Mike Rutherford
“He sure could play bass guitar, until he had that mechanical breakdown.”
Michael John Cleote Crawford Mechanical Rutherford (born 2 October 1950) is an English guitarist, bassist, songwriter, and singer whose long name means he is five different people. Rutherford is not particularly known as a guitar genius, and his skills pale in comparison to Steve Hackett's, but he still laughs all the way to the bank along with Tony Banks. Although most know him from his work with Mike + the Mechanics featuring Paul Carrack of Ace, Squeeze, etc., his most important work has been with the group Phil + Genesis featuring Mike of Mike + the Mechanics and Tony Banks of Strictly Inc.
ProtoGenesis[edit]
Together with schoolboy mates Peter Gabriel (vocalist, frontman), Tony Banks (keyboardist), Anthony "Ant-Fishlips" Phillips (guitarist), and a drummer whose name no one can remember anymore, Mike was a founding member of ProtoGenesis in the late 1960s. At first, they made sappy short baroque songs akin to the Bee Gees or Moody Blues. However, after a heavy night of drinking and listening to King Crimson, they decided to play progressive rock in the '70s, although they did not really know what that meant. Later, Phillips and "that drummer" were sacked and replaced by Steve Hackett and Phil Collins, respectively.
Rutherford was only "allowed" to play the bass while in ProtoGenesis, which couldn't be heard anyway because it was drowned out by all of Tony's loud keyboards. Mike also stole from Phil a large amount of work relating to atoms, resulting in the Rutherford Model. This model has now been subject to a campaign to be renamed the Collins Model.
Phil + Genesis featuring Mike of Mike + the Mechanics[edit]
Gabriel left ProtoGenesis in 1975 to start a solo career, and was replaced by Collins as lead singer. When Hackett also left ProtoGenesis in 1977, Rutherford was the only option left for a guitarist, so he was finally allowed to play lead guitar (instead of just bass). For live shows, however, jazz guitarist Daryl Stuermer was brought in so Rutherford didn't have to remember the parts.
The band was now a trio consisting of Collins, Banks, and Rutherford, and renamed themselves to Phil + Genesis featuring Mike of Mike + the Mechanics and Tony Banks of Strictly Inc. They found great success in the '80s, as they abandoned prog rock and instead made sappy short poppy love songs. The band reformed in 2007 for Turn The Washing Machine On Again: The Tour because Tony Banks, who never had a hit, needed to replenish his bank account to buy a new washing machine for his family.
Forgotten solo career[edit]
Sick of Phil and Tony, Rutherford released a couple of solo albums in the early '80s, but no one noticed. The first one, Smallcreep's Day, was actually pretty good as Mike hired another guy to sing on it, and it featured a Nouvelle cuisine cover art. However, his second album Acting Very Strange (Not Acting) flopped, as Rutherford made the mistake of drinking too much Brandy and convincing himself that he could sing (he could not), as well as it featuring a more ridiculous cover.
Mike + the Mechanics featuring Paul Carrack of Ace, Squeeze, etc.[edit]
Angered by Phil Collins's solo success, Rutherford decided to take a break from Phil + Genesis featuring Mike of Mike + the Mechanics in a fit of rage. He forgot to tell anyone, however. Rutherford met up with Paul Carrack and One of the Paul Youngs to form Mike + the Mechanics featuring Paul Carrack of Ace, Squeeze, etc. Carrack was best-known for at one time being the lead singer in every British band that ever existed. Their first hit was "All I Need Is America", which was a love song to the land that lined Rutherford's pockets (due to the land's love of Rutherford's love songs). This was followed up by "Silent Drumming", said to have been inspired by a wish about Phil Collins. The band only had one other hit, "The Living Beers", about a son who watched his father drink himself to death.
After One of the Paul Youngs passed away in 2000, Carrack insisted on his full name being in the band's. Rutherford consented, but only if Carrack would allow him to play on the records. Without Young, the band tried to compensate by going in a more youthful electronica-oriented direction, but with little success.
Legacy[edit]
Rutherford County, Tennessee was named after Mike Rutherford, much like the nearby Sumner County, Tennessee was named for Sting.