Richard Paul Macphail (born 17 September 1950, in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

) is an English musician, road manager, and business owner best known for his relationship with the rock band

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

from their formation in 1967 to 1973.

Genesis

Macphail was the vocalist for Anon, one of the two bands formed at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...

, Surrey, the other being

Garden Wall The Garden Wall is a steep alpine area within Glacier National Park well known during the summer months to be heavily covered in dozens of species of flowering plants and shrubs. Located along the west side of the Continental divide and extending ...

. In 1967, members of the two groups formed the first line-up of Genesis. Macphail then joined The Austin Hippy Blues which also featured Harry Williamson, who later wrote and performed music with Macphail's old bandmate and original Genesis guitarist

Anthony Phillips Anthony Edwin Phillips (born 23 December 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, producer and singer who gained prominence as the original lead guitarist of the rock band Genesis, from 1967 to 1970. He left in July 1970 and learned to play mo ...

. Once this band had dissolved, Macphail's next musical venture was tour manager for Genesis from 1969 until 1973. He is credited as "sound friend" on the liner notes to their fourth album ''

Foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...

'' (1972), and the band dedicated their first live album, ''

Genesis Live ''Genesis Live'' is the first live album from the English rock band Genesis, released on 20 July 1973 on Charisma Records. Initially recorded for radio broadcast on the American rock program ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'', the album is formed f ...

'' (1973), to him. Macphail worked with Genesis once more in 1976 for their

A Trick of the Tail Tour The A Trick of the Tail Tour was a concert tour of the United States, Canada and European countries by English rock band Genesis. This was the first tour after Peter Gabriel left the band, and the only one with Bill Bruford on drums. "A lot of ...

, and with former Genesis singer

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

as tour manager in 1977 and 1978.

Other projects

Macphail ended his musical career with a band called Legion in 1981, which featured him as lead vocalist. Legion had played a short 4 date tour that year supporting American band, Spirit, which included a gig at Friars in Aylesbury which was opened by another band, Marillion. In 2016, Macphail enjoyed a short spell as DJ on

Meridian Radio Meridian Radio is the working name of the Woolwich Hospitals Broadcasting Service. It is a hospital radio station providing entertainment and information to the patients and staff of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich. It was establish ...

in London, and followed this up with his own on-line radio station Radio Rich Pickings. Outside of music, Macphail has worked with environmental and ecological organizations, including Gentle Ghost. Now semi-retired, he successfully ran his own energy advice company from the beginning of the 1980s.Biography from Genesis News
/ref> Macphail still makes the occasional appearance at Genesis conventions and the like. A book on Macphail's time with Genesis, titled ''My Book of Genesis'', was released in 2017 with co-author

Chris Charlesworth Chris Charlesworth is a British-based music journalist and author; and, between 1983 and 2016, managing editor of Omnibus Press. He is particularly noted for his work about, and with, The Who, for whom he has worked as an executive producer. Char ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macphail, Richard Living people 1950 births People from Bedford People educated at Charterhouse School

Genesis

Other projects

See also

References