“I took off my apron. My manager said, ‘You’ve got tables to serve,’ and I said, ‘I’m talking to Peter Gabriel!’” How actor Adrian Lukis was talked out of signing a music contract by his Genesis hero
“When I was 13 I was sent off to a boarding school in Berkshire called Wellington College, where I discovered prog. We all had record players and a record shop nearby, in Crowthorne. We’d be pondering which Sinclair amp to buy and spend hours going through hi-fi magazines trying to find the best deck.
We listened to Elton John, Alice Cooper and everything else from the time, but for many of us, Genesis were the band. At first I got into Trespass – I loved the lyrics, and the references to classical mythology. Somehow it got a hook into me and caught my soul. But above all, Genesis were public schoolboys and I was a public schoolboy. This was a strong case of self-identification. I thought, ‘Wow, I can understand these guys!’
Bands would visit about once a term, and one day Genesis came to play. Peter Gabriel had broken his leg so was sat with that in plaster. They played The Knife, which is an incitement to revolution. A cool older student called Tony Mercer stood up and smashed his chair. He’s probably the CEO of a multinational now.
The arrival of each new Genesis album became really exciting – actually holding the sleeve in your hands, looking at the artwork, reading the words. This was like our Bible. As I got older, I read more and my mind expanded. Genesis became part of the whole process of me growing into an adult and discovering art and… beauty. Something like Supper’s Ready is a great work of art.
