50 albums: 1973 - Selling England by the Pound by Genesis

During the summer of 1979 Motorhead entered my life, in 1980 the NWoBHM happened, I don't know how many headbangers there were in George Abbot School, but I reckon I was one of the first. Of course there were other "outsiders" but what happened with metal in 1979 and 1980 was quite significant.

John Brooke was one of my closest school friends, and he was a Genesis fan. He lived very near the school so we'd go to his house at lunchtime and sit in the bedroom that he shared with his many brothers (I remember it being made up of nothing but beds) and he'd put on Genesis albums and play impeccable air drums. I'd suggest that I have listened to very little Genesis since then, and hearing Selling England by the Pound, places me back in that bed-packed bedroom watching enviously as John accurately hit the imaginary toms and cymbals.

This is a much better album than I remember from back then, but back then Genesis were not a band to be taken seriously. In 1980 they released Duke and with that lost any possibility for serious appraisal. But Selling England is, literally, not by the same band that released Duke. Peter Gabriel would be gone within a couple of years making it, and Steve Hackett a year or two after that. By 1980 they were something to be laughed at.

(play on YouTube)

John became a Motorhead fan, I imagine they never blew the Genesis out of him just pushed it to one side. I've long since lost touch with John which is sad becuase he was a part of my life during a very important time.

I often look back at how I was between the age of 15 and 25 with very little pride, I don't think I was a particularly nice person, but I had some good friends and it all conspired to make me what I am.

This is me I'd guess in 1980 or 1981