"Abacab"
Single by Genesis
from the album Abacab
B-side"Another Record"
Released14 August 1981 (UK)
  • December 1981 (US) [1]
RecordedMay–June 1981 at The Farm, Surrey
Genre
Length7:02 (LP version)
4:10 (UK single edit)
3:59 (US single edit)
LabelCharisma/Phonogram (UK)
Atlantic (US)
Songwriter(s)Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford
Producer(s)Genesis, Hugh Padgham
Genesis singles chronology
"Misunderstanding"
(1980)		 "Abacab"
(1981)		 "No Reply at All"
(1981)

"Abacab" is a song by the British rock band Genesis, released on 14 August 1981. It was produced by Genesis and distributed in the United States by Atlantic Records and Warner Music Group.[2] The song, written by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, and Mike Rutherford, was featured on Genesis' album of the same name and was a top 10 hit on the British pop chart, where it peaked at No. 9.[3] The song was the second single from the album in the US, where it peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1982.[4] It stayed in the Top 40 for six weeks.

Record World said that "sinuous keyboards, pulsating synthesizers and a driving rock beat transport Phil Collins lead vocal."[5]

The title is taken from the structure of an early version of the song. Guitarist Mike Rutherford explained in an interview in 2006:

[There are] three bits of music in "Abacab" and we refer to them as 'bit A', [correcting self] 'Section A', 'Section B', and 'Section C'. And at different times they were in a different order. We'd start with section A and then have section C and then have section [pauses] and at one point in time, it spelt "ABACAB". And you've got the final version where it's not that at all, it's like "ACACACUCUBUBUGA".[6]

The track was regularly performed on the band's 1981 Abacab tour, the 1982 Three Sides Live Encore Tour, the 1983/84 Mama Tour and the 1986/87 Invisible Touch tours. On the first two tours, Phil Collins would sing the chorus in a high falsetto while Banks and Rutherford sang the lower harmonies. For the later tours, Collins would sing the chorus in a lower octave while Rutherford sang the higher falsetto harmonies. Genesis rehearsed the song for the 2007 reunion, but it was not included in the final setlist.

The song's LP version features an extended instrumental jam as an outro, while the single version instead repeats the intro of the song after the final chorus then quickly fades out.

Charts

Charts (1981–1982) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 35
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 36
Canadian RPM Singles Chart[9] 11
Italy (FIMI)[10] 11
Ireland (Irish Singles Chart)[11] 16
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 26
Norway (VG-lista)[13] 8
South Africa (Springbok Charts)[14]3
UK Singles (OCC)[15] 9
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 26
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[17] 43
West Germany (Official German Charts)[18] 28

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Dodd, Philip (2007). Genesis: Chapter & Verse (1st ed.). Weidenfeld&Nicolson. p. 351. ISBN 978-0-297-84434-1.
  2. ↑ Abacab at Amazon: information Retrieved on 17 July 2007
  3. ↑ Genesis UK chart history, The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Genesis USA chart history, Billboard > Artists > Genesis. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 19 December 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Genesis In the Studio. YouTube. 2006. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  7. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ↑ "Genesis – Abacab" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  9. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  10. ↑ "Genesis – Abacab". Top Digital Download.
  11. ↑ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "Top40Hitdossier.nl". Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "Genesis – Abacab". VG-lista.
  14. ↑ "SA Charts 1969 - 1989 : Acts G". rock.co.za.
  15. ↑ "Genesis: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  16. ↑ "Genesis Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  17. ↑ "Genesis Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Genesis – Abacab" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
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