GENESIS kicked off the London leg of Live Earth in emphatic style as the sun shone on thousands of spectators at Wembley Stadium.

The band took to the stage moments after the never-before-seen spectacle of three of the world’s greatest drummers – Queen’s Roger Taylor, Chad Smith (formerly of Red Hit Chili Peppers) and The Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins – performed a vigorous drumming set with the help of the SOS All Stars.

Without so much as a word, Phil Collins and co delivered a rousing instrumental set that got the crowd going before Collins picked up a microphone and belted out Turn It On Again.

The first nod to the importance of the day came before the start of second song Land of Confusion, which Collins described as being “mildly appropriate for the day”.

The chorus of the song, especially, could be deemed as a rallying call for the events of the day, given its central thrust of “make this a world worth fighting for”.

Genesis – who only announced their intention to reform earlier this year and perform a new world tour – rounded off the three-track set with another of their popular hits Invisible Touch.

The performance provided a salient reminder of how good they are as a band and set things up for what promises to be a spectacular day of music in London.

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