Duke (album)
Duke is the tenth studio album by English rock band Genesis, released on 28 March 1980 on Charisma Records. The album followed a period of inactivity for the band in early 1979. Phil Collins moved to Vancouver, Canada, in an effort to salvage his failing first marriage, while Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford recorded solo albums. Collins returned to the UK after his marriage ended and wrote a significant amount of material, some of which was used for Duke and some was later reworked for his first solo album, Face Value. Duke contained a mix of individually written songs and tracks that evolved from jam sessions in mid-1979, while recording took place at the end of the year. The break in activity rejuvenated the band, and they found the album an easy one to work on.
Duke
Duke was positively received by music critics, who praised the album for bridging the band's progressive rock-oriented past, such as the closing ten-minute "Duke's Travels"/"Duke's End" suite, with their more pop rock-oriented, commercially accessible direction, as displayed on the hit singles "Turn It On Again", "Duchess", and "Misunderstanding". It reached No. 11 in the US, and became their first album to reach No. 1 in the UK. It has since been certified Platinum in both countries.
Background[edit]
By 1978, Genesis were a trio of lead singer and drummer Phil Collins, keyboardist Tony Banks and guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford. They had survived the departure of original frontman Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett and released the album ...And Then There Were Three..., which included the top ten single "Follow You Follow Me".[2] The group were still touring successfully, and enjoyed the songwriting collaborations between the three of them. They decided to take a break before writing and recording a new album, which would be largely group-written in a rehearsal room, without many pre-conceived ideas.[3]
The group's touring schedule had put particular pressure on Collins, whose marriage was at risk of collapse due to him being away from home frequently. His wife, Andrea, had warned him that if he committed himself to the full ...And Then There Were Three... Tour, she would not be there when he returned.[4] Collins, however, was convinced that Genesis were on the verge of an international breakthrough and that his work with the band would pay dividends in the future.[5] By the end of 1978, Andrea had decided to move to Vancouver with their children. Realising that his marriage was more important than the band, Collins held a meeting with Banks, Rutherford and manager Tony Smith. He said he was moving to Vancouver to try and rebuild his family, and that the group would have to accommodate this.[6] In an interview for Sounds, Collins said, "I went off for two months to try and sort things out ... I was never going to leave the band. It was just that if I was going to be living in Vancouver then we'd have had to organise ourselves differently."[7] He also noted that the individual members of his side project Brand X were geographically dispersed.[7]
Banks and Rutherford suggested the band take an extended hiatus, hoping Collins would save his marriage and that the band could work with him in Vancouver.[6] Banks recorded his solo album A Curious Feeling at Polar Studios in Stockholm with Genesis touring drummer Chester Thompson and singer Kim Beacon,[8] while Rutherford also recorded his first solo album, Smallcreep's Day, at the same studio.[7] In April 1979, Collins returned to the UK after the attempt to salvage his marriage failed. With time to spare before working on the next Genesis album, he gigged with Brand X, and began work on demo tracks for what became his first solo album Face Value at his home in Shalford, Surrey. As well as playing piano and synthesizers, he had recently picked up a Roland CR-78 drum machine and become interested in the possibilities of electronic drums.[7][9][a]
Genesis
Production