Tony Banks -

Tony Banks — aka Anthony George Banks (born March 27, 1950) — is an English keyboardist and composer from East Hoathly, best known as the chief musical mastermind of Genesis, a band he co-founded in 1967 and steered through a 32-year, 15-album run. As a solo artist, he premiered with the 1979 Charisma album A Curious Feeling, followed by two further albums and a soundtrack between 1983 and 1986.

In 1989, he formed the punningly named adult-pop trio Bankstatement for a self-titled album on Virgin. During the 1990s, he released the album Still with guest vocals by Nik Kershaw and formed the duo Strictly Inc. with Wang Chung mainstay Jack Hues. Since 2004, he has concentrated on classical piano music.

Background

Tony Banks was born Anthony George Banks on March 27, 1950, in East Hoathly, Sussex; the fifth-born child of John and pianist-singer Nora Banks. From age seven, Banks took piano lessons at Boarzell Preparatory School in Hurst Green. In September 1963, he entered Charterhouse School in Godalming, where he pursued mathematics, physics, chemistry, and classical piano.

In 1965, Banks formed a songwriting partnership with Charterhouse classmate Peter Gabriel. The pair formed Garden Wall with drummer Chris Stewart and shared a school concert with Anon, which included guitarists Anthony Phillips and Mike Rutherford. Phillips and Rutherford invited Banks to an early 1967 demo session; Banks brought Gabriel and Stewart into the project. The five passed their recordings to Charterhouse alumnus Jonathan King, who secured a Decca contract and named the group Genesis, which debuted with the February 1968 single “The Silent Sun,” followed by From Genesis to Revelation.

Meanwhile, Banks entered the University of Sussex as a chemistry student but soon switched to physics. He left the course in 1969 when Genesis committed to full-time activity. Genesis signed with Charisma for their 1970 second album Trespass, their last with Phillips. Drummer Phil Collins and guitarist Steve Hackett joined for the 1971 release Nursery Cryme, where Banks emerged as the band’s dominant sonic force with passages on Hammond organ (“The Musical Box”), piano (“The Return of the Giant Hogweed”), and the quasi-symphonic Mellotron (“Seven Stones,” “The Fountain of Salmacis”).

Genesis rose to the big leagues with their 1972/73 albums Foxtrot and Selling England By the Pound, the latter marked by Banks’ piano/organ showcase “Firth of Fifth.” They staged a theatrical costume-prop tour behind their 1974 double-album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, their last with Gabriel. In light of his friend’s departure, Banks considered a solo album, but retained his new material for A Trick of the Tail, the first of two Genesis quartet albums. Hackett left Genesis after their late 1976 release Wind and Wuthering, which showcased Banks’ refined technique and growing sound arsenal, including the Roland string synthesizer and ARP Pro Soloist synthesizer.

Genesis launched their popular trio configuration with the 1978 album …And Then There Were Three…, where Banks further refined his sound on the swelling epics “Burning Rope” and “The Lady Lies” and the piano ballads “Undertow” and “Many Too Many.” Banks and Rutherford also composed two themes for the 1978 British horror film The Shout, including material developed from an unused introduction to “Undertow.”

In early 1979, Genesis paused while Collins spent time in Vancouver with his family. Banks organized recent compositions around the reworked Shout theme, now titled “From the Undertow,” and developed a concept from Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon. He selected Genesis touring drummer Chester Thompson and late-period String Driven Thing singer Kim Beacon, with David Hentschel as co-producer. Banks booked Polar Music Studio in Stockholm for the sessions that became A Curious Feeling.

Discography: