Phil Collins has singled out “Follow You Follow Me” as the turning point that brought more women to Genesis shows, he said in an interview with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame YouTube channel.
The singer recalled how the band’s live audience shifted as the single gained popularity. Before that, Genesis had built its following largely through of mouth.
“The single ‘Follow You Follow Me,’ that changed quite a lot of things ’cause that appealed to more females than before,” Collins said.
The wider appeal changed the makeup of their crowds. “It started to get 50/50 in terms of male, female, and then when _No Jacket_ did very well then the Genesis crowd would increase because people found out I was in Genesis as well,” he continued.
Collins was discussing how the band’s audience grew over time through different periods of their career.
“Follow You Follow Me” was released in 1978 and marked a significant shift in Genesis’s direction. The single became the band’s first top 10 hit in the UK and first top 40 hit in the US, introducing a simpler melody and romantic lyrics compared to their earlier progressive rock work. The band deliberately set out to write something that would appeal to a broader audience, particularly women, as their previous music had attracted primarily male listeners.
The success of “Follow You Follow Me” paved the way for Genesis’s more radio-friendly approach over the following decade. The song demonstrated that there was a large and enthusiastic audience for more accessible Genesis material, laying the foundation for the band’s major commercial expansion in the 1980s. Some longtime fans were surprised by the song’s simplicity compared to the band’s earlier work.
Collins’s solo career further boosted Genesis’s profile. His album “No Jacket Required” was released in 1985 and became a worldwide commercial success, reaching number 1 in the UK for five consecutive weeks and achieving 12 times platinum status in the US. The album’s success introduced Collins to audiences who then discovered his work with Genesis, expanding the band’s fanbase even further.
