Yes, ELP, INXS, Bobby Darin, Ben E. King, John
Coltrane, Kid Rock, Twisted Sister, T.I., Ray Charles, Sony and Cher, AC/DC,
and many, many more. Rock, Pop, R&B, Easy Listening, Rap, Jazz, and every
genre in-between are included in a collection of essential recordings from
one of the most successful labels of all time.
The collection was compiled by a small group of passionate Atlantic
staffers, who drew on rarely seen material from the company's archives,
co-founder and industry legend Ahmet Ertegun's personal papers, and the work
of staff photographers through the years. This unique package design
contains a full color 128 page book filled with unseen 'from the inside'
images as well as a collection of reproduced memorabilia including: a
backstage pass, handbills, posters, ticket stubs and other vintage swag.
Each set is completed by an individually numbered certificate of
authenticity. The Time Capsule will be release on August 11, 2009.
Pre-order your copy today!
April 2,
2009
Former Genesis drummer,
John Mayhew, dead at 61
Various sources,
including the U.K.'s
Evening Star, report that John Mayhew, best known to Genesis fans as
the drummer of the classic 1970 Genesis album Trespass, has died at
the age of 61. Mayhew reportedly passed away on March 26th, a day before his
birthday, of a heart-related condition. At the time of his death, Mayhew was living in
Glasgow, Scotland. Funeral arrangements are
underway with a private ceremony expected next week. Our deepest condolences
go out to the friends and family of John Mayhew. His short, but significant
mark on Genesis' music will never be forgotten.
To read World of Genesis.com's exclusive 2006 interview with John Mayhew,
which was one of only a rare few that he provided in the last years of his
life, click here. |
John Mayhew 2006
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April 2, 2009
Lost Multi-Track Tapes for
Genesis' Live Album Found!
According to a post from Genesis' long time Producer and Engineer, Nick
Davis, on the official Genesis site's
forum, the missing multi-track tapes for the 1973 Genesis live album, aptly
titled Live, have been found! This means that the album will be
remixed in true 5.1 surround sound for the forthcoming Genesis Live
box set(s). Davis says that he will begin remixing the multi-track tapes in
late April. As previously reported here, all of the other live albums
released by the band have already been remixed and remastered by Nick for
future release. He is
currently working on the remixing and remastering of potential live bonus
tracks for the collection. To date, there is still no confirmed release date
for the live Box(es). More details on that when they are known!
April 2, 2009
Phil Collins Designs
Mickey Mouse Ears For Disney Charity Event; Provides Update on His Interests
and Activities
According to
Sky News, celebrities like Phil Collins and Spice Girl Geri
Hallowell among others have designed their own take on Mickey Mouse ears
for a charity event. Collins revealed he drew inspiration from his
musical skills for his creation, which are in the shape of a golden drum
kit with, in his words, "some bald bloke playing the drums" in the
middle. The Mickey Ears will
be auctioned online at
www.buyoncegivetwice.co.uk with
proceeds going to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.
Collins also shared in the interview that he continues to focus the bulk
of his time on his family and has no interest in touring at this point
in his career. Collins admitted that he is "fooling around" in his "own
little studio," but insists that regardless of what that may become that
it does not mean a tour in support of the project, should it be
released, would ever happen. Collins admits that that nowadays making
music is "like a hobby for me rather than a way to make a living."
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Phil Collins Shows Off His Personally Styled
Drummer Mouse Ears
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