"Poor Boy Down" by Mike + The Mechanics

When he wasn't busy in Genesis or making solo records, Mike Rutherford jammed with his musical all-stars in Mike + The Mechanics. Rutherford recruited "ace" vocalists Paul Carrack (Ace, Squeeze) and Paul Young (but not the same Paul Young who had a hit with "Every Time You Go Away"). 

The band's first effort (self-titled) appeared in 1985 and quickly spawned two top 10 hits with "Silent Running" (#6) and "All I Need Is A Miracle" (#5). The band's follow-up LP, "Living Years," featured a title track that soared to #1, and some decent but lesser known singles like "Nobody's Perfect" (#63) and "Seeing Is Believing" (#62). Their last chart appearance arrived in 1991 with a single from their third effort, the title-track to "Word Of Mouth," which stalled at #78.

Young passed away from a heart attack in 2000 at the age of 53 and saw Carrack taking over all vocal duties until they broke up a few years later. Rutherford has released a couple more records in recent years under the Mike + The Mechanics name, but with a different crew.

"Poor Boy Down" is one of the underrated cuts from "Living Years."