Early Charisma cassettes: changing colours.

  • Forgive me if you have done this one before but I tried searching with no luck.

    My confusion surrounds exactly what original Genesis cassettes UK issue on Charisma looked like.

    I know everything from Genesis live onwards were standard pink Charisma. That's around late 1973 onwards but what colour were these:

    Trespass. I think the cassette wasn't issued in late 1970 but actually came out at the same time as Happy the Man. Copies appear to be green plastic with pink or white labels. Seem to be around April 1972. Am I correct?

    Nursery Cryme: They seem to be issued around April 1972 once again to cash in on Happy the Man. Nursery Cryme cassettes were released 6 months after vinyl release. Early copies appear to be green with white labels.

    Foxtrot: This one seems to change everything and turn cassettes black plastic with pink labels. But spookily I have seen green plastic ones too.

    Can anybody shed light on this? I would love to buy an early copy Nursery Cryme but what colour should it be?

  • From Mark Jones’ Charisma Discography book:

    Cassette release dates are:

    Charisma/B&C - Precision Tapes


    Nursery Cryme April 1972

    Foxtrot September 1972

    Trespass - unconfirmed but after October 1972 he believes

    Genesis Live September 1973

    Selling England December 1973*

    The Lamb December 1974


    Charisma/Phonogram

    Trick March 1976

    Trespass to The Lamb July 1976

    Wind and Wuthering Jan 1977

    And Then There Were Three April 1978

  • I do have that Mark Jones book so I have been reading up about this.

    My problem is trying to work out what the cassettes looked like in 1972.

    Phil Morris has kindly photographed two different cassette labels. Which one was published first? Which one appeared later on.

    I do not know.

    My gut feeling tells me the cassette on the left appeared first

    The one on the right appeared later on when everything was reissued with the release of a subsequent album. Perhaps Selling England. From a rarity point of view the earlier cassette should be worth more. Genesis were not selling massively in mid 1972. They were a year later.


    I do have both cassettes. Forever on the search for early Genesis cassettes

  • They were purposely placed in that order for the photo. And I think the pink scroll edition answers your question about which came first. ;)


    Do you have an original UK FGTR cassette? I presume you know when that was released.


    Phil Morris