Rhino Factoids: Genesis Sell Their Own Tickets

36 years ago today, Genesis surprised their Los Angeles fans in two ways: they announced that they’d be playing an unexpected show at a very intimate venue, and when the tickets went on sale, they were situated squarely in the box office, selling the tickets themselves.

By 1980, Genesis were firmly in the realm of rock superstardom on both sides of the Atlantic, as evidenced not only by their album sales but also by their ticket sales, a status which was handily proven by the fact that they’d sold out shows at both the Long Beach Arena and the Greek Theater. In addition to these performances, however, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford also decided to play a surprise benefit show at the Roxy for a pair of local hospitals – the Children’s Hospital and St. Jude’s – and the group decided to have an extra bit of a fun by being on hand when the tickets went on sale.

Given that fans started lining up for tickets a full 24 hours before the show itself, you can only imagine the reaction of Genesis fans of that caliber when they made it up to the ticket booth to find Phil, Tony, and Mike behind the glass. Needless to say, not everyone who stood in line was fortunate enough to get into the gig – the place’s maximum capacity is only about 500 people – but for those Genesis fans that were lucky enough to be there, it’s no doubt remembered as an event for the ages.