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Selling England by the Pound Tour

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.

Selling England by the Pound Tour
Tour by Genesis
Location
Associated albumSelling England by the Pound
Start date19 September 1973
End date20 January 1974
Legs3
No. of shows112 (115 scheduled)
Genesis concert chronology

Background

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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

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  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

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List of 1973 concerts
Date City Country Venue
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
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 Township 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
List of 1974 concerts
Date City Country Venue
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

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  • 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

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Citations

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  1. ^ Welch, Chris (6 October 1973). "Genesis: Chapter and verse". Melody Maker. p. 13. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Platts 2001, p. 71.
  3. ^ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 82.
  4. ^ a b 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

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