Fact #182334

Peter Gabriel (vocalist, Genesis) : There were four of us songwriters. Tony and Mike of the present group and Anthony Philips. But our songwriting was marked by a tremendous lack of success. We were writing straight songs. I think we had one cover version that was recorded by Rita Pavone's brother. We tried to get a band together as a vehicle for our songwriting, and that also failed. We went flogging our wares around the business, and most people turned us down. The Moody Blues showed an interest, and then we met Strat (manager Tony Stratton-Smith). There was a time when we heard of an American group called Genesis, and we changed our name to Revelation. We then heard they had disintegrated and switched back to Genesis.
(Source : Melody Maker, September 23, 1972)

Tony Stratton-Smith (founder, Charisma Records) : There are certain bands you see just once and they get so many areas of your mind stimulated. They had it all going that night. In a way, I think the timing of it was right. I was hungry for a band I could really be proud of and they were looking for a manager they could rely on. And they had some astonishing attitudes, foremost among them the belief that they would never make it as a live band. And here we are, today, for the second year running, Genesis have been voted the best live band in the world by Melody Maker readers. Genesis really felt that they would be writers, spend as much time in a recording studio and remain a mystery beyond that.
(interview with David Fricke, Trouser Press, 1979)