Gene

 My relationship with Gene ended up complicated - I first saw them in 1995 at the Roadmender and I loved them instantly. Over the years, I saw them many more times, dragging a variety of pals with me to those gigs - at those gigs, I first encountered amazing bands supporting them like Muse, The Divine Comedy and (British) Sea Power. I saw them in London, Oxford, in Brighton and in Southsea, and I even managed to drag everybody to see them in San Francisco when we were there on holiday in 2002. I occasionally made poor quality recordings of some of those gigs, and put some of tracks up for download on my website devoted to the band. It's fair to say that they were my favourite band. 

Despite this, it was pretty clear that they were up against it. Every step forward seemed to be associated with a step back, and their struggles to get their final LP heard meant that nobody was really surprised when they called it a day and played an emotional final gig at the Astoria in 2004. People said they were Smiths copyists but fans knew they were more than that, and they were a genuinely great live act - Martin Rossiter got all of the focus, but Steve Mason was a classic rock guitarist, with Kevin Miles and Matt James holding it all together. Much as we loved the band, I think we felt like we could understand why they had stopped. 

In the intervening years, their actions seemed to bring the end into clarity. A re-release schedule, curated by Matt, featured no contributions from Martin. A few years later, the frontman announced that he was going to perform some farewell shows, and although the band logo featured heavily in his advertising, he didn't involve any of the other band members. The rest of the band put out a statement expressing their disappointment and like many other fans, I stayed away. I'd support a reunion of the band - not just of one of them. 

And 2025 came around, and talk of a Gene reunion started to kick in. When the tickets went on presale I sent the link to one of those friends from years before - "Don't worry", I said. "I can't imagine they will sell out the Hammersmith Apollo."

Little did I know - they sold out that show instantly, and a couple of warm-up gigs as well. Attending that London show, it felt like a triumph - in the 21 years since that last show, even the songs that weren't anthems originally have now become so, and the crowd sings every word, not just of Olympian, or Fighting Fit, but of London Can You Wait, and Long Sleeves for the Summer. It gave me the opportunity to catch up with some of those friends from years before - we're older but not necessarily wiser, and it's great to see Gene, all of them, finally catching their due. 


They've announced a few more dates in the Spring next year, and fans are excited for the possibilities ahead. Whilst I share that excitement, I'd suggest that we should catch them while we can - reunions aren't always permanent and although it's clear that the musicians in the band. are over the moon to be playing together again, nobody can tell how long that relationship will work. 

Comments

  1. Mark1 November 2025 at 11:28

    An amazing gig. I hope they don't split before the next gigs!

    ReplyDelete

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