Gabriel passes on Genesis reunion

Former Genesis singer Peter Gabriel says he will not be joining his bandmates for an upcoming reunion tour. Gabriel, 56, was a founding member of the band, singing with them until 1975, when he left to pursue a solo career.

"There were conversations and I decided not to be a part of it," Gabriel told BBC News. His replacement, former drummer Phil Collins, has confirmed he will take part in the reunion tour, which was announced earlier this week.

"I'm very happy for them," said Gabriel."It's not that I've ruled it out, but I've got some new material that I'll be working on."

A spokesman for Genesis said specific details of the tour and "long term plans" including possible new material would be announced in the next few weeks.

Cult success

Genesis sold over 130 million albums during the 1970s and '80s, scoring hits with albums such as Nursery Crime, Selling England By The Pound and Invisible Touch. They started out as a progressive rock band, but took a more commercial direction when Collins took over the vocal duties. The 1980s saw them score a run of top 40 singles, including Mama, That's All and In Too Deep.Collins quit the group in 1996, and was replaced by former Stiltskin singer Ray Wilson. He recorded one album, 1997's Calling All Stations, with remaining members Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks before the band was put on indefinite hiatus.