What is Mike Rutherford’s net worth?
Mike Rutherford is an English musician who has a net worth of $120 million. Mike Rutherford is known for being a founding member in the band Genesis and one of the band’s only two consistent members. He plays bass guitar and supplied background vocals for the band. He also founded the band Mike + The Mechanics.
Ask the average person on the street about the band, Genesis, nowadays, and they will most likely reference the group’s “soft rock” hits from the 80s and 90s. Originally, Genesis was part of the latter end of the British Invasion, and rode a wave of progressive rock hits into the United States in the late 60s and early 70s. Mike Rutherford was one of the founding members of the group, playing bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, and singing backup. As the band’s lineup changed repeatedly over the years, Mr. Rutherford remained with the group. Whenever the band decided to take a break, he would record a solo album. The end result, is that he has managed to enjoy a successful music career for almost fifty years.
In addition to his work with his Genesis, he also formed the band, Mike + The Mechanics in 1985. The band’s success earned Rutherford an Ivor Novello Award for its 1988 single The Living Years, which was co-written by Rutherford and B.A. Robertson. The group released multiple hits, before disbanding in 2004. Recently, Mr. Rutherford has returned to performing and touring with a vengeance.
In the mid-eighties, Genesis went on a world tour in support of the album Invisible Touch. The tour was massive—covering 111 shows, 59 cities, 16 countries, in front of three million fans. Around the time Genesis came off the road from the huge tour, Rolling Stone magazine named the group Band of the Year in the their annual reader’s poll. Rutherford received his first guitar at the age of 8 and played in his first band, The Chesters, at the age of 9. At the age of 13, he joined the band Anon and formed a songwriting alliance with fellow guitarist Anthony Phillips, whom he later started the band Genesis with at age 15.
Early Life and Education
Mike Rutherford was born on October 2, 1950 in Chertsey, England to Anne and former Royal Navy Captain William. He has an older sister named Nicolette. Rutherford got into music at an early age, receiving his first guitar when he was eight. He subsequently performed in his first band, called the Chesters. For his education, Rutherford went to the preparatory school the Leas, and then to Charterhouse. At the latter institution, he joined the school band Anon, which specialized in covering songs by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and various R&B artists of the era. Unhappy at Charterhouse, Rutherford was ultimately expelled for misbehavior.
Genesis
In 1967, the rock band Genesis was formed by Rutherford and fellow Charterhouse students Tony Banks, Anthony Phillips, Peter Gabriel, and Chris Stewart. They subsequently sought out an older Charterhouse alum, record producer Jonathan King, who signed them to a contract with Decca Records. The group went on to release its debut studio album, “From Genesis to Revelation,” in 1969. A commercial bomb, the album led to the group’s split from King as well as its temporary dissolution. Genesis eventually regrouped to go on tour; after signing with Charisma Records, the band released its second album, “Trespass,” in 1970. Following that, Phillips left Genesis and was replaced by Phil Collins, with guitarist Steve Hackett also joining the band. Now leaning more into progressive rock, Genesis released “Nursery Cryme” in 1971. The year after that, the band had its first UK hit with the album “Foxtrot.” Even more successful was 1973’s “Selling England by the Pound,” which peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Genesis continued to have success throughout the 70s and 80s with such albums as “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”; “A Trick of the Tail”; “Wind & Wuthering”; “…And Then There Were Three…”; “Abacab”; and “Invisible Touch.” The band released its final studio album, “…Calling All Stations…,” in 1997, and reunited for tours in later years.
As the rhythm guitar player in Genesis, Rutherford used electric and acoustic 12-string guitars and established a style characterized by minimalist chords and progressions of single notes. After he took on lead guitar duties in the late 70s, he began favoring long tones that resulted in sonorous sonic atmospheres. Meanwhile, as the primary songwriter, Rutherford wrote some of Genesis’s biggest commercial hits, including “Throwing it All Away,” “Turn it On Again,” and “Follow You Follow Me.” In 2010, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the band.
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Solo Career
During some breaks from Genesis in the late 70s and early 80s, Rutherford recorded a pair of solo albums. The first was “Smallcreep’s Day,” named after the novel by Peter Currell Brown. He then released “Acting Very Strange,” on which he performed lead vocals in addition to guitar, bass, and keyboards. Both albums were moderate hits in the UK.
Mike + the Mechanics
Displeased with his solo work and feeling he did best while collaborating with others, Rutherford formed the side project Mike + the Mechanics in 1985. Originally, the rock group included Rutherford, keyboardist Adrian Lee, drummer Peter Van Hooke, and vocalists Paul Young and Paul Carrack. Mike + the Mechanics immediately found success with their self-titled debut album, which spawned the hit singles “Silent Running” and “All I Need is a Miracle.” The group’s second album, 1988’s “Living Years,” was even more successful, with its title track topping the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequent albums by Mike + the Mechanics included “Word of Mouth,” “Beggar on a Beach of Gold,” “Rewired,” “Let Me Fly,” and “Out of the Blue.”
Other Music Appearances
Among his other appearances as a musician, Rutherford joined a number of artists, including Genesis bandmates Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel, on the soundtrack to the 1984 film “Against All Odds.” Rutherford contributed the track “Making a Big Mistake.”
In 2004, Rutherford performed alongside many famed guitarists at the Strat Pack Concert, which was honoring the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster electric guitar. Later, in 2012, he performed in the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics in London alongside Ed Sheeran and Nick Mason.
Personal Life
In 1976, Rutherford married his wife Angie. They have three children named Kate, Tom, and Harry. The couple splits their time between Loxwood, England and Cape Town, South Africa.
Rutherford’s memoir, “The Living Years: The First Genesis Memoir,” came out in 2014. It was co-written by Thomas Dunne Books.
Catalog Sale
In September 2022 Mike and his Genesis bandmates Phil Collins and Tony Banks sold their music catalog rights to Concord Music Group Inc. for $300 million.
Real Estate
In 2008 Mike Rutherford paid $5.03 million for a loft apartment on Bond street in New York City. He proceeded to renovate the home extensively. The home features such luxury touches as a state-of-the-art Miele kitchen, floor-to-ceiling windows, an open-plan living room space, a library, and spa-like bathrooms. In 2013 Mike listed the home for sale for just under $8 million. It sold in June of 2013 for his exact asking price.