The living years - Mike Rutherford

"Now Michael, you're the son of a naval officer, you must behave like a naval officer at all times..."
What Captain William Rutherford told his seven-year-old son Michael was to stay with him all his life.

Born
in 1950, Michael was truly his father's son, even serving in the naval
section of the student cadet corps at one of England's top public
schools, Charterhouse. Mike's future lay in the civil service: it was a
subject that he discussed with his father at Captain Crawford's
gentlemen's club. But then something happened. Mike discovered rock
music.

As one of the founder members of Genesis, Mike was to
tour the world and achieve international fame. From unpromising
beginnings - demonised by his teachers as a fomenter of revolution,
driving to gigs in a bread van - Mike would go on to crisscross the
globe with bandmates Peter Gabriel and, later, Phil Collins, playing to
packed-out stadiums and achieving record sales of over 150 million.
Swapping old school ties and Savile Row suits for flares and Afghan
coats, Mike and Genesis would pioneer the pomp and theatricality of
1970s progressive rock before becoming household names in the 1980s with
hits like Turn It On Again, Mama and Land of Confusion.
There was
drink, there were drugs; there were arguments and excess.
But, in the
background - and sometimes in the audience - there was also the loyal
Captain Rutherford, earplugs at the ready, Melody Maker in hand. A proud father still.

The Living Years
spans the entire history of Genesis, from the earliest days as a school
band to the triumphant 2007 reunion tour when Genesis played to over
500,000 people in Rome. But this is not just another rock 'n' roll memoir.
This is also a book about two men whose lives and complex relationship
reflect the seismic social and cultural shifts that took place during
the twentieth century. A book for every father and son.