Selling England by the Pound Tour

Selling England by the Pound Tour

Tour by Genesis
Location	North America Europe
Associated album	Selling England by the Pound
Start date	19 September 1973
End date	20 January 1974
Legs	3
No. of shows	112 (115 scheduled)
Genesis concert chronology
Foxtrot Tour (1972–73) Selling England by the Pound Tour (1973–74) The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour (1974–75)

The Selling England by the Pound Tour was a concert tour by the English rock band Genesis, to promote their album Selling England by the Pound . The tour began in September 1973 in the United Kingdom, and ended in May 1974 in the United States.

Background

Initially the band were to perform with a new and more elaborate stage set than before, that included inflatable objects with projected images, but a change in fire regulations following the Summerland disaster in August 1973 led to the idea being scrapped. ^[1] Gabriel devised new stories before songs, and wore a full costume with a helmet and shield representing the Britannia character for "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" and sung "The Battle of Epping Forest" with a stocking over his head. ^[2]

The tour began with a sold-out tour of the UK, ^[3] but had to cancel the first date at the Green's Playhouse, Glasgow due to electrical safety issues minutes before its start. ^{[4] [2]} The group realised they were substantially in debt and needed better management, so recruited Tony Smith (no relation to Charisma boss Tony Stratton Smith). ^[4] In October 1973 a pair of dates in the tour were filmed by Charisma for a possible cinema release, but the plan was rejected by the band who felt the film was not up to standard. ^[5] Instead, the band performed a five-song set in front of an invited audience at Shepperton Studios that was filmed and broadcast as Tony Stratton Smith Presents Genesis in Concert. ^[6] The group returned to the U.S. in December 1973 to perform six shows in three nights at The Roxy in Los Angeles, ^[7] and a performance of "Watcher of the Skies" and "The Musical Box" on the late-night television show The Midnight Special . ^[2] January 1974 saw the band perform five nights at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, at which Gabriel was lifted in the air by a wire during "Supper's Ready". ^[8]

Setlist

1. "Watcher of the Skies"
2. "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight"
3. "The Cinema Show"
4. "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)"
5. "Firth of Fifth"
6. "The Musical Box"
7. "More Fool Me" or "Horizons"
8. "Supper's Ready"

Other songs that were performed during this tour:

• "The Battle of Epping Forest" (played on 19, 23, 25 September 1973, 11, 19, 20, 21, 23, 26, 28 October 1973, 10, 17, 22 November 1973, 1 December 1973, 13, 19, 20, 30 January 1974, 3, 5, 6 February 1974, 3, 22, 24 March 1974, 7, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 29 April 1974, 4, 6 May 1974)
• "The Knife" (played on 6, 9, 12, 19 October 1973, 22 November 1973, 3, 4, 5, 6 February 1974, 22 March 1974)
• "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" (played on 23, 25 September 1973, 12 October 1973)
• "Harold the Barrel" (played on 19, 20, 30, 31 January 1974, 4 February 1974)
• "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" (played on 18 October 1973)
• "Get 'Em Out by Friday" (played on 12 October 1973)
• "Twilight Alehouse" (played on 19 October 1973)

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
Europe
19 September 1973	Paris	France	Olympia Theatre
22 September 1973	Hamburg	Germany	Musikhalle
23 September 1973	Osnabruck		Stadttheater Osnabruck
25 September 1973
26 September 1973	Hamm		Kurhaus
27 September 1973	Darmstadt		Staatstheater Darmstadt
29 September 1973	Lausanne	Switzerland	Palais de Beaulieu
30 September 1973	Frankfurt	Germany	Festhalle Frankfurt
5 October 1973	Glasgow	Scotland	Apollo Theatre
6 October 1973	Manchester	England	Manchester Opera House
7 October 1973	Oxford		New Theatre Oxford
9 October 1973	Glasgow	Scotland	Apollo Theatre
11 October 1973	Southampton	England	Gaumont Theatre
12 October 1973	Bournemouth		Bournemouth Winter Gardens
15 October 1973	Brighton		Brighton Dome
16 October 1973	Bristol		Colston Hall
18 October 1973	Leicester		DeMontfort Hall
19 October 1973	London		Rainbow Theatre
20 October 1973
23 October 1973	Liverpool		Liverpool Empire Theatre
25 October 1973	Sheffield		Sheffield City Hall
26 October 1973	Newcastle upon Tyne		Newcastle City Hall
28 October 1973	Birmingham		Birmingham Hippodome
North America
7 November 1973	Quebec City	Canada	Capitole Theatre
8 November 1973	Toronto		Massey Hall
9 November 1973	Kingston		Queen's University
10 November 1973	Montreal		University of Quebec Sports Arena
11 November 1973	Buffalo	United States	State University Auditorium
13 November 1973	Lawrence		Kosh Auditorium
15 November 1973	Upper Darby		Tower Theater
17 November 1973	Medford		Tufts University
18 November 1973	Paramus		Bergen Community College
22 November 1973	New York City		Felt Forum
24 November 1973	Princeton		McCarter Theatre
26 November 1973	Miami		Gusman Hall
27 November 1973	Rochester		Rochester Institute of Technology
29 November 1973	Columbus		The Agora
30 November 1973	Cleveland		Allen Theatre
1 December 1973	Buffalo		University of Buffalo
3 December 1973	Evanston		Northwestern University Cahn Auditorium
7 December 1973	Fort Wayne		Purdue University Fort Wayne, Student Union Ballroom
8 December 1973	Ypsilanti		Pease Auditorium
9 December 1973	Toledo		Hara Theatre
10 December 1973	Detroit		Ford Auditorium
17 December 1973	West Hollywood		Roxy Theatre
18 December 1973
19 December 1973
Europe
13 January 1974	Bristol	England	Bristol Hippodome
15 January 1974	London		Theatre Royal
16 January 1974
18 January 1974
19 January 1974
20 January 1974

Personnel

• Peter Gabriel – vocals, flute, percussion
• Tony Banks – Hohner Pianet, RMI Electra Piano, Hammond Organ, Mellotron, ARP Pro Soloist synthesizer, acoustic 12-string guitar, backing vocals
• Steve Hackett – electric guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, electric sitar
• Michael Rutherford – bass, bass pedals, acoustic and electric 12-string guitars, backing vocals
• Phil Collins – drums, percussion, backing vocals; lead vocals on "More Fool Me"

References

Citations

1. Welch, Chris (6 October 1973). "Genesis: Chapter and verse". Melody Maker. p. 13. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
2. Platts 2001, p. 71.
3. Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 82.
4. Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 83.
5. Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 84.
6. Hewitt 2001, p. 39.
7. Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 85.
8. Hewitt 2001, p. 40.

Sources

• Hewitt, Alan (2001). Opening the Musical Box – A Genesis Chronicle. Firefly Publishing. ISBN   978-0-946-71930-3.
• Platts, Robin (2001). Genesis: Inside & Out (1967–2000). Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN   978-1-896-52271-5.
• Bowler, Dave; Dray, Bryan (1992). Genesis – A Biography . Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN   978-0-283-06132-5.
• Easlea, Daryl (2018). Without Frontiers: The Life & Music of Peter Gabriel. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9781787590823.