'SELLING RECORDS BY THE POUND' - DISC FINDS TOMORROW'S STARS TODAY
From Disc Magazine, November 10th, 1973
He's not the easiest of people to interview," they said, "not that he's unco-operative, you understand, just very shy." Be that as it probably is, when this interview was due to start in Peter Gabriel's flat at the unconductive hour of 10 am. he was in far too much of a flap to bother about his inhibitions.
For a start circumstances demanded that the interview take place in the back of a car instead of in the flat. Then guitarist Mike Rutherford had just run someone over in his car, two cats were going berzerk rushing round the living room after each other in a fit of what could have been either pique or libido and Pete's telephone would connect him only with an engineer marooned at the top of a telegraph pole at the end of the road.
A calming cuppa seemed the only answer, so we consumed a hardy brew of lapsang souchong subtley blended with a couple of Tetley tea bags before piling into the car to set course for Shepperton Studios. [See the boot 'This Planet's Soil'.]
It transpired that Genesis were making an hour-long film of themselves at work for "general purposes" here and abroad. It was all supposed to have been done the previous day, but everything conspired to make sure that it wasn't so a second day's shooting lay ahead.
Before the interview some particularly vicious member of Disc's staff instructed: "Find out if his shaved V-shaped bald patch conceals a receding hairline." It patently (pardon the pun) doesn't since a few millimetres of stubble were much in evidence. Nevertheless, in these days when certain nameless stars are lopping positively decades off their ages it seems strange that a 23-year-old should want to look 30. What was the reason behind this multilation of the Gabriel tresses?
"There isn't one. It's just a cheap gimmick to make me rich and famous." And it works. The band's latest album 'Selling England By The Pound' was way up in the LP chart almost before it was released and their recent British tour was a near sell-out.
Now Genesis are off to crack America. They've only had two visits there in the past - one for a long gig, the other a tour. Almost apologetically Peter says: "If we only worked in this country, we wouldn't be able to afford to put on the show we do." The show, in case you haven't seen it, is a good two hours long, expensive to stage and very theatrical. "Of course, we could make a lot more money by shortening the set and doing two shows in one evening, but it wouldn't seem right."
The theatrics are very much geared to the music as Peter explained. "The difference between us and other bands who are into theatrics is that when we've recorded a song we decide how best to present it onstage rather than just put on costumes which bear no particular relation to the music."
Undoubtedly the visual side of the act has helped to attract a lot of new, younger fans to the band. "And I'm very pleased about it too," says Peter. "Maybe they don't understand some of the more complex elements in the music but I'd much rather have that energy than a bunch of complacent intellectuals."
Visually the show is becoming more sophisticated all the time and great importance is attached to it's development. One member of their crew was out on his ear after a recent Rainbow gig simply because he couldn't cope with the slides that are projected onto the band's impressive new backcloth.
"Actually the backcloth wasn't really what we wanted," he says. "We were going to have an inflatable plastic all round environment which could take much more film on it, but since the Summerland disaster fire regulations have got much tighter and what we had in mind would not have been allowed."
Soon the slides may be on their way out to be replaced with cartoons which Peter thinks are more effective. "We have an Italian firm working on the idea for us at the moment."
We arrive at Shepperton and filming is soon underway. The first song is 'I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)' and watching, one can feel sorry for Peter having to do his mime of a lawnmower watched by just three or four rows of imported audience. Later, over lunch he admits that he's not particularly enjoying the filming.
"There's more atmosphere today than there was yesterday, but I think that when you have to do a song over and over again for the cameras it loses something with each take."
Strangely enough sitting in the studio's works canteen with his face masked with white make up appears to bother him not at all and he seems less shy behind the anonymity than he does bare-faced, but then he's almost as curious as the weird and wonderful fantasies that are his band's musical trademark.
