During a recent chat with the Now Spinning Magazine Podcast, Steve Hackett talked about Genesis’ early career and recalled most fans not knowing their appearances due to a lack of music videos at the time. Giving Pink Floyd’s early years in the industry as an example, he explained:
“I remember reading something about Pink Floyd pretty early on. You know, they’re having massive hits albums, but each of them will be able to travel on a bus and not be recognized by anybody in Oxford Street. That sort of feeling. So, I guess it was the same for us. We were faceless. The identity was all through the music. You could’ve looked like anything, and we often did.”
In another interview with Eric Montfort in 2022, the guitarist also mentioned that Genesis was an ‘albums-oriented band’ at a time when there was a rising ‘interest of singles-oriented bands’ with MTV’s influence in the ’70s and ’80s. He commented on the band’s audience back then by saying:
“There were two Genesis factions, like those who loved ‘Supper’s Ready’ just as they loved Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon,’ where they could be immersed in it, but then there was this new direction which won Genesis new fans but also disoriented old fans.”
Referring to those years’ effect on his music, he added:
“But then, the pan genre approach that interested fans from eight to 80 years, and this is what really interested me to reach out to my audiences who are into classical, jazz, world, and soundtrack music even though I may have only ended up selling half of what Genesis sold.”
Steve Hackett’s latest album, ‘Surrender Of Silence,’ ended up as a rock album with world music influence when it was recorded and released in 2021.