John Anthony "Tony" Smith (born January 1945) [1] is a British manager and music and film producer. He was talent manager for the band Genesis, [2] for the solo careers of Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, [3] and co-manager of Pink Floyd [ citation needed ].
In 2000, the Music Managers Foundation presented him with the Peter Grant Award. [4]
In his early career he promoted shows, with acts such as The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who. Tony Smith went on to co-found (with Jon Crawley in 1977) the Hit & Run Music Publishing house, located in the United Kingdom. [5] [6] Along with Hilary Shor, he has expanded into film production under the name Hit and Run Productions. As a film producer, he has produced the films Children of Men and Eye of the Beholder.
Smith is a historic car racer and has owned an Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Sanction II Coupe, one of only four ever made, which in 2012 was auctioned by Bonhams for a record-breaking £1.2 million with fees. [7]
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. Banks and Rutherford were the only constant members of the group.
Philip David Charles Collins is an English musician, singer, drummer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis and had a successful solo career, achieving three UK number-one singles and seven US number-one singles as a solo artist. In total, his work with Genesis, other artists, and solo resulted in more US top-40 singles than any other artist throughout the 1980s. His most successful singles from the period include "In the Air Tonight", "Against All Odds ", "One More Night", "Sussudio", "Another Day in Paradise" and "I Wish It Would Rain Down".
Anthony George Banks is an English musician primarily known as the keyboardist and founding member of the rock band Genesis. Banks is also a prolific solo artist, releasing six solo studio albums that range through progressive rock, pop, and classical music.
Trespass is the second studio album by the English rock band Genesis. It was released on 23 October 1970 by Charisma Records, and is their last album with original guitarist Anthony Phillips and their only album with drummer John Mayhew.
Foxtrot is the fourth studio album by the English progressive rock band Genesis, released on 15 September 1972 on Charisma Records. It features their longest recorded song, the 23-minute track "Supper's Ready".
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 his 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.
A Trick of the Tail is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released on 13 February 1976 on Charisma Records and was the first album to feature drummer Phil Collins as lead vocalist following the departure of Peter Gabriel. It was a critical and commercial success in the UK and U.S., reaching No. 3 and No. 31 respectively.
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.
...Calling All Stations... is the fifteenth and final studio album by English rock band Genesis. It was released 1 September 1997 by Virgin Records and is their only album featuring Scottish singer Ray Wilson as frontman following the departure of long-term drummer/singer Phil Collins in 1996, making it their only album since Trespass to not involve Collins. The remaining members—founding keyboardist Tony Banks and guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford—decided to continue the band and write new music for an album, during which they auditioned singers and chose Wilson.
"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.
"The Carpet Crawlers" is a song written and performed by the English progressive rock band Genesis, recorded for their sixth studio album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The song tells the section of the album's story where Rael, the lead character, finds himself in a red carpeted corridor surrounded by kneeling people crawling towards a wooden door. Rael dashes by them towards the door and goes through it. Behind the door is a table with a candlelit feast on it, and behind that, a spiral staircase that leads upwards out of sight.
Tony Stratton Smith was an English rock music manager, and entrepreneur. He founded the London-based record label Charisma Records in 1969 and managed rock groups such as the Nice, Van der Graaf Generator and Genesis.
Hit & Run Music Publishing in the United Kingdom founded in 1977 by Tony Smith and Jon Crawley. Hit & Run's clients include Phil Collins, Genesis, Brand X, Mike & the Mechanics and Kula Shaker, among others. The company owned publishing rights to such songs as the 1991 Grammy Award winning "Record of the Year", "Another Day in Paradise", "In the Air Tonight", "I Can't Dance" and "Invisible Touch". EMI bought a majority stake in the company in 1999 for the US$19 million. Smith remains the chairman of the company. The company has since expanded to include film production as Hit and Run Productions. One of the subsidiary names used by Hit & Run was Hidden Pun, which is used on some records by former Genesis members, including Peter Gabriel.
Turn It On Again: The Tour was a 2007 concert tour of Europe and North America by the English rock band Genesis. The tour was notable for the return of drummer and vocalist Phil Collins, who had fronted the band during their most commercially successful period before leaving in 1996, rejoining founder members Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, with their traditional on-stage musicians, Chester Thompson on drums and Daryl Stuermer on guitar/bass.
Hit and Run Productions is a movie production house in the United Kingdom founded by Tony Smith and Hilary Shor. It is an extension of Hit & Run Music Publishing.
John Anthony is an English music producer. He has worked with Van der Graaf Generator, Genesis, Queen, Roxy Music and Peter Hammill.
The Last Domino? Tour was a concert tour by English rock band Genesis, staged following the announcement of their reunion after a 13-year hiatus. It featured the core trio of keyboardist Tony Banks, drummer/singer Phil Collins, and bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford, the most commercially successful line-up in the band's history, with Daryl Stuermer on guitars and bass, Collins's son Nic on drums, and Daniel Pearce and Patrick Smyth on backing vocals.