10 Huge Songs That Bands Refused To Play Live

5. Abacab - Genesis

Genesis are like that one couple in high school; they keep breaking up and getting back together, everyone is a little worried about them, but they just look so good together that nobody actually minds.

Phil Collins and his mates have reunited many times over the years, including in 2007 for the Turn It On Again tour. This was the band's first tour with Big Phil for over 14 years and fans were drooling at the possibility of seeing some of their favourite tracks performed live.

Sadly, members of the Abacab fan club would be severely disappointed.

The title track of their 1981 album, the song is fun, bouncy, and contains some absolutely bonkers keyboard playing from Tony Banks.

It was rehearsed for the '07 tour, however, as confirmed by Collins in a 2023 interview, Phil pulled the plug on it before the live shows started.

“Halfway through the first verse, I said, ‘I don’t really want to sing this. I don’t know what it’s about.'”

Look Phil, nobody knows what this song is about. It's called Abacab, for Christ's sake!

That's not the point!

What a diva...

Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.