Mike Rutherford says a headline slot at Glastonbury wouldn’t be enough to tempt Genesis to reform.
The 64-year-old musician insists he and the other members of the band – Phil Collins, Tony Banks and original singer Peter Gabriel – have no plans to reunite and even if Michael Eavis called them to offer them the top spot at his festival it wouldn’t be a big enough "carrot".
Rutherford told BANG Showbiz: "We wouldn’t be tempted back together just to do Glastonbury. I don’t think so, no … There’s no carrot that can be waved at us to make us do it."
The bassist-and-guitarist insists festivals were never a big deal to Genesis because they played their own huge outdoor shows but accepts Glastonbury has become a big part of the music calendar now.
He added: "The weird thing was is that we never did festivals. Our own shows were like a festival. Genesis would play Knebworth with support bands in front of, like, 100,000 people. We didn’t play festivals because we could do our own festival-sized gigs. Festivals have become very popular now though, for sure."
Rutherford – who is currently on tour with his band Mike + The Mechanics – thinks it’s unlikely Genesis will ever reform unless they are presented with a project so exciting they can’t turn it down.
However, the ‘Over My Shoulder’ hitmaker insists all the band members are still friends and in contact with one another.
He said: "I don’t think it’ll ever happen (Genesis reforming), but whoever knows what’s round the corner. It depends on what project might appear that makes you think, ‘Oh, that could be good.’ If something special ever came along then we might think about it, but there’s no plans … People often forget we’ve been doing this since 71, you know what I mean? We all get on well though; there’s no dramas, we’ve all remained friends."
Mike + The Mechanics – featuring Rutherford and vocalists Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar – are currently on tour in the UK performing a career-spanning set which includes hits such as ‘The Living Years’, ‘All I Need Is A Miracle’ and ‘Silent Running’ and Genesis songs.
Go to http://mikeandthemechanics.com/live/ for tickets and information.
Mike Rutherford: Genesis wouldn’t reform for Glastonbury
