Mike Rutherford

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Mike Rutherford
Rutherford playing at Manchester, England, in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Michael John Cleote Crawford Rutherford
Born	2 October 1950 (1950-10-02) (age 61) Guildford, Surrey, England
Genres	Progressive rock, pop rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Bass guitar, guitar, vocals, keyboards, sitar, cello, drums
Years active	1967–present
Labels	Charisma, Atlantic, WEA, Passport
Associated acts	Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics
Website	www.genesis-music.com
Notable instruments
Shergold Double Neck Bass Guitar Rickenbacker Steinberger Guitar

Michael John Cleote Crawford Rutherford (born 2 October 1950 in Guildford, Surrey) is an English musician. He is a founding member of Genesis, initially as a bassist and backup vocalist.^[1] In later incarnations of Genesis, he assumed the role of lead guitarist. He is one of only two constant members in Genesis (the other is keyboardist Tony Banks). He also fronts Mike + The Mechanics. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.

Early life

Rutherford received his first guitar at the age of eight, and played in his first band, the Chesters (so named because they lived near Chester) at the age of nine.^[2] His father, Crawford Rutherford, was a Royal Navy Captain who became a manager in industry upon his retirement from the service. Mike attended the Leas Preparatory School in Hoylake as a boarder, before moving at the age of 13 to Charterhouse School, where he joined the Anon and formed a songwriting partnership with fellow guitarist Anthony Phillips. At age 15, the two of them founded Genesis with Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel. Rutherford was later expelled from Charterhouse for what he describes as a number of instances of minor misconduct.^[2]

Bass/guitar playing

Rutherford's bass playing involved the bass with high treble, use of a pick and a fuzz box in songs like "The Knife" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed". Rutherford was noted for his use of the 12-string guitar. A distinctive sound of early Genesis recordings was the double acoustic 12-string playing of Rutherford intertwined with that of Anthony Phillips, and, later, Steve Hackett (additionally, keyboardist Tony Banks would occasionally throw his own 12-string into the mix). Early Genesis recordings often featured simultaneous 12 string guitar and Dewtron "Mister Bassman" bass pedal synthesiser playing by Rutherford. He used Moog Taurus bass pedals as well by the Trick of the Tail Tour. Often, bass guitar, 12-string guitar, and bass pedal playing would feature in different sections of a single song, "Supper's Ready", "Firth of Fifth", and "The Cinema Show" being good examples of this. He often played a double necked instrument, custom built from a separate Rickenbacker hollowbody 12-string and 4001 bass. Rickenbacker later issued double neck bass/guitar combinations with 4080/6 and 4080/12 models. However, Rutherford had the guitar in the top position rather than the 4080's stock guitar on bottom. He later had a custom Shergold double neck made with the body modified so that each neck could be detached and played as a standard single neck instrument.

Style

After the departure of guitarist Steve Hackett, Rutherford took over all guitarist roles for the band in the recording studio. On live shows, he would alternate between guitar and bass with touring-only guitarist/bassist Daryl Stuermer. Stuermer would typically play all of Hackett's guitar parts and play bass on most songs from the post-Hackett era. Rutherford's style, as evidenced by studio tracks, is reminiscent of David Gilmour's, though less obviously based in the blues. Rutherford often used long, melodic tones, bending the notes into plaintive, almost vocal lines. This results in "singable" solos or the creation of sonic atmospheres rather than showy displays of technical prowess.

As a rhythm guitar player and writer, Rutherford favours melodic, minimalist chords or progressions of single notes, as in Genesis songs "Follow You, Follow Me," "Turn It On Again," and "Invisible Touch," or the Mike + the Mechanics song "The Living Years".

Rutherford played at the Strat Pack Concert in 2004 along with Brian May, David Gilmour and Joe Walsh.

Solo

Mike performing in Sofia, Bulgaria in July 2011

During breaks in Genesis, he recorded two solo albums, Smallcreep's Day and Acting Very Strange. However, he was dissatisfied with his solo work and in 1984 he resolved to never record a solo album again, since he felt his creativity was at its peak when working in collaboration.^[2] Because of this, he formed the band Mike + The Mechanics during a break from Genesis in 1985.

Mike + The Mechanics' biggest hits are "All I Need Is a Miracle", "Word of Mouth", "The Living Years", "Silent Running" and "Over My Shoulder". To help promote the song, Rutherford and the record label perpetuated the impression that "The Living Years" was inspired by Rutherford's relationship with his father, who died during Genesis's Invisible Touch Tour. In a 2004 interview, Rutherford confessed that the lyrics were in fact written by B. A. Robertson, and based entirely on Robertson's relationship with his father.^[3]

Rutherford also collaborated with other artists, including associates Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, on the Against All Odds soundtrack, offering the song "Making A Big Mistake".

Instruments

Performing in Toronto, 3 June 1977 Rutherford with Shergold double-neck bass

Rutherford played mainly Rickenbacker and Shergold basses. He said (in 1979) of the early Rickenbackers he played that 'they were all borrowed from a friend. We'd borrow one, break it, then borrow another. Up until a couple of years ago, I didn't own one myself'.^{[citation needed]} He also developed the idea behind the M-Series Steinberger guitar with the help of English luthier Roger Giffin and he used this extensively in the '80s and during The Invisible Touch Tour with Genesis. He also had a double-neck Status built for the Mama tour which featured a six string guitar and four string bass placed in a custom body. In the earlier years of Genesis he used to play Moog Taurus bass pedal synthesiser. Rutherford has also been onstage with various Washburn Idol models. Through the late '70s live tours, Rutherford often used a custom built Rickenbacker double-neck that combined a 12-string hollow-body guitar with a 4-string bass (now on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum). For the Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and Trick of the Tail tours, he incorporated a Rickenbacker 12-string hollow-body guitar and a 6-string bass, custom-built by Microfrets, in two different double-necks. A custom Shergold double-neck was made that had modules for 4, 6 and 12 strings guitars. The re-tunings required for early Genesis songs led to the development of Peter Gabriel's stories and introductions. Today with Genesis Rutherford continues to use double-neck instruments, when the arrangements demand quick switches between bass and 12-string instruments. His current double-neck model is a Gibson 12-string guitar with a Yamaha TRB-4P bass while he prefers Eric Clapton signature model Fender Stratocasters when playing guitar on later pieces.

Political views and advocacy

Rutherford has supported the Countryside Alliance, an organisation promoting issues relating to hunting, angling and shooting, by playing in a concert to raise funds for the organisation.^[4]

Personal life

Rutherford currently lives in Surrey, England, with wife Angie. The couple were married on 13 November 1976 and have three children Harry, Tom and Kate.

In 2009, Philip Beresford, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, estimated Rutherford's fortune at £30 million from past touring activity, future touring income and the Genesis back catalogue, plus other smaller company assets and accumulated earnings, making him one of the 50 richest residents of Surrey.^[5]

Discography

Genesis

Solo albums

Solo singles

With Mike + The Mechanics

• Mike + the Mechanics (November 1985)
• The Living Years (October 1988)
• Word of Mouth (April 1991)
• Beggar on a Beach of Gold (6 March 1995)
• Hits (4 March 1996)
• M6 (31 May 1999)
• Favourites/The Very Best Of (27 December 2000)
• Rewired (7 June 2004)
• The Road (18 April 2011)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mike Rutherford

• Article about Mike Rutherford's Shergold double neck guitar
• World of Genesis.com Mike Rutherford Biography
• World of Genesis.com 2004 Mike Rutherford Interview: Genesis of a Mechanic
• "Mike Rutherford joins the Band du Lac – charity concert 11 June 2005