Today is Your Birthday, Mike Rutherford!

Photo by Per Ole Hagen/Redferns
Photo Credit
(Per Ole Hagen/Redferns)

BORN: Oct. 2, 1950

 

Mike Rutherford is the rock legend’s rock legend. A founding member of prog-rock titans Genesis, Rutherford was there during the theatrical Peter Gabriel years all the way through the heights of commercial success with Phil Collins.

 

An integral part of the band’s ongoing success as they evolved over the years, Rutherford considers himself a songwriter first and foremost, penning such enduring Genesis songs including “Turn It on Again” and “Land of Confusion.”

 

When Genesis was enjoying massive sales and global super-stardom in the early 1980s, Rutherford was inspired to launch an ambitious side project, Mike + the Mechanics. Recruiting vocalists Paul Carrack and Paul Young, the group enjoyed massive success straight out of the gate.

 

Mike and the Mechanics' 1985 self-titled debut LP came with a pair of Top 10 hit singles: “Silent Running (On a Dangerous Ground)” and “All I Need is a Miracle.” The group would hit its commercial peak with the 1988 ballad, “The Living Years.” Taken from the album Living Years, the song hit No. 1 in America in 1989, taking home an Ivor Novello Award that same year for Best Song Musically & Lyrically.

 

In honor of Rutherford’s 69th birthday, here’s Mike and the Mechanics 1986 single, “All I Need is a Miracle.”

 

 

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