
Word In Your Ear
Mike Rutherford looks back at 60 years onstage and the art of cheap rock theatre
This one starts with memories of Genesis at Farnborough Tech in 1972 – Batwings? Fox heads? - looks back at school bands and the early ‘70s and ends with the current Mike & the Mechanics tour. But it mostly centres on the first live shows Mike Rutherford ever saw and played which features …
… his mum making him wash the Brylcreem from his hair before seeing Cliff & the Shadows when he was 17.
… buying an electric guitar before you realised it needed an amplifier.
… playing the same theatres he played with Genesis when he was 19.
… Cream at the Marquee Club - “the volume was like an atom bomb!”
… supporting Mott the Hoople at Farx in Southall, “the moment I felt we were getting somewhere”.
… the contract for their £7 fee he still has for Genesis on the Eel Pie Island, “like ancient fading parchment”.
… the non-competitive days of Yes, King Crimson, Rare Bird and the rock underground when there was room for everyone.
… making an album in three days with Jonathan King in Regent Sound (where the Stones recorded).
… Peter Gabriel developing his on-stage theatre because no-one could hear the words.
… ‘Man up!’ Note to self after breaking a hip skiing with his grandchildren.
Mike & the Mechanics tour dates and tickets:
https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/mike-the-mechanics-tickets/artist/1673635
Pre-order Looking Back: Living The Years here:
https://found.ee/MikeATM_LBLTY
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