"Abacab" | ||||
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Single by Genesis | ||||
from the album Abacab | ||||
B-side | "Another Record" | |||
Released | 14 August 1981 (UK)
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Recorded | May–June 1981 at The Farm, Surrey | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 7:02(LP version) 4:10 (UK single edit) 3:59 (US single edit) | |||
Label | Charisma/Phonogram (UK) Atlantic (US) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Phil Collins | |||
Producer(s) | Genesis, Hugh Padgham | |||
Genesis singles chronology | ||||
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"Abacab" is a song by the British rock band Genesis, released on 14 August 1981. It was produced by Genesis and distributed in the United States by Atlantic Records and Warner Music Group. [2] The song, written by Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks and Phil Collins, was featured on Genesis' album of the same name and was a top 10 hit on the British pop chart, where it peaked at No. 9. [3] The song was the second single from the album in the US, where it peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1982. [4] It stayed in the Top 40 for six weeks.
Record World said that "sinuous keyboards, pulsating synthesizers and a driving rock beat transport Phil Collins' lead vocal." [5]
The title is taken from the structure of an early version of the song. Guitarist Mike Rutherford explained in an interview in 2006:
[There are] three bits of music in "Abacab" and we refer to them as 'bit A', [correcting self] 'Section A', 'Section B', and 'Section C'. And at different times they were in a different order. We'd start with section A and then have section C and then have section [pauses] and at one point in time, it spelt "ABACAB". And you've got the final version where it's not that at all, it's like "ACACACUCUBUBUGA". [6]
Mike Rutherford was the main songwriter on it and wrote the lyrics too.
The track was regularly performed on the band's 1981 Abacab tour, the 1982 Three Sides Live Encore Tour, the 1983/84 Mama Tour and the 1986/87 Invisible Touch tours. On the first two tours, Phil Collins would sing the chorus in a high falsetto while Banks and Rutherford sang the lower harmonies. For the later tours, Collins would sing the chorus in a lower octave while Rutherford sang the higher falsetto harmonies. Genesis rehearsed the song for the 2007 reunion, but it was not included in the final setlist.
The song's LP version features an extended instrumental jam as an outro, while the single version instead repeats the intro of the song after the final chorus then quickly fades out. (The single edit is used for the music video, and is included on their greatest hits album, Turn It On Again: The Hits .)[ citation needed ]
Chart (1981–1982) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [7] | 35 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [8] | 36 |
Canadian RPM Singles Chart [9] | 11 |
Italy (FIMI) [10] | 11 |
Ireland (Irish Singles Chart) [11] | 16 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [12] | 26 |
Norway (VG-lista) [13] | 8 |
South Africa (Springbok Charts) [14] | 3 |
UK Singles (OCC) [15] | 9 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [16] | 26 |
US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [17] | 43 |
West Germany (Official German Charts) [18] | 28 |
Genesis were an English rock band formed at Charterhouse School, Godalming, Surrey, in 1967. The band's longest-existing and most commercially successful line-up consisted of keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford and drummer/singer Phil Collins. In the 1970s, during which the band also included singer Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett, Genesis were among the pioneers of progressive rock.
Invisible Touch is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released on 6 June 1986 by Atlantic Records in the United States and on 9 June 1986 by Charisma/Virgin Records in the United Kingdom. After taking a break in 1984 for each member to continue their solo career, the band reconvened in October 1985 to write and record Invisible Touch with engineer and producer Hugh Padgham. As with their previous album, it was written entirely through group improvisations and no material developed prior to recording was used.
Genesis is the twelfth studio album by English rock band Genesis, released on 3 October 1983 by Charisma and Virgin Records in the UK and by Atlantic Records in the US and Canada. Following the band's tour in support of their 1982 live album Three Sides Live, Genesis took an eight-month break before they regrouped in the spring of 1983 to record a new album. It is their first written and recorded in its entirety at their studio named The Farm in Chiddingfold, Surrey, and the songs were developed through jam sessions in the studio with nothing written beforehand. Hugh Padgham returned as their engineer.
Duke is the tenth studio album by English rock band Genesis, released on 28 March 1980 on Charisma Records. The album followed a period of inactivity for the band in early 1979. Phil Collins moved to Vancouver, Canada, in an effort to salvage his failing first marriage, while Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford recorded solo albums. Collins returned to the UK after his marriage ended and wrote a significant amount of material, some of which was used for Duke and some was later reworked for his first solo album, Face Value. Duke contained a mix of individually written songs and tracks that evolved from jam sessions in mid-1979, while recording took place at the end of the year. The break in activity rejuvenated the band, and they found the album an easy one to work on.
Abacab is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Genesis, released on 18 September 1981 by Charisma Records. After their 1980 tour in support of their previous album, Duke (1980), the band took a break before they reconvened in 1981 to write and record a new album. Abacab is the first Genesis album recorded at The Farm, a recording studio bought by the group in Chiddingfold, Surrey. It marked the band's development from their progressive roots into more accessible and pop-oriented songs, and their conscious decision to write songs unlike their previous albums.
Turn It On Again: The Hits is a greatest hits album by British progressive rock/pop-rock band Genesis. The album was originally released as a single album on 25 October 1999 by Virgin Records in the UK and on 26 October 1999 by Atlantic Records in the US.
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"Mama" is a song by the English rock band Genesis, released as the first single in 1983 from their self-titled album. It is recognisable for its harsh drum machine introduction composed by Mike Rutherford, which leads into minimalist synthesizer lines in a minor tonality and finally Phil Collins' reverb-laden voice. It remains the band's most successful single in the UK, peaking at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. It also made the top 10 in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Ireland and the Netherlands. It was less popular in the US, only reaching No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. A 1992 re-release of the single managed to reach the Top 40 in Germany.
"Invisible Touch" is the title track and first single from the 1986 album of the same name by the English rock band Genesis. The song is a group composition which featured lyrics written by drummer and singer Phil Collins.
"Follow You Follow Me" is a love song written and recorded by English rock band Genesis. It was released in February 1978 as the first single from their ninth studio album, ...And Then There Were Three... (1978). The music was composed by the band, and the lyrics were written by bassist and guitarist Mike Rutherford. The single became Genesis' first top 10 hit in the UK and first top 40 hit in the US, reaching No. 7 and No. 23 respectively.
"Throwing It All Away" is the seventh track on the 1986 album Invisible Touch by Genesis. It was the second single taken from the album in the United States, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1986, as well as No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and the Album Rock Tracks chart. It was the last single released from the album in the UK in June 1987, reaching No. 22. The song was also a top 40 hit on the Irish Singles Chart, peaking at No. 24. The working title was "Zephyr and Zeppo".
"That's All" is a song by the English rock band Genesis. It is a group composition and appears as the second track on their 1983 album Genesis. It was the album's second single after "Mama". On June 17, 1993, MCA Records re-issued and re-released the song as a CD and "HiQ" cassette single.
"Behind the Lines" is a song by the English progressive rock band Genesis, from their 1980 album Duke. The group's drummer and vocalist Phil Collins released a re-recorded version on his first solo album Face Value in February 1981.
"Paperlate" is a song by the British rock band Genesis from their second of two EPs. The EP, titled 3×3, peaked at No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart in mid-1982. The success of the EP led to an appearance on Top of the Pops. In the US and Europe, "Paperlate" was released as a standard single, backed by "You Might Recall". It was also featured on the U.S. version of the band's Three Sides Live album, of which all three tracks from the 3×3 EP are included on side four.
"Man on the Corner" is a 1981 song by British rock band Genesis, released as a single on 5 March 1982. The song was written and sung by drummer Phil Collins. It peaked at No. 41 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
"Keep It Dark" is a song by British band Genesis, released on 23 October 1981 in the UK as the second single from Abacab. It reached number 33 in the UK Singles Chart.
"No Reply at All" is a song by British band Genesis, released as the lead single in the US from their 1981 album Abacab. It was not released in the UK, where "Abacab" was the first single. The US single release edit omits the second verse of the song as it appears on the Abacab album.
Genesis Live: The Mama Tour is a concert film by the English progressive rock band Genesis, released for home video on the 17th October 1985 by Virgin Music Video and on the 27th June 1986 by Atlantic Records. It contains highlights from the group's five concerts at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, the video was filmed on the 26th, 27th and 28 February 1984 at the end of their Mama Tour, supporting their 1983 album Genesis. It was directed by Jim Yukich.
"Misunderstanding" is a song by the English rock band Genesis, released on their 1980 album Duke. It reached No. 14 in the U.S. and No. 42 in the UK. Its highest charting was in Canada, where it reached No. 1 and is ranked as the seventh biggest Canadian hit of 1980. It was also featured on the band's 1982 double-album Three Sides Live, where it led off side three.
"Domino" is a song written by the band Genesis for their 1986 album Invisible Touch. The song was the sixth track on the album. The music was written by the band, while the lyrics were written by keyboardist Tony Banks. The song is divided into two parts, "In the Glow of the Night" and "The Last Domino".