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Gene are a British
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s. Formed in 1993, they were categorized by the UK music press as a
Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...
band and were often drawn comparisons to
the Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
because of the similarities to
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...
in the demeanour and lyrical style of lead singer
Martin Rossiter Martin Rossiter (born 15 May 1970) is a Welsh singer, who was lead singer of the British indie band Gene from 1993 until its break-up in 2004. He released a solo album in 2012. Career Though Gene was labelled as a Britpop band, Rossiter was n ...
. Gene's music was influenced by
The Jam The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...
,
The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
,
The Style Council The Style Council were an English pop band formed in Woking in 1982 by Paul Weller, the former lead vocalist, principal songwriter and guitarist with the rock band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Ru ...
,
The Faces Faces are an English rock band formed in London in 1969. They were formed by members of Small Faces after lead singer and guitarist Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie. The remaining Small Faces; Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane (bass, ...
and
The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
. The band split at the end of 2004.


History


The Go Hole and Sp!n

Gene's origins lie in a previous band which was first called The Go Hole, named after a fictional "
Beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
" club in John Clellon Holmes' novel '' Go''. They released the single "Flight of Angels" on Big Pop Records in 1987. They were later renamed to Sp!n when they became a four-piece. The band was formed in 1987 by Lee Clark (vocals/guitar) and Darryl James Walton (bass). However, their collaboration was short-lived as Walton was soon replaced by John Mason on bass, with Matt James (Wrigley) joining soon afterwards on drums. Walton would then take on the role of band manager. Their first single, recorded in the same studios as
The Ruts The Ruts (later known as The Ruts D.C.) are an English reggae-influenced punk rock band, notable for the 1979 UK top 10 hit single " Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was highly regarded and regular ...
' "In a Rut", appeared on Walton's Big Pop Record label. A
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
session fuelled their early success, where they mixed with the music and artistic community in
Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...
mingling with members of The House of Love, My White Bedroom, and
Vic Reeves James Roderick Moir (born 24 January 1959), commonly known by his stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian and artist. He has a double act with Bob Mortimer as Reeves & Mortimer. He is known for his surreal sense of humour. In 2003, Ree ...
and
Bob Mortimer Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, author, television presenter, writer and actor. He is one half of the comedy double act Reeves and Mortimer with Jim Moir, Vic Reeves, and appears in the ''Mortimer & Whitehouse ...
. Walton would organize and negotiate many of the group's gigs, contracts and press especially later when they were a four-piece. After 18 months, Clark, Mason and James invited John's brother Steve Mason to play lead/rhythm guitar and thereby freeing Clark to focus on vocals. Two singles, "Scratches (In the Sand)" and "Let's Pretend" were released in 1990 and 1991 respectively as an album had been recorded with
Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English record producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album '' Viva Hate'' following the ...
as producer. Then, Sp!n were involved in a car accident. John Mason suffered a head injury and went into an 11-day coma. Walton was also hurt. The day prior to the accident, Clark had offered his resignation in a letter to the rest of the band, due to his dissatisfaction with the way that Walton, and their record label Foundation, were guiding its course. ''"The final straw for me,"'' stated Clark, ''"was calling the Sp!n album In Motion - a play on word-association which was so naff, that it beggared belief."'' A further EP, titled ''Hot Blood'', was released in late 1991. The music press ceased to portray the band as new and vibrant, instead substituting headlines of car crashes and injuries, necessitating an overhaul of the band. John Mason, disappointed with the music business, went on to become a writer. Clark briefly recorded demos with Andrew "Snake" Newton, who had been the live sound engineer for Sp!n, then gave up music to become a primary school teacher. Clark felt he was increasingly too old to become a rock star and decided to play and record only in his own bedroom and indeed returned to this after a hiatus of about ten years. Wanting to continue together in a band, Steve Mason and James recruited bass player Kevin Miles, who had a long association with the band. After seeing
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
based Welshman Martin Rossiter cross the floor of a club, Mason approached him, and they began to talk. Their meeting ended with Rossiter handing out his business card and Mason asking Rossiter if he would like to audition with the band. Rossiter appeared on Sp!n's last demos as "Martin T. Falls" (a nod to the Mancunian band The Fall) shortly before the band decided to adopt the name Gene.


Breakthrough

By the time ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' ... journalists Keith Cameron and Roy Wilkinson encountered Gene, the band had already gained some live experience and had written several songs. Cameron and Wilkinson were impressed enough to form an independent record label called Costermonger with the sole purpose of promoting Gene to a wider audience. Their double A-sided debut single "For The Dead" / "Child's Body" was released on Costermonger in May 1994. The single received a great deal of attention from the music press: '' Select'' named it "Single Of The Month", whilst ''NME'' made it their "Single of the Week". The limited edition of 1,994 copies sold out in two days. Numerous live shows followed. Gene's performance in support of
Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...
at London's The Forum was hailed by the
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
as a breakthrough performance. "Gene have just played third on the bill and willed the crowd into treating them like headliners who are very, very big indeed", said ''NME''. "He
artin Artin may refer to: * Artin (name), a surname and given name, including a list of people with the name ** Artin, a variant of Harutyun Harutyun ( and in Western Armenian Յարութիւն) also spelled Haroutioun, Harutiun and its variants Har ...
has made people love him, and now he's loving every minute of it." With Gene already developing a devoted fan following, a new single was planned to consolidate their popularity. The second single, a triple A-side consisting of "Be My Light Be My Guide", "This Is Not My Crime" and "I Can't Help Myself" was released on 1 August 1994 via Costermonger. ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' awarded "Be My Light Be My Guide" its "Single Of The Week".


Popular success

After achieving the top spot in the UK indie chart and number 54 in the UK Singles Chart, the band played their first UK headlining tour, that included a show at London's Paradise Club which sold out immediately, with 800 people in the venue. The plaudits had not gone unnoticed by the big record companies and Gene eventually signed a deal with
Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
. After a live appearance at the
Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...
, the band released their third single "Sleep Well Tonight", just prior to embarking on a large national tour, preceded by several sold-out French dates. Featuring strongly in both critics and readers end of year polls, Gene were the recipients of the inaugural ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' Brat Award for 'Best New Act', and as such played at the sold-out Brat Award ceremony at the London Astoria. They adorned the covers of both the ''NME'' and ''Melody Maker'', who voted them their 'Brightest Hope' for 1995. Their fourth single, "Haunted By You", became the band's second Top 40 hit (reaching number 32), whilst their debut LP '' Olympian'' reached number 8 in the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
following a plethora of excellent reviews. The album also gained Gene their first silver disc, recording sales of over 70,000 in the UK alone, and when the final single from the album was released ("Olympian"), it went into the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. The summer and autumn of 1995 were spent touring the world, including a well-received performance at
Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
, headlining Reading Festival, a tour of Japan and Europe and then a foray into the US. With Christmas looming, the band entered the studio again for pre-production on their new album, scheduled for release the following year. 1996 began with a remixed "For the Dead" which subsequently became Gene's biggest hit (peaking at number 14 in the Top 40), leading to their debut appearance on ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
''. ''To See The Lights'', an LP of rarities, live tracks, radio sessions and acoustic versions of singles, was released in January and reached the number 11 spot in the album chart. A national tour was undertaken during most of the same month, culminating in two sell-out London shows at
Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was original ...
and the Astoria. In anticipation of their second studio LP, October 1996 saw the release of "Fighting Fit", an up-tempo rock song which reached number 22. The start of 1997 heralded the release of "We Could Be Kings", another epic rock song which again proved to be popular, reaching number 18. The LP '' Drawn to The Deep End'' (1997), takes its name from a "Fighting Fit" B-side, and it revealed a lavish production replete with strings, far more prominent guitar solos from Mason, and a rather warbling vocal affectation from Rossiter. The album showed some measure of musical development from the band, which was reflected by the inclusion of a keyboardist in their live shows (Grand Drive's Julian Wilson 996-98, 2004 former
Style Council The Style Council were an English pop band formed in Woking in 1982 by Paul Weller, the former lead vocalist, principal songwriter and guitarist with the rock band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Run ...
keyboardist
Mick Talbot Michael Talbot (born 11 September 1958) is an English keyboardist. He was a co-founder of the Style Council with Paul Weller, and has also been a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Merton Parkas and The Bureau (band), the Bureau. Career ...
999-2001 Marcus Brown 001 and Angie Pollack 003-2004, and the fact that Rossiter was starting to master the art of singing live whilst playing the keyboard for some songs. Lyrically speaking, the dominating themes of the album were loneliness and deep yearning. Indeed, Rossiter was in the depths of depression during the making of the album and the songs resulting from this period remain some of the band's most powerful work. ''Drawn to the Deep End'' was another critical success, with '' Q'' magazine awarding it four stars. Like its predecessor, the album entered the top 10 of the album charts, and subsequent singles, "Where Are They Now?" and "Speak to Me Someone" both made the top 40, at 22 and 30 respectively. Arguably the defining moment of the band's career came in March 1997, when they played with a full orchestra to a sell-out audience at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
. Transmitted on Radio 1, the event was commemorated by the release of two live EPs in tandem with the last two singles from ''Drawn to the Deep End''. They also played in Hong Kong that year as part of the festivities of the UK's ceding the island back into Chinese hands. By late 1997, Rossiter in particular had gained some press attention in his newfound status as a minor celebrity. He had already appeared as a guest on ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...
'' and various articles speculated on his sexuality (much to Rossiter's bemusement. As he told ''Sorted'' magazine: "I've never hidden the fact that I've slept on both sides of the bed and people find that very odd that I was quite happy to say 'yeah, I'm bisexual and it doesn't really matter.") He also hit the headlines due to a war of words between Rossiter and comedian
Paul Kaye Paul Kaye (born 15 December 1964) is an English comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Thoros of Myr in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–17). He started as shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on ''The Sunday ...
which culminated in Rossiter headbutting Kaye in a nightclub.


''Revelations'' and leaving Polydor

1998 served as a fallow year for the band, used for writing new material as well as a few low-key shows and events such as Radio 1's ''Sound City''. In fact, the most newsworthy article about Gene during that year was of Martin Rossiter's 'drastic' change in image. Gone were the suit jackets with white shirts and the floppy side-parted hair, in favour of the mod-like
Fred Perry Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former World number 1 male tennis player rankings, world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors, including eight Grand Slam (tennis), ...
polo shirt A polo shirt, tennis shirt, golf shirt, or chukker shirt is a form of shirt with a collar. Polo shirts are usually short sleeved but can be long; they were used by Polo#Players, polo players originally in British Raj, British India in 1859 and ...
s, jeans and a very short haircut. The new look was to be reflective of the band's rockier forthcoming studio LP, '' Revelations''. On their return from relative wilderness, it appeared that Gene had lost a lot of their prestige during their year out of the limelight and were no longer the golden boys of the indie scene. First off, the LP, released in February 1999, was a
Jam Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...
-like political single called "As Good As It Gets", which entered the charts at number 23 to lukewarm reviews. ''Revelations'' was released that March to very mixed reviews; the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' awarded it 5/10, concluding that the album was "pretty thin on the ground". ''Revelations'' carries some political songs, such as the aforementioned "As Good As It Gets", "The British Disease" and "Mayday". Rossiter, who had an occasional political spot on
BBC Radio Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in ...
, launched a vitriolic critique of New Labour's first term in office. The album charted disappointingly at number 23, and the second single from the album, "Fill Her Up", charted at number 37 that April. Despite a successful and comprehensive tour around the country, again selling out many venues, as well as making a successful appearance at the Reading Festival of that year, Gene and
Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
parted ways. The band felt somewhat undermined by their label's lack of support and failure to market the album adequately. As Rossiter explained: "Only when we got to
Gretna Green Gretna Green is a parish in the southern Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, close to the town of Gretna, Scotland, Gretna, on the Scottish side of the English-Scottish border. It is accessed from the A74( ...
did we realize that Polydor had disembarked at
Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...
." Whilst the band made the best of ''Revelations raw, live sound during the album's promotion, as well as the fact that the recording of the album took less than a month to complete (the marketing literature said it was in order to best convey the energy apparent from their live shows), after the split they claimed that they could have made it a better album had they been given more time by their label.


Artistic freedom and ''Libertine''

Despite the lack of the support of a major record label, Gene spent a good portion of 2000 touring the world, which climaxed in a sell-out tour of the US. One of their shows, at the Los Angeles venue
Troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...
, was broadcast over the internet in what was then a record-breaking webcast, screened to at least 60,000 people worldwide. Only two months after the recording of that show, Gene released ''Rising for Sunset'', a live album recorded from that Troubadour show. The webcast and album were promoted with a pioneering international internet-only campaign resulting in 40k units sold upon its universal release. As well as rehearsing the band's hits, they released two new tracks, "Rising For Sunset" and "Somewhere in the World"; promising songs that bode well for their next studio LP and marking a return to the romance of their more popular tracks. That album, entitled ''
Libertine A libertine is a person questioning and challenging most moral principles, such as responsibility or Human sexual activity, sexual restraints, and will often declare these traits as unnecessary, undesirable or evil. A libertine is especially som ...
'', was released in October 2001 on Gene's own label, 'Sub Rosa Records'.


Split

Despite further successful live shows in subsequent years including a set at the Morrissey-curated
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
Meltdown Festival Meltdown is an annual festival held in London, featuring a mix of music, art, performance and film. Meltdown is held in June at Southbank Centre, the arts complex covering and including the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and The ...
in June 2004, Gene opted for an amicable split later that year. Gene's last live performance was on 16 December 2004 at the London Astoria. The band members have all continued to work in music. Roy Wilkinson went on to manage the band then known as
British Sea Power Sea Power, previously known as British Sea Power and initially as British Air Powers, are an English alternative rock band. The group's original lineup consisted of Jan Scott Wilkinson, known as Yan; Martin Noble, known as Noble; and Alison Co ...
, while Snake Newton went on to mix an assortment of acts including
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...
,
Sugababes The Sugababes are an English girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by Ron Tom, the manager of All Saints, ...
,
Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
and
Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland, consisting of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, keyboards, backi ...
. In the third week of January 2008, all four members of Gene briefly took to the stage again for their ex-manager Jerry Smith's 50th birthday party. They performed five songs at the 100 Club in London: "Be My Light, Be My Guide", "For The Dead", "Where Are They Now?", "London, Can You Wait?" and "Olympian".


Reissues

In January 2014, all four studio albums plus '' To See the Lights'' were reissued in double disc deluxe editions containing extra materials (demos, out-takes, radio versions and live). Drummer Matt James discussed the re-releases and the history of the band with UK music website The Mouth Magazine. In 2020 a box-set ''Gene: The Albums'' was released, compiling the previous 2014 re-issues plus live album ''Rising For Sunset'' into a single 8-disc or 9-CD package. An abridged double album entitled ''Yours For The Taking - the best of Gene'' was released simultaneously, at a more accessible price point.


Reunion

On 17th January 2025 the company Gene Touring Limited was registered with
Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the British Government that maintains the Company register, register of companies, employs the company registrars and is responsible for Incorporation (business), incorporating all forms of Company, co ...
, listing all four band members as directors. An "official"
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page was then created for the band, with teaser content hinting at a London-based event to mark the 30th anniversary of debut album ''Olympian''. On 20th March 2025 the band announced a one-off gig to mark the anniversary, to take place on 4th October 2025 at the
Eventim Apollo The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...
,
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. The band announced a warmup gig for their London reunion show at th
Brudenell Social Club in Leeds on Sunday 28th September


Members

*
Martin Rossiter Martin Rossiter (born 15 May 1970) is a Welsh singer, who was lead singer of the British indie band Gene from 1993 until its break-up in 2004. He released a solo album in 2012. Career Though Gene was labelled as a Britpop band, Rossiter was n ...
- vocals, keyboards, piano *Steve Mason - guitar *Kevin Miles - bass *Matt James - drums, percussion, occasional backing vocals


Tour members

*Julian Wilson - keyboards, organ, piano (1996-1998, 2004) *
Mick Talbot Michael Talbot (born 11 September 1958) is an English keyboardist. He was a co-founder of the Style Council with Paul Weller, and has also been a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Merton Parkas and The Bureau (band), the Bureau. Career ...
- keyboards, organ, piano (1999-2001) *Marcus Brown - keyboards, organ, piano (2001) *Angie Pollock - keyboards, organ, piano (2004)


Discography


Studio albums

* 1995 '' Olympian'' - UK No. 8 * 1997 '' Drawn to the Deep End'' - No. 8 * 1999 '' Revelations'' - No. 25 * 2001 ''
Libertine A libertine is a person questioning and challenging most moral principles, such as responsibility or Human sexual activity, sexual restraints, and will often declare these traits as unnecessary, undesirable or evil. A libertine is especially som ...
'' - No. 92


Live album

* 2000 ''Rising for Sunset'' - No. 118


Compilation albums

* 1996 '' To See the Lights'' - No. 11 * 2001 ''As Good As It Gets: The Best Of'' * 2006 ''The Collection'' * 2006 ''The John Peel Sessions'' * 2020 ''Gene: The Albums'' * 2020 ''Yours For The Taking - the best of Gene''


Singles

* 1994 "For the Dead" / "Child's Body" UK - No. 86 * 1994 "Be My Light, Be My Guide" / "This Is Not My Crime" / "I Can't Help Myself" - No. 54 * 1994 "Sleep Well Tonight" / "Sick, Sober And Sorry" / "Her Fifteen Years" - No. 36 * 1995 "Haunted by You" / "Do You Want To Hear It From Me" / "How Much For Love" - No. 32 * 1995 "Be My Light, Be My Guide" / "I Can't Help Myself" * 1995 "Olympian" / "I Can't Decide If She Really Loves Me" / "To See The Lights" - No. 18 * 1995 "Still Can't Find the Phone" / "I Can't Decide If She Really Loves Me" / " Don't Let Me Down" (Germany) * 1996 "For the Dead" / "Child's Body" / "Sick, Sober & Sorry (Live - Helter Skelter 6/7/95)" (re-issue) - No. 14 * 1996 "Fighting Fit" / "Drawn To The Deep End" / " Autumn Stone" - No. 22 * 1997 "We Could Be Kings" / "Dolce & Gabbana Or Nowt" / "Wasteland" - No. 17 * 1997 "Where Are They Now?" / "Cast Out In The Seventies" / " Nightswimming" - No. 22 * 1997 "Speak to Me Someone" / "As The Bruises Fade" / "The Ship Song" - No. 30 * 1999 "As Good As It Gets" / "Toasting The Union" / "Man On Earth" - No. 23 * 1999 "Fill Her Up" / "Pass On To Me" / " Touched By The Hand Of Havoc " - No. 36 * 2001 "Is It Over?" / "Supermarket Bombscare" / "Little Diamond" / "Who Said This Was The End?" - did not chart * 2001 "Does He Have a Name?" / "From Georgia To Osaka" / "Welcome To Dover" / "With Love In Mind" / "Does He Have A Name?" (promo) * 2004 "Let Me Move On" / "Is It Over?" / "With Love In Mind" / "If I'm A Friend" - No. 69


References


External links


''Gene: Official''

''Gene: Why We Split''
from
BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

Live review of Gene gig in Portsmouth
{{Authority control Britpop groups English alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical groups reestablished in 2025 Rock music groups from London Polydor Records artists