Tony Banks

Anthony George "Tony" Banks (born March 27, 1950) is a classically-trained songwriter, pianist and keyboard player who is best known as one of the founding members of — and many say the dr

Anthony George "Tony" Banks (born March 27, 1950) is a classically-trained songwriter, pianist and keyboard player who is best known as one of the founding members of — and many say the driving musical force behind — Genesis, one of England's most famous and successful progressive rock/pop groups. He is one of only two members — the other being guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford — to belong to Genesis throughout its thirty-year history.

Banks attended Charterhouse School in the mid-1960s, where he met fellow student Peter Gabriel in 1965. Together with drummer Chris Stewart they formed a band called The Garden Wall. This band merged with another called Anon, which included Rutherford and Anthony Phillips, and they recorded a set of demos which ultimately led to the formation of the band that became Genesis.