The Genius of Mike Rutherford - Alan Hewitt reflects in the career of the Cheif Mechanic.

Mike has certainly come a long way since he was banned from playing the guitar whilst at Charterhouse School.

A founding father of Genesis and one of the driving forces behind the formative incarnation of the band along with Anthony Phillips. Their experimentations drove the early efforts of the band and their partnership was an incredibly creative one.

Mike's ear for a strange chord shape was matched by one for a fine melody and an eye for a good lyric. His input in that department in Genesis has often been overlooked by those who assumed that the lyrics were the domain of either Peter Gabriel or his replacement; Phil Collins. It was with Phil that Mike forged an incredibly powerful rhythm section especially in the latter days of the band. And I defy anyone to listen to Los Endos in particular and not be blown away by the sheer power on display from both protagonists. Mike came into his own as a writer in the latter half of the band’s career where his lyrics provided the basis for several of the band’s classic tunes. Your Own Special Way and Land Of Confusion being a contradictory pair of examples. Mike was also willing to explore working with others outside of the rather cloistered framework in Genesis. And it was this flexibility which led him to his “part - time’ band; Mike + The Mechanics who are now celebrating their fortieth anniversary!

Mike's uncanny knack for finding the right people for the right job led him in the first instance to what may have appeared an unlikely pairing of vocalists; Paul Carrack with his soulful and almost bluesy vocals and the rockier ones of the late great Paul Young, one of rock’s truly great frontmen. The formula worked and for over a decade, the Mechanics proved themselves capable of storming the charts with hit albums and singles both at home and abroad.

Paul Young’s untimely death in 2000 placed Mike in a quandary; continue without him or wind the band up altogether? The experiment with solely Paul Carrack which was Rewired did not satisfy either the fans or the protagonists themselves and after that album the band were effectively placed on hiatus. Mike's decision to revive The Mechanics in 2010 took everyone by surprise but his desire to work with other musicians and writers remained as strong as ever. He collaborated with more songwriters producing even more work but who was to front the new look band? Once again, his unerring senses led him to Andrew Roachford, himself a major performer in the UK and elsewhere and to the relatively unknown (at least in musical circles) Canadian singer, Tim Howard. Once again Mike’s judgement proved to be spot on and that revived line up of the band has just completed another highly successful tour.

Being a major player in one successful band is normally enough for any musician but to create another band from scratch - TWICE - is astonishing, and if that isn't the mark of a creative genius, what is?