Song: “Follow You, Follow Me”
Genesis' breakthrough US hit endures, and gets featured in the 2024 Turkey Jam
With lyrics written by Mike Rutherford in what he claims was about 10 minutes, 1978’s “Follow You, Follow Me” was Genesis’ breakthrough hit in the US, and an inflection point showing that lineup changes — Phil Collins taking over from Peter Gabriel, guitarist Steve Hackett leaving — might just allow the band to get to the next level.
- The first two post-Gabriel albums, A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering, were well-received by fans, but did not expand the band’s fan base.
The song was written partly to redress an imbalance in the band’s audience, which was estimated to be 95% male during Gabriel’s more cult-band era. This song and others shifted the tide, bringing more female fans — and, as any band knows, when you bring female fans, you bring more male fans, too, making this strategy a great way to catapult a band’s popularity.
This was also the first “love” lyric in a Genesis song.
The song came to mind when it was included in this year’s Turkey Jam, the annual concert in Hudson, MA, put on by Nuno Bettencourt and his family, friends, and musical guests. It’s always a tremendous show, as about 1,000 people fill a local Portuguese club and rock the night away. I’ve featured a performance from this event (“The Chain”) previously, and have added a highlight reel from this year’s show below if you want to sample 20 songs in about 12 minutes. Maria Bettencourt, Nuno’s niece and herself a signed artist, is the main female singer you’ll see, and also a total rock star.
- I also featured Nuno covering “Mr. Brightside” in LA at the end of October. He then went on an international tour with Extreme, ending with sold out shows in India a few days before this year’s Turkey Jam.
- If you’re a guitarist, there are a few things in this highlight reel that might just make your day, including an impressive, maybe impeccable stab at one of the toughest guitar solos in rock.
Enjoy!