Just because a band has a singer with a parallel solo career doesn't mean you should interchange their works. Just ask Genesis, who in 1992 issued a single from We Can't Dance, "Hold On My Heart," that became a radio staple on both sides of the Atlantic.
READ MORE: Genesis Cut Up on 'We Can't Dance'
And for some reason, people were keen to confuse it as a solo track by the band's prominent singer/drummer, Phil Collins. Sure, it bears a passing resemblance to a major solo hit of Collins' from the '80s, "One More Night." (Both videos even take place in an empty nightclub.) But just because the Collins-led Genesis mastered downtempo tracks in Genesis' hitmaking years like "Follow You, Follow Me" and "In Too Deep" doesn't mean it was all his idea.
In fact, it was keyboardist Tony Banks who bought the demo to the band's attention, labeling it "Burt" for its resemblance to a ballad by legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach. "I can understand why people say that," Banks would later say in a DVD interview, "but in a way I resent it because it's very much my chord sequence...There are certain kind of chords that I went to because [Phil's] voice sounds good over them. I put them together in a particular kind of way that I thought was quite attractive."
READ MORE: July 1986: Genesis "Touch" the Top of the Charts
Banks later admitted the chords were initially considered too ornate for Genesis' follow-up to the blockbuster Invisible Touch (1986). "I used to get a look from Mike or Phil and they'd say, 'You've gone too far this time.' But, I would try to slip a few things in without them noticing," he told Songfacts. "The opening chords are pretty exotic, actually, and I crept those in without them really noticing what was happening."
WATCH: Genesis Close Their Final Chapter
Regardless, what was happening for fans was another smash single from Genesis. "Hold On My Heart" reached the Top 20 on the U.S. and U.K. pop charts, and went to No. 1 in Canada. It also topped America's adult contemporary chart - becoming one of Genesis' last big hits with Collins on lead vocals.
- Log in to post comments
