In 1997, Genesis released a song about a British tragedy. After 9/11, its lyrics became even more chilling
Genesis’ song ‘One Man’s Fool’ was written in response to the IRA’s 1996 Manchester bombing, but its lyrics took on a further, unsettling resonance after the 11 September attacks in 2001. Tony Banks said listeners might assume the song referred to the destruction of the Twin Towers, even though it had been written four years earlier.
The nine-minute track appeared on 1997’s *Calling All Stations*, the band’s first album after Phil Collins left and Ray Wilson joined as lead singer. Banks wrote the lyrics about the bombing, in which a truck bomb devastated part of Manchester city centre; they describe buildings collapsing and someone taking pride in the destruction. The album received poor reviews and sold less well than earlier Genesis records.
In short
- Banks wrote ‘One Man’s Fool’ about the 1996 Manchester bombing.
- Its lyrics later evoked the 9/11 attacks.
- The song appeared on Genesis’ 1997 album *Calling All Stations*.
Explained simply
Genesis are a British rock band whose long career included both progressive rock and chart hits. In 1996, the Provisional IRA detonated a truck bomb in central Manchester, causing extensive damage and injuring more than 200 people; the warning allowed the area to be evacuated, and nobody was killed.
Tony Banks, Genesis’s keyboard player and songwriter, wrote the words for “One Man’s Fool” in response to the bombing. The song appeared on *Calling All Stations*, the band’s first album with singer Ray Wilson after Phil Collins left, and its images of destruction connect it to the wider experience of political violence.