Editing Genesis (band) (section)

===1985–1996: ''Invisible Touch'', ''We Can't Dance'' and Collins's departure===
Genesis reconvened at The Farm in October 1985 to start work on ''[[Invisible Touch]]'', which lasted for six months.{{sfn|Platts|2001|p=142}} They continued their method of songwriting used on ''Genesis'' by developing material from group improvisations. Banks remembered the time as a strong period creatively for the band, with ideas "flowing out of us".{{sfn|Genesis|2007|p=282}} "[[Invisible Touch (song)|Invisible Touch]]" was developed in such a way, when the group were working on "The Last Domino", the second part of "[[Domino (Genesis song)|Domino]]". During the session, Rutherford began to play an improvised guitar riff to which Collins replied with an off-the-cuff lyric – "She seems to have an invisible touch" – which became the song's chorus hook.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=202}}

Following its release in June 1986, the album spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK and reached No. 3 in the US,<ref name=billboardchart/><ref name=UKchart/> and became the best-selling Genesis album with seven million copies sold.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/genesis-genesis-1983-1998 | title=Genesis: Genesis 1983–1998 | work=Louder | first=Mark | last=Beaumont | date=12 June 2015 | access-date=5 March 2021 | archive-date=14 June 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614115739/https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/genesis-genesis-1983-1998 | url-status=live }}</ref> The album's five singles – "Invisible Touch", "[[Throwing It All Away]]", "[[Land of Confusion]]", "[[In Too Deep (Genesis song)|In Too Deep]]" and "[[Tonight, Tonight, Tonight]]" – entered the top five on the US singles chart between 1986 and 1987<ref name=billboardchart/> with "Invisible Touch" topping the chart for one week.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/1986/hot-100|title=The Hot 100 – 1986 Archive|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=1 October 2015|archive-date=3 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003020637/https://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/1986/hot-100|url-status=dead}}</ref> Genesis became the first group and foreign act to achieve this feat, equalling the five singles record set by [[Michael Jackson]], [[Janet Jackson]] and [[Madonna]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|date=13 June 1987|first=Paul|last=Grien|page=6|title=Chart Beat: Genesis Joins Five-Top-Five-Hits Club; Walden Produces His Sixth In Two Years|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1987/Billboard-1987-06-13.pdf|access-date=4 October 2015}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> After Collins was parodied by the British satirical television series ''[[Spitting Image]]'', he commissioned them to make puppets of the band for the video of "Land of Confusion".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/may/29/spitting-image-chicken-song-agadoo-black-lace | title='I didn't think it was annoying enough': how Spitting Image made The Chicken Song | work=The Guardian | first=Rich | last=Pelley | date=29 May 2023 | access-date=19 October 2024}}</ref>

{{Quote box|style=padding:10px;|quote=Nearly 300,000 people at Wembley&nbsp;... I thought at the time, and I still think now, that moment was the peak of our career.| source =—Tony Banks{{sfn|Genesis|2007|p=287}}|width=25%|align=right}}
The [[Invisible Touch Tour]] was the band's largest world tour in its history, which included 112 dates from September 1986 to July 1987. Genesis received some criticism for their decision to have [[Anheuser-Busch brands|Michelob beer]] as a sponsor. The tour concluded with four consecutive sold-out shows at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] in London.{{sfn|Platts|2001|p=143}} The shows were released in 1988 as ''[[Live at Wembley Stadium (Genesis DVD)|The Invisible Touch Tour]]''.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=202}} When the tour ended, Genesis took a break while each member committed to their solo projects. They performed twice during this time; on 14 May 1988, they performed a 20-minute set at the [[Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary|Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert]] at Madison Square Garden.{{sfn|Platts|2001|p=143}} This was followed by a set at a charity gig at the 1990 Knebworth Festival on 30 June, headlined by [[Pink Floyd]].{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=214}}

In 1991 Genesis recorded their fourteenth album, ''[[We Can't Dance]]'', from March to September with their new engineer and co-producer, [[Nick Davis (record producer)|Nick Davis]]. The band took advantage of the increased capacity the CD offered and released over 71 minutes of new music across 12 tracks. Collins wrote the lyrics to "Since I Lost You" for his friend [[Eric Clapton]] following the death of Clapton's four-year-old son Conor.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|pp=219–221}} The album was released in November and reached No. 1 in the UK for one week and No. 4 in the US,<ref name=billboardchart/><ref name=UKchart/> where it went on to sell over 4 million copies.<ref name=RIAAsearch/>
The album spawned several hit singles; "[[No Son of Mine]]" went to No. 6 in the UK and "[[I Can't Dance]]" reached No. 7 in the UK and the US.<ref name=billboardchart/><ref name=UKchart/> In 1993, ''We Can't Dance'' was nominated for a [[Brit Award]] for Best British Album.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brits.co.uk/artist/genesis|title=Genesis|publisher=The BRIT Awards|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024230502/http://www.brits.co.uk/artist/genesis|archive-date=24 October 2014|access-date=10 November 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Genesis Live- Land Of Confusion.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Genesis performing at the Knebworth Festival in August 1992.]]
The ''We Can't Dance'' tour visited North America and Europe from May to November 1992 with each concert attended by an average of 56,000 people.{{sfn|Hewitt|2001|p=63}} The tour spawned two live albums; ''[[The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts]]'' reached No. 3 in the UK and ''[[The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs]]'' went to No. 1 in the UK.<ref name=UKchart/> A live home video, also titled ''[[The Way We Walk]]'', documented one of the band's six consecutive shows at [[Earl's Court]] during November 1992. Following the tour, the band took a break in recording and performing activity. Banks, Rutherford and Collins performed at [[Cowdray Castle]], [[Midhurst]] in September 1993 for a money-raising event with [[Pink Floyd]] touring guitarist [[Tim Renwick]] and drummer [[Gary Wallis]] and [[Queen (band)|Queen]] drummer [[Roger Taylor (Queen drummer)|Roger Taylor]]. Rutherford also played bass on Pink Floyd's set at the same concert.<ref>{{cite book|last=Povey|first=Glenn|title=Echoes: The Complete History of Pink Floyd|publisher=3C Publishing|year=2007|isbn=978-0-95546-241-2|page=257}}</ref>

In March 1996, Collins announced his departure from Genesis. In a statement, he said, "Having been in Genesis for 25 years, I felt it time to change direction in my musical life. For me now, it will be music for movies, some jazz projects and of course my solo career. I wish the guys in Genesis all the very best in their future. We remain the best of friends."<ref name="philquits">{{cite web|last1=Darling|first1=Linda|last2=Silberstein|first2=Scott|url=http://genesis-path.net/philquits.html|title=Phil Quits Genesis!|work=Entertainment Wire|date=28 March 1996|access-date=23 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311025052/http://genesis-path.net/philquits.html|archive-date=11 March 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>