Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett have paid tribute to the former Genesis and Gabriel tour manager and “sixth-member” Richard Macphail, who has died, aged 73.
“Very upset to learn of Richard Macphail‘s death last night,” Gabriel wrote eon his Facebook page. “We had sixty years of history together, from when we were at school and he was the cool singer in the band called the Anon to when I spoke to him last week after he had had a nasty fall
Rich was the person who time after time bailed us out of difficult situations. When we couldn’t afford a rehearsal space he persuaded his parents to let us have their family’s country cottage in Abinger Hammer for a year and when we couldn’t afford a van he persuaded his father to let us have an old Hovis bread van that we drove around the country. When some of the band were having doubts about our future, he would inspire all of us and convince us to carry on.
He went from friend and champion to became Genesis’s tour manager and then my own tour manager when i started working agin. His determination, good humour and enthusiasm got us all through so many difficult moments.
“Richard, I can’t believe you are no longer here. Ours wasn’t always an easy relationship but it was built on love respect and shared experience and there’s now a huge hole in my life. Going to miss you Rich.”
I’m incredibly shocked and sad to hear about the passing of Richard Macphail,” Hackett posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “He was one of the most special people I’ve ever known and he brought out the best in everyone. He was so kind to me in those early Genesis days and he remained a lifelong friend.”
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