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Maybe it’s a class thing.

Fascinating documentary about Genesis on BBC Four. The band was formed by public schoolboys Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks while they were all at Charterhouse. But it was only when drummer Phil Collins joined in 1970 that they had any degree of success. When Gabriel left and Collins took over as frontman, Genesis became far, far more successful. What was interesting was the pecking order that still seems to prevail. Gabriel was revered as the creative genius who started it all. Rutherford was gentle, intelligent and self-deprecating. Banks took himself terribly seriously and seemed quite bitter about his solo albums failing to sell. But Collins, without doubt the architect of their phenomenal later success and the biggest star of them all, was still unfairly regarded as just a cheeky chappie from Chiswick. So in saluting Genesis, we’d better play something from their early years. Goodness me, we don’t want to upset Tony Banks.

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