Anthony Phillips

Anthony Phillips (born December 23, 1951 in London, England) is a British musician who was a founding member of the band Genesis. He played guitar and sang backup vocals in the band until he left in 1970.

After leaving Genesis, Phillips studied classical music and made recordings with Harry Williamson, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins, among others. His first solo album, "The Geese And The Ghost", was issued in 1977. Filled with pastoral ballads and extended compositions, it was out of place with the rise of punk music and was not a strong seller.

Phillips released a second album in 1978, entitled "Wise After The Event". This was followed the next year by "Sides". Both of these albums were intended to reach a mainstream audience, though neither was successful.

For its initial release, "Sides" was accompanied by a less commercial album entitled "Private Parts and Pieces". "Private Parts and Pieces II" followed the next year, and several further sequels emerged in the 1980s and 1990s.

Phillips began writing material with Andy Latimer of Camel in 1980, and was a featured writer and performer on that band's album, "The Single Factor" (1981).

Phillips released a mainstream pop album entitled "Invisible Men" in 1983. He later claimed that this project had gone "horribly wrong" amid commercial pressures, with the music suffering as a result. Phillips would subsequently eschew mainstream success in favour of more specialized releases.

He is still involved in a variety of musical projects, including soundtrack work in England. In the mid-1990s, he released an album entitled "The Living Room Concert", which featured solo acoustic versions of his earlier material.

Phillips also provided archival material for the first Genesis box set, released in 1998.

External links

• Official site