NEWS IN THE WORLD OF GENESIS - JAN. 2003

January 30, 2003
Release Schedule Announced For Collins New Singles

According to the official Phil Collins site, here is the release schedule as we know it right now:

January 29, 2003
Ray Wilson's Album Delayed

According to an e-mail from Ray Wilson himself, the release of his forthcoming album, Change, will be delayed until April 22nd. The album will be released by Inside Out Music, the same organization who distributes Ray's Live and Acoustic album.

January 28, 2003
Tickets Go On Sale Tomorrow For Second Gabriel Gig At Wembley 

UK fans will be happy to know that ticket will go on sale tomorrow at 9 a.m. (UK time) for the second Peter Gabriel date at Wembley Arena in England. Click here to order your tickets!

January 28, 2003
News On Phil Collins Singles Announced; "Wake Up Call" Music Video Shot

According to the official Phil Collins site, we have now some tangible news on the up-coming singles from Testify. The UK release will be a double A-side with "Wake Up Call" and "Least You Can Do." The other tracks, mentioned previously, are: "Tears of a Clown" and "Hey Now Sunshine," both previously unreleased. Also, in France, a new single for "Can't Stop Loving You" is to be released backed with a previously unreleased live version of "Easy Lover."

Also, a fan site has posted pictures from a video shoot for Phil's new video for "Wake Up Call." The video was apparently shot on January 22nd in Geneva. To check out the fan site (with exclusive pictures!) click here.

January 24, 2003
Phil Collins "Can't Stop Loving You" Enters The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart

Ok, it took a while for the single to hit, but Phil Collins' first single from Testify (which was released in November!) has just entered the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart in the U.S. at #76.

Over the past two weeks the single has been getting increased airplay (at least in the Philadelphia area), which I thought was odd considering how "old" the song is now. Sure enough, it must be happening across the U.S.! How will this impact the release of the next single in the U.S.? I suppose it's too soon to tell...

January 24, 2003
Collins Donates Drawing To Charity Auction

Phil Collins (DATA LOST!!!)

January 21, 2003
Virgin Records Officially Announces They Will Release Gabriel Albums on SACD Format

Good news for European Gabriel fans today! Virgin Records has announced that they will be releasing the entire Peter Gabriel catalog on Super Audio CD (SACD) disc in Europe early this year during this week's 37th MIDEM Conference. The release will consist of 10 stereo SACDs of Gabriel's well known catalog albums as well as a Multi-channel SACD of Gabriel's latest album, Up. The Multi-channel SACD of Up will be released by Virgin in Europe in March 2003.

The MIDEM announcement follows a similar announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that Gabriel's catalog will be released on SACD disc in the U.S. market by the Universal Music Group's Geffen label. Geffen has rights to the Peter Gabriel catalog in the U.S.

According to officials at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, "we started evaluating Super Audio CD and its key enabling technology, Direct Stream Digital (DSD) in 2001. The first trials focused on the stereo form of Super Audio CD and have resulted in the re-mastering of the first ten Peter Gabriel albums, which are scheduled for release on Super Audio CD in the early part of 2003 in Europe on the Virgin record label."

Real World worked with Metropolis Studios in London on the transfer of Gabriel's albums from their analog master tapes to DSD in preparation for their release on SACD disc. Key players in the transfer work included Metropolis engineer, Tony Cousins, and Peter Gabriel’s recording engineer, Richard Chappell.

January 20, 2003
Gabriel Tickets Go On Sale For Select Euro Dates

Sources report that the tickets for the Peter Gabriel Paris and UK gigs went on sale today. The tickets were supposedly selling fast, and (at least for now) tickets still remain for those of you who didn't get your prized seats yet!

January 20, 2003
Update On 'Mike Rutherford - This Is Your Life'

This Thursday, January 23rd, the episode of the TV program This Is Your Life featuring Mike Rutherford (and the guys from Genesis) will be aired in Europe on BBC1 at 7 p.m. (UK time).

January 19, 2003
Paul Carrack Gets The All-Starr Treatment

There have been rumors for weeks that Paul Carrack would be joining ex-Beatle Ringo Starr's All Starr Band for a 2003 U.S. tour. It appears that these rumors are, in fact, true. Ringo will be releasing a new album entitled Ringorama (on the Koch label) which is reported to be slated for a March/April release. Coinciding with the new album, Starr is planning a U.S. tour of 30 major cities. His 2003 All-Starr Band includes Paul Carrack, Sheila E., Colin Hay, and John Waite. More news will be available on the new album and tour on the Ringorama site (which is still under construction as of this date). 

January 19, 2003
Official Peter Gabriel Site Says There Will Be No Advance Ticket Sales For Euro Tour

According to the official Peter Gabriel site, There will be no advanced ticket sales for the European leg of the 'Growing Up' 2003 Tour. The post on the official site states, "What I should make clear is that we are not offering any kind of early/preferential system for ticket purchase through this site. If we thought we could have made the process simpler and more effective by offering a similar scheme to that in North America we would have dived in, but the scope for chaos was far too great."

January 19, 2003
Phil Collins Wins Lifetime Achievement Award

According to the Associated Press, Phil Collins was given a Lifetime Achievement Award in Cannes, during the NRJ Music Awards at the MIDEM music trade fair yesterday. Congrats, Phil!

January 19, 2003
More Details On Phil Collins New Disney Movie Announced

As previously reported here, Phil is providing the voice to a character in Jungle Book 2 which hits the theaters shortly. Click here to read more about the film.

January 16, 2003
Tickets To Peter Gabriel's May Gigs To Go On Sale

According to Ticketmaster in the UK, Peter Gabriel's May dates for the European 2003 Growing Up Tour will go on sale on January 22nd to the general public (estimated cost is expected to be in the £35 range). Stay tuned for more details as they become available! Other sources are saying that Gabriel Europe tickets will go on sale on Monday, January 20th, at 9am. So, keep your eyes open (just incase!). 

January 15, 2003
Peter Gabriel Squashes Hopes Of Genesis Reunion In New Interview

Despite numerous interviews that Phil Collins has given recently saying that he would return to Genesis for a reunion gig if Peter Gabriel returned as vocalist, don't get your hopes up. In a recent interview with Launch, Gabriel stated that he has little interest in making a reunion happen. "Guys will say to me from time to time, you know, 'Are you interested to do something?'" Gabriel said. "I think [Genesis' manager] Tony Smith asked if I wanted to do a tour, and, you know, although I enjoy everyone, and I enjoy some of the things we did together, it seems to me silly to spend a lot of time going backwards when you could get as much fun or more fun going forward."

January 15, 2003
European Tour Dates For Peter Gabriel's 'Growing Up' Tour Announced

The official Peter Gabriel site has posted the European tour dates for his next leg of the 'Growing Up' Tour '03. To see the tour dates, go to the On Tour Section of this site.

January 15, 2003
Signal To Noise - The Real Deal Behind the Gabriel SACDs In The U.S.

There has been much ado about the Peter Gabriel SACDs being released in the U.S. Now, we know the details. As previously reported, the SACD for Gabriel's Up album was delayed from it's originally scheduled release date this past Tuesday. Also reported previously, Universal Music Group (UMG) is issuing the rest of the Gabriel back catalog in the format (with the exception of Shaking The Tree: 16 Golden Greats). 

According to Paul Bishow, New Formats Launch Director for UMG, the rest of the Gabriel back catalog will be released on the new SACD format, but they will only feature a stereo mix. They will not have the option of stereo or multi-channel 5.1 mix like Up will. While the release date for these SACDs is not firm yet, sources say that the titles may be released on March 18th (although, March 11th is also being thrown around as a possible release date). More information will follow when available. Information on these SACD titles being issued in Europe is expected shortly from Virgin Records.

January 15, 2003
Phil Collins' Second Single Announced In Spain

The second single from Phil Collins' Testify album has been announced in Spain. As previously reported, depending on the territory you live in, the next single will be either "Wake Up Call" or "Least You Can Do." In Spain, the next single is "Wake Up Call," and the promo CD single has already shipped to Spanish radio stations. More news on which singles will be released in which territories will be listed here when announced.

January 13, 2003
Phil Talks About His 'New Life' In New Interview; New Article On Tarzan - The Musical

In a new interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Phil Collins talks about his life, changing diapers, marriage, the infamous 'divorce by fax' story, and more. Check it out for a quick read! Also of note to Collins fans is an article in The International Tribune on the forthcoming stage adaptation of Walt Disney's Tarzan with a brief blurb on Phil's involvement with the score and the writing of new material for the project.

January 13, 2003
Peter Gabriel European Tour Dates Announced

Five dates are apparently confirmed for Peter Gabriel concerts in Italy and France in May 2003. According to the official Peter Gabriel site, the European Leg of the 'Growing Up Tour' will run from April through May, with a full list of dates to be formally announced soon.

January 13, 2003
Peter Gabriel SACD Delayed

According to Universal Music Group, The SACD for Peter Gabriel's Up album has been delayed and will not be released on Tuesday, January 14th, as originally expected. As mentioned here previously, other titles in the Gabriel back catalog are expected in the SACD format in the coming year.

January 13, 2003
Ray Wilson Gives Update On New Projects & 2003 Tour

Ray e-mailed us with an update on all of his current activity. According to Ray, Change, his debut solo (studio) album, will be released on March 10th in Europe, and the single will be released two weeks earlier. Ray's official site will be updated in the next few weeks as part of the promotion of his forthcoming release, and this update will include a new competition to win a copy of Change and soundbytes of songs from the new album. Change will also be available for sale on Ray's official site. 

two new Phil Collins singles will be released soon (There will be different singles for different territories). The singles are "Wake Up Call" and "Least You Can Do." In addition, there will be two extra tracks neither of which were on the album. More details will follow on this shortly.

January 7, 2003
Chester Thompson Announces Appearance & Masterclass

According to the official Genesis site, Chester Thompson will appear at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee in an event sponsored by the Carson-Newman Multicultural Awareness Committee on Friday, January 10, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. in Gentry Auditorium.

At Carson-Newman, Thompson will give a presentation that will include a performance, a drum masterclass, a question and question and answer session, and a jam with Carson-Newman students and The AMPs (the unofficial Carson-Newman faculty rock band, The Absent Minded Professors). The event is free to the public.

January 4, 2003
Mike Rutherford - This Is Your Life (Update)

According to the official Anthony Phillips site, the new series of This Is Your Life begins on TV in Europe at 7 p.m. (UK time) on Thursday, January 2nd, on BBC1. It is unknown which episode will feature the Mike Rutherford and Genesis, because they tend not to give details on the shows before they air for broadcast. Get those VCRs ready!

January 4, 2003
Phillips Writes Liner Notes For New Album By Quique Berro Garcia

According to the official Anthony Phillips site, Voiceprint Records have announced the planned release date of Quique Berro Garcia's album Sueños (Dreams) on March 24th.  The CD will be released on the Blueprint label (catalog # BP352CD).  The album is a collection of acoustic guitar pieces which includes Quique's interpretation of Ant's "Nocturne" and "Field of Eternity," amongst others.