6:25pm – Back of the Queue.

My missus, Rachel, loves Genesis. I mean, REALLY loves Genesis. She’s sensible woman, despite the fact that she married me, but when it comes to this band she loses all reason. And that has kind of rubbed off on me and the boys, which is why we all convened at the “Utilita” Arena in Newcastle to catch what will in all probability be the last Genesis tour ever.

Before I met Rachel, my appreciation of Genesis was really limited to a purchase of “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” as a seven inch single when it was published in the days that Phil Collins had hair and Peter Gabriel went on stage wearing a red dress and a fox’s head. But after I saw them live 14 years ago, and given that they are so often played in my house, my love for them grew and grew. However this was probably their last ever gig I can’t help feeling that I arrived at the party just as the lights went on and the taxi arrived to take the guests home.

We splashed out on some very expensive tickets to ensure that we managed to get seats at the front of the hall, only six rows back from the stage. Well, that’s where we sat anyway: the boys had tickets for the balcony which looked so far back that it could’ve been in Gateshead.

The boys waved. We waved back. We ate a big bag of Munchies, unable to share them because of the distance. Ha Ha.

Fifteen minutes to go: We have Munchies. We have a great view.

And so the tension built as we waited for the band to appear. Sat next to us were a couple who had been at Old Trafford in 2007, which was the last time we saw them live. (Genesis, I mean, not the couple). There was no support band. My wife tells me that when she saw them in the 1980s they were supported by Lisa Stansfield, who is a very talented songstress in her own right. But she isn’t really suited to a Genesis audience. Still a bit harsh that she was booed off at the end though.

Back to tonight, 7:55pm and we are all set. The view I have is the best I could possibly have. Five minutes to go, the lights are about to go out, and…..

My view at 7:55

…the second-tallest person in the North East sits in front of me. I was going to have to work around him to see Phill Collins at his best.

My view at 7:56

But there were are. My new fellow fan can’t help being tall, and to be honest once the band came on I forgot all about him.

I knew Phil Collins had been suffering from ill health so I wasn’t surprised to see him shuffle on, supporting himself with a walking stick. He looked like he was in a great deal of pain as he walked very slowly to his centre stage seat with the aid of a walking stick. But once he sat down, and the group went into “Behind the Lines”, we all knew that everything was going to be OK. Phil’s voice is as good as ever, and the band are so professional that the audience relaxed a bit.

The band in full flow

They went through a number of their hits such as that song about the wardrobe and the lawnmower – you know the one – “I Can’t Dance”, “Follow You Follow Me”, “Mama” and “Tonight Tonight Tonight” (where Rachel and I raised our arms and sang along with a timely “Whoa Oh” when called upon). But they also performed a few of their album songs like “Domino,” “Home By The Sea,” and the brilliant “Afterglow.”

It was over too soon. Two and a half hours after they first came on, they launched into “Carpet Crawlers,” which Phil Collins once described as Genesis’ Signature Song. The lights came up and we all went home.

I’m writing this one week after the event and the images of the evening are still forefront in my mind. My youngest stepson described it as the best concert he’d ever been to. And this is without the benefit of the bag of Munchies.

There was a photograph of the band taking their bows which appeared on social media the following day. In it, Phil Collins’ son Nic, who was playing drums as his Dad is no longer able to, was looking at his father with such a loving expression that it was quite touching. I don’t know if he could see Phil during the concert, as he was behind a stack of kit and was busy performing just as well as his Dad ever did. But if he could, he would have seen him air-drumming along to most of the songs.

So that’s it. No more Genesis concerts. I wish I’d seen more of them, but I’m very glad that I was there at the end.