50th Anniversary - GENESIS: Selling England By The Pound - some questions for you

When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?
1980

How old were you when Selling England was released?

12

Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

No i had Live and Foxtrot

If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?
number one

Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?
Cinema Show

Which is favourite today

Cinema Show

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste

Cinema Show and Moonlit Knight

How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)
old vinyl, new heavyweight vinyl, remasters cd SACD

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

1979

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

9

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

It was my 3rd. ATTW3 and ATOTT were my first two Genesis albums.

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

2nd

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

Cinema Show

6. Which track is your favourite today?

Hard to choose. It would be a toss-up between Firth Of Fifth and Cinema Show

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

Initially bought it on cassette, was given the vinyl by a brother who didn't like the album, and then eventually bought the CD

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

Probably late 80s. I bought them roughly in reverse from Invisible Touch.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

-1

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

No. Probably six albums.

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

#1.

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight.

6. Which track is your favourite today?

Firth of Fifth for listening, The Battle of Epping Forest for drumming.

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

Cinema Show.

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

Cassette tape, original mix CD, Definitive Edition Remaster CD, 2007 Stereo remix and 5.1 Surround remix.

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

None of that. My mother already had this album on cassette and vinyl for more than 20 years when I discovered it, around 2001-2002, being 9-10 years old.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

I was "minus 19".

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

No, it was Wind and Wuthering, that my mother also had on cassette. I think I probably listened to Nursery Crime and And Then They Were Three, before finding the Selling cassette (like all the others, distributed by Virgin France, a white cassette with blue lettering).

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

It's in my top 5, probably even my top 3, behind Trick and my favourite, W&W. Sometimes it's on par with Duke or The Lamb (to be clear, take all the studio albums between 1973 and 1980, and you have my top 6. Then, it's hard, within this collection, to rank them precisely...)

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

I already knew some tracks, because I had listened to Seconds Out. I liked the differences between the versions. The more acoustic flavour of Cinema Show, and the full intro of Firth Of Fifth impressed me.

6. Which track is your favourite today?

Cinema Show or More Fool Me (yeah, why not ?). Or Firth of Fifth.

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

Cinema Show...

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

My mother has the vinyl, bought in the 70's, and the cassette, bought in the 80's. They are still functional and in great shape !

What is interesting about the Genesis cassettes is the complete mismatch between the songs and their title, on Selling and Nursery Crime. For years, I thought Salmacis was Giant Hogweed, and More Fool Me was Epping Forest, before learning English and being able to understand lyrics.

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The order followed on the cassette is the regular one, identical to the vinyl, but the titles are totally wrong. Isn't it weird ?

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

In 1978, I buyed a used cassette.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

10.

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

After A Trick Of Tail, Nursery Crime, Foxtrot.

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

3.

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

Firth Of Fifth.

6. Which track is your favourite today?

I Know What I Like.

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

Dancing With the Moonlit Knight.

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc).

Cassette, Remaster.

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

Can't remember exactly, 1980 probably.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

14, nearly 15 though.

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

Can't remember.

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

Top 3, with Trick and Lamb, order might be different day to day!

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

Battle of Epping Forest.

6. Which track is your favourite today?

Firth of Fifth

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

Firth of Fifth, despite the nonsense lyrics.

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

Cassette, Original CD (Sonopress pressing), bought 2nd May, 1985, the day after buying my CD player. CD choice was quite limited back then, and having bought Clannad's Robin Of Sherwood the day I bought the player (1st May) I wanted something else to play too!

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

1982

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

12

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

No. I bought DUKE first, then bought almost all of the rest of the band's albums (FGTR thru ABACAB) on the same day in 1982. (I had to get FOXTROT a little later as it wasn't immediately available, but I'd already heard it.)

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

I'd say 4th

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

The Cinema Show

6. Which track is your favourite today?

The Cinema Show

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

Dancing With the Moonlit Knight

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

1. Vinyl LP

2. CD (Definitive Edition Remaster)

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

I still haven't made it to buy this album. My dad owns it, since I loved this record when he played it he copied it on cassette for me, I still have this cassette. Much later, a friend of my sister's copied me the 2008 remaster on CD; later on, in the high times of illegal file-sharing, I found a download of the original master and burned it on CD. I've been wanting to purchase the original album in some form for ages but I never made it. I did however buy Steve's live CD on his Selling England show in Stuttgart.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

Wasn't born yet, at that time my parents didn't even know each other. My mum was in her first marriage, my brother was 3 years old and my sister 1 year old. My dad had a girlfriend as far as I know. No sign of me on the horizon yet.

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

See above, yes, the first if the cassette copy counts. The first album I actually spent money for must have been Duke, which I bought in 1996. It was one of those albums my dad didn't have in his collection. I could try to trace back which albums I bought on CDs or LPs up to this day but it doesn't relate much to the question because my dad had a lot of Genesis albums in his record collection and I had access to all of them before I ever started buying anything.

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

1

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

Firth of Fifth

6. Which track is your favourite today?

Firth of Fifth

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

All of them. Yes, I even include More Fool Me since it is part of the album.

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

See above

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

1979

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

8

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album?

Yes

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

3rd or 4th depending on the day

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

Cinema Show/Firth

6. Which track is your favourite today?

DWTMK

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

Firth

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

4: vinyl, cd - DER, a Japanese import (I think?) which was a facsimile of the vinyl LP complete with little white-on-black lyric sheet, given to me as a birthday present, and the 08 remaster. I now only own the latter.

Additional note: I like everything on the album but share the lukewarm regard many have for Battle, though I absolutely love the 'Reverend' section. I have a great affection for MFM and ATO, two which seem to be held in low regard by many.

Side 1 is among the best track sequences they ever did (along with Lamb side 3, Abacab side 1 and Shapes side 1). They all act as a showcase for the rich and varied range they had, perhaps none more so than Selling side 1.

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

1978

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

8 (almost 9)

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

No. I first got Trick, then Foxtrot and then Selling

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

Probably 3

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

The Cinema Show

6. Which track is your favourite today?

The Cinema Show

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

Firth Of Fifth

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

Vinyl, CD

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

Around 1982, on vinyl.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

5.

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

Yes.

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

5th.

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

Firth of Fifth.

6. Which track is your favourite today?

The Cinema Show.

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

The Cinema Show.

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

5 - vinyl, original CD, remaster, box set (remix and SACD).

Well, let's see

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

In the later 80s, can't really recall

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

1

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

I believe I had Invisible touch and Duke before

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

Top 3, it varies a bit

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

I know what I like

6. Which track is your favourite today?

Cinema show

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

Firth of fifth

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

Vinyl, CD Remaster and SACD/DVD

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

I bought it around late 2014 when I suddenly became a massive fan after seeing Together & Apart. I was only a casual fan before then. I then realised we had the SACD version, which my husband bought, I don't know when.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

11, but the significant point for me is that I was in England while it was being recorded, though by the release date we were back in Australia.

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

No, as explained above. Before i went on a frenzy of buying the Gabriel era albums, I think I only had IT & WCD. I don't know about Abacab, Duke & Genesis but I'm sure I got them before the others. We did have Seconds Out & the first Archive box set which hubby brought from the UK.

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

It's my favourite of the Gabriel era albums so it probably comes after WCD, Abacab, IT & Duke.

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

It was I Know What I Like because it was the easiest to become familiar with.

6. Which track is your favourite today?

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight & it will always be due to the associations I have with 1972-73 England.

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

DWTMK

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

3- CD, SACD. and we also have hubby's old vinyl copy. In fact I literally just found it!

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

October 1973; When I bought it at a Wherehouse Record Store in Pomona California, the stack of brand new import albums were still in the shipping box sitting on the floor waiting to be put in the bin. The box next to it had Genesis Live. I only bought SEBTP that day.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

Sweet Sixteen

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

No, I already had three (Foxtrot, Nursery Cryme & Trespass, purchased in that order)

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

Varies from first to third depending on my mood.

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

DWTMK

6. Which track is your favourite today?

DWTMK

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

DWTMK

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

2 vinyl copies, 8-track tape, original CD release, 1994 CD Remaster, 2008 CD & DVD Remix

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

I can't remember. Sometime in the mid 90s.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

-8

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

I think I owned most of them. SEBTP was one of the later ones I obtained, which perhaps contributes to my lack of connection to it.

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

Not high. The lower half for sure, maybe around 10 or 11.

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

Either Firth or After the Ordeal.

6. Which track is your favourite today?

Firth of Fifth.

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

I don't really think of music this way.

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

Possibly four, which astounds me a little. CD, then the CD in the box set, then a crusty old vinyl version I got in a very small second hand shop (it was in an attic more or less) in an even smaller Canadian town, and most recently the super high quality remastered version that I preordered. There is a fairly strong possibility I owned it on cassette originally too, but i can't remember.

I know some of these answers will be sacrilegious to some members but there's just *something* about the album that doesn't electrify the right synapses in my brain. I love a third of it, DWtMK, Firth, After the Ordeal are all great. IKWIL is good. Compared to 99% of Genesis songs, I can't abide Epping Forest, it tanks the whole enterprise for me. Cinema Show has strong bits but lacks edge. Compared to the much grittier, labyrinthine Lamb and more energetic pair of albums that preceded it (NC more than Foxtrot), Selling just always hit me as a bit dull tbh. Too pastoral or something. Trick could be accused of the same thing I suppose, but I love the mysterious atmosphere and I find the melodies much stronger.

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

Purchased the cassette at the old Sound Warehouse music superstore around 1992.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

-1 years old.

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

Owned probably 4 or 5.

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

1

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

Dancing out with the Moonlit Knight

6. Which track is your favourite today?

The Cinema Show

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

The Battle of Epping Forest

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

4 versions ---- Early 90's reissue cassette, mid-80s vinyl that was coupled with Foxtrot in gatefold, DER 1994 CD, 2008 Nick Davis vinyl remix

The release date of 5th October is definitely wrong, 100% sure on that. I saw the band on the opening night of the Selling England UK tour in Manchester on the 6th and it wasn't out then, that was the first time I'd heard any of the new material. I bought it on the day of release and although I can't now remember the exact date it was certainly after the gig, but only by a week or two, so the 12th (which would be my best guess) or the 19th.

1. When did you buy Selling England By The Pound (or have received it as a gift)?

1973 on the day of release.

2. How old were you when Selling England was released?

Fifteen

3. Was Selling England your first Genesis album? If not, how many Genesis albums did you own before getting Selling??

All of them, so five at that time.

4. If you had to rank all Genesis albums, where does Selling England stand?

My least favourite of the Gabriel-era Charisma albums, but above anything that came later.

5. Which track was your favourite when you bought the album?

Probably Cinema Show. Was never that keen on the main song but the instrumental section really took off, especially live.

6. Which track is your favourite today?

Same.

7. Which track do you think is the best track on the record despite your own taste?

Cinema Show or Firth of Fifth. I have problems with all of the songs on the album to some extent, liking some bits of most of them but not finding any of them completely satisfying, but the instrumental sections in both FoF and CS tend to outweigh the issues I have with the remainder of them.

8. How many versions of the album have you bought / owned? (Vinyl, CD, Remaster, Cassette, SACD etc)

Original vinyl, Italian vinyl with gatefold sleeve, original CD issue and all subsequent remasters..

cheers