Why Steve Hackett left Genesis

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  • in all fairness, people keep asking him the question....but is a very old story and not sure anyone has too much interest in something that is well documented and happened over 40 years ago!

  • Well, I have said before that this person is only here to cause trouble. 4 posts, and not a positive comment among them.


    Thank you for your support. Nice to know there are 1 or 2 decent people on here.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • Steve seems to have Rogers Waters syndrome.

    Well, given he doesn't claim to have written everything during his tenure (far from it) and given he is quite complimentary about songs others wrote, that seems unlikely. As your post in "Will Roger Waters ever shut up" seems to be a set-up for this one line comment, I think you might be clutching at straws.


    It's not a crime to have personality clashes with other members of bands, look at the Police as one example. I guess it's a bit like having to share a forum with people you can't choose to have as members. You can carry on regardless, or walk.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • in all fairness, people keep asking him the question....but is a very old story and not sure anyone has too much interest in something that is well documented and happened over 40 years ago!

    Indeed, and in fact I can't be bothered to watch the video. But since he's the keeper of the flame, so to speak, the question is bound to pop up on a regular basis!

  • I suppose he left Genesis because he didn’t want to be in it anymore. Not that complicated.

    Ringo and George walked out of the Beatles but went back, Steve didn’t go back. He had a hand in a lot of their material so he’s entitled to play it, ( as were /are Ringo and George with Beatles stuff) Steve having spent most of the 80s 90s and early 2000s not cashing in and trying all sorts of different things. They are all still above ground and performing for now and good on ‘em. I doubt they will ever share a stage again and why should they? although I’d love to see it happen. I suppose he has to come up with an answer when he’s asked the question about why he left and by and large he is very professional about it. They could be a bit more positive about out Steve’s work but then why should they if they don’t like it? A dignified silence might be best all round. Sure, if they had all managed to stay together they might have produced more classics but separately they have produced a wealth of material, of uneven quality, with something for almost everyone.

  • People keep asking him the question in interviews. Just like they still ask Peter. And every time Genesis have gone on tour since the late 70s, they've been asked if Peter or Steve will be joining them "this time out".


    It would be rude of Steve not to answer. Perhaps the best version of hisanswer was given in Richard Macphail's book. He elaborates a little more there.


    Steve certainly isn't Roger Waters. Roger has gripes and demons that he never seems to deal with successfully, and comes across as man with a lot of anger - not all of it righteous. As one contemporary journalist said of prog gigs in the 70s....you could go to a King Crimson concert and feel the band were daring you to be in the same room as them...or a Pink Floyd concert where the bass player stomped around, scowled and even spat at the audience...or "welcome to the world of Genesis".

  • Not sure why this topic keeps getting dredged up over and over again. Steve left Genesis at age 27; he's now 72 (notice the little inversion lol?). He was a key member of the band and wrote very key bits/songs as a member. He spent the late '70s, '80s and a good chunk of the '90s pursuing his solo interests and now prefers to balance the Genesis stuff and his own solo offerings. I've been fortunate enough to see him from '77 through the first solo tours and the Genesis revisited shows. All great experiences. We can over-analyze this to death but can't we be thankful that one former member of the band is still providing us with these great songs and great performances with top notch musicians? Oye-ve....

  • Not sure why this topic keeps getting dredged up over and over again. Steve left Genesis at age 27; he's now 72 (notice the little inversion lol?). He was a key member of the band and wrote very key bits/songs as a member. He spent the late '70s, '80s and a good chunk of the '90s pursuing his solo interests and now prefers to balance the Genesis stuff and his own solo offerings. I've been fortunate enough to see him from '77 through the first solo tours and the Genesis revisited shows. All great experiences. We can over-analyze this to death but can't we be thankful that one former member of the band is still providing us with these great songs and great performances with top notch musicians? Oye-ve....

    I agree :thumbup:


    I met Steve in Chepstow during a live concert. What a nice bloke!...:)


    The Genesis music was absolutely brilliant and brought a tear to my eye!.....

  • I'm always reminded of something Mike said in the documentary "Genesis - A History" which was released around 1989. Talking of how everyone in Genesis went on to have solo careers and successful outside projects, he said "I suppose being in a band is a bit unhealthy after the first few years".


    Ultimately the timing of Steve's first solo record can be viewed in (at least) two ways.

    1...proved there was still a market and hunger for Genesis style music without Peter Gabriel singing and dressing up in his costumes

    2....Took attention away from the band at just the time they needed attention focussed on them to establish a post-Gabriel career.


    I get the impression that Mike and Tony saw the latter at the time, but later realised they felt similar pressures...the need to let off steam by making records outside of the band using material either unsuited to Genesis or which they had been unable to get through the "democratic process". Phil had always done side gigs, of course. However much I see it as (1), I can understand how it was viewed as a threat at a time when it was far from certain how Genesis would be received with a new singer, and without Pete.


    Steve reached that point of feeling the band was unhealthy for him in 1975, which continued into 1976/77 as he blossomed as a writer. Perhaps the others didn't feel it until a couple of years later. In the end everyone did feel they had to engage in outside projects to explore different musical avenues or simply as an outlet for material they'd written and wanted to record. That gave us Phil's solo career, Mike's albums and The Mechanics, Tony's solo career and classical albums.


    It's a shame they didn't all see, back in 1975, that Steve could have had parallel solo careers but the others all felt they needed to push ahead full steam ahead keeping Genesis in the spotlight.