On March 28, 1978, Genesis kicked off their And Then They Were Three world tour at the The Broome Country Arena in Binghamton, New York. The tour would take in three American legs, and two runs through Europe, before climaxing with six Japanese shows, finally closing on December 3, '78 at the Kosei Nenkin Hall in Tokyo. The success of the tour proved that the band's popularity was not hampered by the departure, announced in October '77, of guitarist Steve Hackett, but it would prove to have devastating personal consequences for one of the band members.
In 1975, Phil Collins married aspiring Canadian actress Andrea Bertorelli. The pair had first met at drama school in London when they were just 11-years-old, and had dated as teenagers until Bertorelli had to return to her homeland for personal reasons: their relationship was later rekindled when Collins visited Canada with Genesis. When they married, Collins legally adopted his new wife's young daughter, Joely, and the couple had a child of their own - a son, Simon - in 1976, but Genesis' constant touring meant they were apart for long stretches of time. By 1978, Andrea was tiring of this situation.
"Genesis had done a tour that was far too long," Collins recalled in a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone. "She said to me, 'We won’t be together if you do the next tour.' I said, I’m a musician. I have to go away and play. Just hold your breath when I’m over there. Then Genesis toured Japan. When I got back, she said she was leaving and taking the kids."
