The 1974 Genesis double-LP, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, is one of the most ambitious—and, to some, inscrutable—concept albums in rock history, following a character named Rael along a cosmic journey through the shadowy New York City streets, elaborate chambers of 32 doors, surreal cages filled with stalactites and stalagmites, underground rivers, and caves with spooky creatures. It was like a proggy Pilgrim’s Progress as envisioned by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
When it came time to translate that vision to the concert stage, Genesis made a risky choice: debuting the entire 94-minute saga, front to back, with large chunks of the audience likely unfamiliar with the songs. (The first date of the tour, November 20, 1974 in Chicago, occurred two days before The Lamb hit stores.) The visual side of the project was as trippy as the lyrics, including scene-setting projections and a number of bizarre costumes for front man Peter Gabriel—like one particularly grotesque monstrosity, The Slipperman, that drummer Phil Collins later called an "inflatable dick." ("It was all very Spinal Tap," he said in an interview for the album’s 2007 reissue.)
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
If you ever wanted to appear naked onstage, this was probably the perfect time to do it—and one of the band’s roadies pulled off that hilarious prank as the tour neared its end. The silliness was especially notable, given the brooding atmosphere within Genesis—Gabriel, feeling constrained by the band’s schedule and eager to stretch his wings, had already informed his bandmates that he planned to leave following the Lamb tour. Perhaps the roadie, whom the band recalls being Geoff Banks, was attempting to add some levity. What we do know is that he made his nude cameo during one of the final shows, building on the suspense from a visual trick.
"There was a point in The Lamb where Rael sort of splits, and we did that on stage," Gabriel told filmmaker John Edginton in a full-band documentary interview. "I would be in the Rael outfit, and there was a dummy on the other side in exactly the same outfit. There wasn’t a lot of lighting, so it would explode, and you wouldn’t know [which was which]…Of course, for the crew, as we approached for the end of things—first of all, [Rael's] jeans would have their flies undone with a banana hanging out. Gradually, they’d have more and more fun…"
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Keyboardist Tony Banks also talked about this infamous moment in a passage from the 2007 book Genesis: Chapter and Verse. "No one apart from the group, and the immediate circle of the group, knew that Pete was leaving and that this could well be our last tour ever," he said. "And the roadies always had to have some fun. There was this moment in the show where Pete would be on one side of the stage with a dummy on the other side, and the strobe lights would flash on them so you couldn’t tell which was which. And, of course, for one of the last shows, one of the roadies got up there naked on the other side and took up the pose in place of the dummy...There were people watching this, my wife, for instance, practically in tears because they thought that it might be all over for Genesis, and we had a naked roadie on stage[—]was this how it was all going to end?"
But all’s well that ends well, and Genesis managed to carry on after Gabriel’s departure by upgrading Collins to the dual role of drummer-singer. In a testament to their continued friendship, Genesis even reunited with their old singer in 1982 to help him escape mounting debts.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Stoic statueCanva
A family makes heart shapes with their hands at sunset
Ketel Marte was brought to tears during an MLB game after facing a shameful fan taunt.
Baseball manager's poignant support for a player brought to tears after shameful fan taunt
Whether they’re expecting perfection from their favorite players or, worse, behaving callously toward opposing teams, sports fans often forget that athletes are human beings. But athletic competition has the ability to unify and uplift, even amid such painful and unpleasant encounters. Take, for example, a major-league baseball game held June 24, 2025 between the home team Chicago White Sox and visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
A shameful low point occurred when Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was at bat in the seventh inning. Per ESPN, a fan reportedly yelled out a comment regarding Marte’s late mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a 2017 car accident in the Dominican Republic. Team personnel, including manager Torey Lovullo, then requested the 22-year-old fan be ejected. (Though he was remorseful and admitted his actions were inappropriate, according to an ESPN source, he was nonetheless banned indefinitely from all MLB ballparks.) "We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan," the MLB said in a statement. Marte reportedly declined to comment.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
While the fan’s behavior is inexcusable, it did spark a powerful and inspiring moment. After hearing the comment, Marte was visibly upset, prompting Lovullo to walk on the field, put his arm around him, and offer some words of encouragement. "[I said,] 'I love you, and I’m with you, and we’re all together, and you’re not alone,'" Lovullo said in a post-game interview, as documented by The Rich Eisen Show. "'No matter what happens, no matter what was said or what you’re heard, that guy is an idiot.’"
According to Arizona Republic, Lovullo heard the fan’s comment but didn’t want to repeat it. “I looked right at [Marte] when I heard,” he said. “I looked right at him, and he looked at the person, as well. He put his head down and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure."
Elsewhere in the post-game interview, the manager called the moment "terrible" and reflected on why he stood up for Marte. "Fans are nasty, and fans go too far sometimes," he said. "I love my players, and I’m gonna protect them…I’ve known Ketel for nine years. He’s had some unbelievably great moments and some hardships as well and some really tough moments in his life. I know those. At the end of the day, we’re human beings, and we have emotions. I saw him hurting, and I wanted to protect him."
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
The following day, the Chicago White Sox X account sent out a message in support of Marte, writing, "We’re with you" and "Baseball is family." On The Rich Eisen Show, the show's host addressed the need to eradicate this kind of toxic athlete-fan interaction: "I was hearing [people saying], 'There’s no place for this in major league baseball.' There isn’t. There’s no place for this in our society. I understand that people are saying the MLB has got to do something about this. Fans have a right to heckle players—this is something that has happened forever…But there is a line."
In another recent, depressing sports moment with a beautiful coda, let’s look to Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the eventual champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the first quarter, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon—a devastating injury that could potentially sideline him for most of the 2025-2026 season. Following the game, in a lovely display of sportsmanship, Thunder point-guard and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to the Pacers locker room to check on his competitor. In a press conference, he said, "You just hate to see it, in sports in general. But in this moment, my heart dropped for him. I can't imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s so unfortunate."
- YouTubewww.youtube.com