Trivia

He has three sisters and a brother.

He was the keyboardist in the band Genesis and is widely regarded as one of the most influential in prog-rock history.

His favorite Genesis album is "Duke". His second favorite is "Wind & Wuthering".

He has two children - Benjamin (b.1978) and Emily (b. 1981).

He and Mike Rutherford are the only people to have played on every Genesis album.

He collaborated with former Marillion singer Fish on the songs "Shortcut to Somewhere" (from the soundtrack to the film Quicksilver (1986)), "Angel Face" and "Another Murder of a Day".

He is a classically trained pianist, although he never went to music college or gained a music qualification.

In 1999 he reunited with his former Genesis band-mates Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett for a re-recording of the Genesis song "The Carpet Crawlers" (originally from their 1974 album "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway"), which appears on the Genesis compilation "Turn it on Again".

He studied Chemistry and Logic with Physics at Sussex University, but left before graduating to start his career in music.

On 29 March 2004, his return to his classical roots, the album "Seven: A Suite for Orchestra", was released, with new Banks solo compositions performed by the London Philharmonic.

He founded the band "The Garden Wall" with Peter Gabriel and drummer Chris Stewart. They were only 15 and in boarding school when they formed the group. They joined with Anthony Phillips and Mike Rutherford who had a band called "The Anon", forming Genesis with drummer Chris Stewart. Steve Hackett and Phil Collins were hired later to replace Phillips and drummer John Mayhew, respectively.

Amongst his favorite music is Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Fifth Symphony" and Jean Sibelius' "Fourth Symphony" and "Seventh Symphony".

He was educated at Charterhouse School, Surrey.

He spent six months writing 18 pieces of music for the film 2010 (1984) before getting sacked.

For the Genesis albums "Trespass", "Nursery Cryme" and "Foxtrot", he used a Mellotron Mk II hired from the band King Crimson.

He doesn't like using porters, preferring to carry his own bags.

His favorite songs are "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty, "The Dangling Conversation" by Simon (Paul Simon) and Garfunkel (Art Garfunkel), "I Put a Spell on You" by Nina Simone, "Synchronicity II" by The Police, "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder, "Twist and Shout" by The Beatles, "A Change is Gonna Come" by Otis Redding and "Whispers and Moans" by Crowded House. (Source: BBC Radio 2 "Tracks of My Years").

Instruments Banks has used include the Hammond L-122 tonewheel organ, Hohner Pianet, Mellotron Mk II, Hammond T-102 tonewheel organ, ARP ProSoloist synthesizer, Mellotron 400, RMI Electra 368 electronic piano, ARP 2600 synthesizer, Roland RS-202 string synthesizer, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Yamaha CP70 electric grand piano, Moog Polymoog synthesizer, Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer, ARP Quadra synthesizer, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 (rev 2) synthesizer, Roland VP-330 vocoder and choir/string synth, Sequential Circuits Prophet-10 synthesizer, EDP Wasp synthesizer, NED Synclavier II digital synthesizer, E-mu Emulator digital sampler, Yamaha DX7 digital synthesizer, Akai S900 digital sampler, Roland MKS-80 synthesizer, Korg DVP voice processor, Yamaha TX816 synthesizer, Korg Wavestation synthesizer, Roland JD-800 synthesizer, Ensoniq SD1 synthesizer, Roland MK-80 digital piano / mother keyboard, Roland VK-1000 digital organ / electric piano, Ensoniq VFX synthesizer, Yamaha CP80 electric grand piano, E-mu Emulator Three sampler, Kurzweil 1000PX digital piano module, Alesis MMT-8 sequencer, Korg Trinity synthesizer, Roland JV-1080 rack synthesizer and Roland A-90 mother keyboard.

He has a fear of flying.

His wife Margaret advised him to lose the laugh on the Genesis song "Mama" because she though it sounded terrible.

He enjoys playing golf and gardening. He owns an eight-acre garden in Surrey.

The only time he has played his solo material live was a minute and a half of Shortcut To Somewhere as part of a Genesis medley at Atlantic records birthday bash on 14th May 1988. However there was a tribute band called Strictly Banks who played a gig on 6th September 1998 and released an album called "Strictly Banks A Serious Undertaking" which was mixed at Genesis' studio "The Farm".

He was a contender to write the music for Terminator (1984) and was passed the script. He would not have been available, though, as he was working on Starship (1984) that year.

Of the hugely successful Banks/Collins/Rutherford lineup of Genesis, Banks kept the lowest profile and sometimes ducked out of promotional appearances, such as when the band went on Tiswas (1974). He also had the least successful solo career. This was despite recording collaborations with famous 1980s artists such as Fish, Nik Kershaw and Toyah Willcox.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.