Mick Barnard was a guitarist in the UK rock band The Farm[1] (sometimes called Farm,[2][3] and not to be confused with the 1980s/1990s British band of the same name). He was also the guitarist of the band Genesis for a brief time,[1] following the departure of founding member Anthony Phillips, just before Steve Hackett came in and replaced him. Barnard does not appear on any released Genesis recordings.

After leaving Genesis, Barnard embarked on a successful career in audio engineering, founding the Bel Digital Audio company in 1975.[4][5]

Stint in Genesis

Genesis' final concert with the Trespass line-up (Peter Gabriel vocals, Anthony Phillips guitar, Tony Banks keyboards, Mike Rutherford bass, and John Mayhew drums) was on 18 July 1970, after which Phillips left the band. In August and early September, the band played concerts as a four-piece. In September, drummer Mayhew was replaced by Phil Collins, and this new four-piece line-up played several concerts in October.[6]: 213–14 

Mick Barnard was recommended to the band by Friars Aylesbury impresario David Stopps, and he joined Genesis as their new guitarist. The Banks-Gabriel-Rutherford-Collins-Barnard line-up played shows from 3 November 1970 to 10 January 1971: thirty concerts and one television appearance.[6]: 201, 214 

Barnard appeared with the band on a BBC Television programme called Disco 2, which was their earliest TV appearance. This was recorded on 14 November 1970.[6]: 214  Gabriel sang live, but all the instrumentalists (including Barnard) mimed to their recorded tracks.[6]: 201  This footage is now lost.[6]: 201, 214 

In January 1971, Barnard was replaced by Steve Hackett, and this new line-up played their first concert on 14 January 1971.[6]: 201, 214 

Tony Banks made the following comment about Barnard's guitar playing:

He was OK, but not really forceful enough. I remember when we had already auditioned Steve but were still rehearsing with Mick which wasn't a very nice thing to do, we were doing the end part of "The Musical Box" and he was playing this little guitar phrase over the top of it and we thought this was really good. So just as we were about to boot him out he did something quite good.[6]: 201 

References

  1. ^ a b Tony Banks; Phil Collins; Peter Gabriel; Steve Hackett; Mike Rutherford (2007). Philip Dodd (ed.). Genesis: Chapter and Verse. St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 96–97. ISBN 978-0-31237956-8.
  2. ^ "Welcome to the Friars Aylesbury website". Aylesburyfriars.co.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  3. ^ Genesis- the Gabriel Era - Uncensored on the Record. Coda Books. ISBN 9781908538734.
  4. ^ Bel Digital Audio. "Bel product brochure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2013. The brochure indicates that "B.E.L." stands for "Barnard Electronics Ltd"; nonetheless, the company uses lower-case letters for the "el".
  5. ^ Bel Digital Audio. "Bel website". Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Paul Russell (2004). Genesis: Play Me My Song: A Live Guide 1969 to 1975. London: SAF Publishing. ISBN 0-946719-58-6.

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