Mike Rutherford believes his side-project Mike + The Mechanics helped give Genesis more longevity.
The guitarist is currently touring the US with vocalists Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar, marking the 30th anniversary of the Mechanics’ debut release.
Rutherford tells the Boston Globe: “Most band members start a solo career because they’re not happy in their main band.
“In our case, we were having a gas with Genesis. But we’d been together for quite a few years. It was a bit like, ‘Let’s just try bait of variety, make the page a little bigger.’
“In a funny way it helped keep Genesis going for a lot longer.”
Mechanics tracks, and solo material from the rest of Genesis, feature alongside Genesis songs in last year’s R-Kive set – and Rutherford says the band were trying to make a point.
“A lot of people don’t tie it all in,” he explains. “People say to me, ‘Was Phil Collins the drummer?’ Or they say, ‘Was Peter Gabriel in Genesis?’ Or, ‘You’re in Mike + The Mechanics as well?’
“When we put the whole package together it has a kind of continuity – it shows the whole picture rather well, I think.”
Mike + The Mechanics launch a UK tour next month:
Apr 08: Gateshead Sage
Apr 09: Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Apr 11: Sheffield City Hall
Apr 12: Edinburgh Festival Theatre
Apr 13: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Apr 15: Aberdeen Music Hall
Apr 17: York Barbican Centre
Apr 18: Stevenage Arts Centre
Apr 19: Leicester De Montford Hall
Apr 21: Ipswich Regent Theatre
Apr 23: Cambridge Corn Exchange
Apr 24: Guildford G Live
Apr 25: Cardiff St David’s Hall
Apr 27: Birmingham Symphony Hall
Apr 28: Manchester Bridgewater Hall
Apr 30: Bournemouth Pavilion
May 02: Plymouth Pavilions
May 03: Bristol Colston Hall
May 05: Oxford New Theatre
May 06: Southen Cliffs Pavilion
May 08: London Royal Albert Hall
May 09: Eastbourne Congress Theatre
May 10: Portsmouth Guildhall