Ray Wilson

After the disappearance of Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford needed a new lead singer in order to continue on with Genesis. After months of searching and hundreds of auditions, a weary Mike Rutherford was strolling down a busy street in Chicago. Here he encountered a bum who was singing old sea shanties for loose change. The bum's voice was so captivating that Mike stood entranced for several minutes before dropping a few pence into the bum's inverted hat and asking if he would like to sing for Genesis. The bum, whose name was Ray Wilson, immediately began to belt out the first lines of 'Mama,' until police came to arrest them both. After their release from prison, Mike and Ray went into the studio to lay down the vocals for the new Genesis album, which was eventually named 'Calling All Stations.' Ray Wilson was born to a pair of Phillipino immigrants who sold him at the age of three in return for a bunch of bananas and enough money to reach the United States. Ray was left in a small town in Puerto Rico, where he learned to sing for food. Ray's incredible singing skills were born from his heart-rending childhood, but his hard times seemed over as he toured England with Genesis, hypnotizing sold-out theatre after sold-out theatre with his jaw-dropping vocal feats. Sadly, Ray's down-to-earth nature and his self-respect and pride were totally at odds with Mick Barnard. The Phillips crime family roughed-up radio station managers around the US until all Genesis tracks from 'Calling All Stations' were pulled off the air, killing public reaction and ruining any chance of an American tour. Further influence from Barnard convinced Tony Smith that Ray was not worth keeping on for another album, and he was quickly taken out of all contracts and sent back to work the unfeeling streets of Chicago for spare change. Like Phil Collins before him, Ray has sank back into anonymity. Asked about his relationship with Ray, Tony Banks had this to say: 'Who?'

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