Tony Banks: The Legendary Keyboardist of Genesis

Born on March 27, 1970, in East Hoathly, East Sussex,England, Anthony George “Tony” Banks is one of the long time running and founding members of Genesis. He is well known for being the keyboardist and pianist for the band, and for help composing the melodies for most of the songs that band has performed. Tony also pursued a solo career in performing songs for films, the pop music genre, and for dabbling in Orchestra music.

Early Years:

Tony received classical training in piano and he taught himself to play the guitar. He attended an all boys’ school, called Charter House School, where he met fellow Genesis member, Peter Gabriel in 1963. Banks originally planned on studying mathematics in higher education. After graudating from Charter House, he studied Chemistry at Sussex University and switched from Logics to Phyisics. After attending Sussex University for a year, he took a sabbatical to pursue a career with Genesis.

Tony formed a school band at the Charterhouse School with Peter Gabriel and their fellow student, and drummer, Chris Stewart. Together, the three of them formed Garden Wall. Garden Wall eventually merged with The Anons (featuring fellow founding members, Mike Rutherford and Anthony Phillips), to form the band, Genesis by recording a series of demo tapes that led them to being Genesis.

Career in Genesis:

Tony has made many arrangements and added a lot to the works of Genesis. His more notable works are the piano introduction to the song, “Firth of Fifth” and additions to “The Cinema Show,” “Watcher of the Skies,” and “Supper’s Ready.” His contributions helped establish the feel and the genre of Genesis. Tony also often played the guitar during some songs alongside Steve Hackett, Anthony Phillips, and Mike Rutherford; he did some of the back up vocals of some of Genesis’ early works.

His compositions are often considered to be the driving force of Genesis’ music, especially the works done before the eighties. Some of the more Banks compositions are “Mad Man Moon,” “One for the Vine,” and “Afterglow,” of all which are popular among Banks’ fans.

In 2007, he reunited with Genesis to do a reunion tour, despite Peter Gabriel refusing to perform.

Equipment:

Tony played a variety of different organs, keyboards, and pianos. His early instruments were the Hammon L-111 organ, a Hohner Pient N, and a Mellotron mkll, but later on he used a Pianet and an RMI 378x Electra Piano and Harpsichord for Genesis’ later years.

Sound Innovations:

Banks experimented with a lot of unique keyboard and synthesizers throughout his musical career, as can be heard through his work with Genesis.

Solo Projects:

Film Scoring

While pursuing a career with Genesis, Tony wrote music for The Shout, The Wicked Lady, Starship, and Quicksilver.

Rock Albums

when Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett left the band, Tony was the first member of the remaining members to start a solo career, but he didn’t see much success like the others did. a fan tribute band called, Strictly Banks, formed in 1998 to perform a series of his solo songs.

Banks released a series of albums featuring various guest vocalists such as Fish, Nik Kershaw, and several other singers.

Classical Albums

Because classical music was a huge influence on Tony, he learned the piano pieces by Sergei Rachimaninoff, Maurice Ravel, and many others.

In 2004, Tony released a classical CD called Seven: A Suite for ORchrestra, in which each song was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and composed by Mike Dixon. Tony only played the piano on three tracks.

On March 26, 2012, he release his second classical album, Six Pieces of Orchestra, which was performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Paul Englishby. One track featured Martin Robertson on alto saxophone and another features Charlie Siem on violin.

Personal Life:

Tony married his wife, Margret on July 29, 1972 and they have a son and a daughter.

Conclusion:

No matter what age you’re from, you’ll always hear and see the many influences Tony has had on the world, particularly in bands that dabble with the piano, pop genre, and the classical music genre.