I Genesis erano parte di quegli artisti che per beneficenza, e per raccogliere fondi per la National Children’s Home (oggi Action For Children), suonavano gratis al Lyceum Theatre di Drury Lane a Londra.
Erano i giorni del Natale del 1970 e i cosidetti "Free LunchTime Concert" (Concerto gratuito all'ora di pranzo) si svolgevano, appunto, tra le ore 12 e le 15 (per non dare disturbo alle produzioni teatrali già in cartellone).
Steve Hackett era stato già contattato da Peter Gabriel (l'annuncio di Steve è del 12 dicembre, pubblicato sul Melody Maker), Tony & Peter si erano già incontrati con Steve. Mike era a letto, convalescente da una brutta ulcera e Steve lo vide per la prima volta vestito con un pigiama a righe[:D].
I Genesis (c'era ancora Mick Barnard alla chitarra, licenziato solo pochi giorni dopo) suonarono alle ore 13 del 28 dicembre 1970 al Lyceum Theatre (il 29 si sarebbero esibiti gli Audience). Il pubblico era formato quasi esclusivamente da ragazzini, molto impressionabili. Alla fine della setlist furono chiamati per il bis, fu un'ovazione. Eseguirono THE KNIFE (e ti pareva[;)]) e al termine un'altra, grande, ovazione. Un'altro bis!
E cosa ti suonarono come ulteriore bis? THE KNIFE ! [:D]
Dai ricordi di Steve:
Before joining the band, at the beginning of December 1970 I received a call from Peter Gabriel who had seen my latest ad. in Melody Maker seeking like-minded musicians 'determined to strive beyond existing stagnant music forms'. I saw the band live; they heard me playing with brother, John, on flute at home. Pete and Tony said 'We'd like you to meet Mike Rutherford. When I finally did, he was sitting up in bed in a pair of striped pyjamas, recovering from an ulcer. This is where we first started trading nothing stronger than chord shapes and served as a low-key audition for me. Had I known that they had already tried out 40 other guitarists in conventional style ('and the next contestant in here, please') I would have felt much more nervous.
So, I got the job mainly, I'm sure, because of my love of chords. Not content with that, I started, completely undiplomatically, to criticise the one or two stage shows I'd seen with the previous guitarist. In essence, I was saying, and this was to be repeated on occasion for the next two or three years with very little variation, 'the stage show looks a mess ... the presentation leaves a lot to be desired'.
A lesser band would have fired me on the spot, but they seemed to warm to criticism; they were certainly diligent when it came to the music, but to the complete exclusivity of the way the live shows looked.
Steve Hackett esordì con i Genesis il 14 gennaio 1971, all'University College di Londra.
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