Peter Gabriel Says That A Genesis Reunion Is Unlikely

With the dawn of every new project from their respective camps, both Genesis and their former vocalist Peter Gabriel are inevitably grilled regarding the possibilities of a reunion.

While promoting his upcoming 'New Blood' concert film release, Gabriel dug into the subject extensively (and we'd say, very patiently) with Rolling Stone. Certainly, the current non-drumming condition of vocalist Phil Collins, who filled that role in the band prior to also taking over for Gabriel on the microphone, is a factor.

More than that however, Gabriel feels like the reunion is an idea whose time has passed. He broached the subject back in 2005, but walked away when he felt like it would eat up too much time, that he wanted to devote to other projects. And as he looks at it now, he feels like the Genesis storyline plays out pretty nicely as written.

“You know, we had a great run. They did way better after I left anyway. So I don't know think anyone has anything to complain about.” So while he doesn't close the door on things, he says that the chances are in the “outside department of the betting shop.”

If Collins' condition were to improve, and the band were to play a one-off show, Gabriel hopes they follow the lead of Led Zeppelin's successful reunion date from a few years ago. “I went to that gig, and they certainly worked their asses off rehearsing.”

“The only time I've ever had a reunion with Genesis is whey they very generously agreed to play the Womad music festival [in 1982], which had lost lots of money at the first outing. And because they were on tour, we didn't get to rehearse much. And I said, "If we ever do this again, I really want to get it right."

It's nearly impossible to plot Gabriel's upcoming plans at any given moment, but he gives an intriguing look into what might have been, revealing that at one point, he was in discussions with hippie-rock kings Phish, who were interested in recreating Genesis' classic Gabriel-era  'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' album with his vocal help. Sadly, nothing ever came of the talks.