In February 1968, Genesis released their debut single, The Silent Sun, on Decca Records. At just 17 years old, Peter Gabriel was already making his mark. Let’s take a closer look at the band’s very first single!
Genesis at Charterhouse
In 1968, Genesis were still students at Charterhouse School. Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, and Anthony Phillips had formed the band as a way to escape the constraints of school life. At the time, the group operated as two songwriting pairs: Banks and Gabriel on one side, Phillips and Rutherford on the other.
While still at school, they recorded demos and sent them to Jonathan King, a former Charterhouse student who had found success as a musician and producer (his best-known hit being Everyone’s Gone to the Moon). King was particularly impressed by Peter Gabriel’s voice and signed them to Decca Records, intending to produce a full album. However, when the band presented their next batch of demos, he wasn’t impressed.
A Producer Who Loved The Bee Gees
Jonathan King wanted the band to deliver a potential hit. Knowing he was a fan of The Bee Gees, Peter and Tony deliberately wrote a song in their style—The Silent Sun.
‘I tried my best Robin Gibb impersonation,’ Peter later joked.1
King loved it and made it their debut single, later including it on the band’s first album, From Genesis to Revelation.
Musically, The Silent Sun blends folk and pop, with Tony Banks’ piano already playing a central role. The song primarily highlights Peter’s vocals, with orchestral strings added later by King in the studio. It’s also one of the rare official Genesis recordings to feature their original drummer, Chris Stewart.
‘We had been drilled by Jonathan King to write short pop songs, which I resisted,’ Anthony Phillips recalled. ‘I didn’t like The Silent Sun at all.’ He later reflected that it was probably for the best that the song wasn’t a hit: ‘If it had been successful, the band would never have developed its proper style.’2
Tony Banks, however, believed it had the potential to be a great hit. For Peter Gabriel, seeing the name Genesis in Record Mirror was a career-defining moment, while Mike Rutherford fondly remembers the thrill of hearing The Silent Sun on the radio for the first time in Anthony Phillips’ kitchen.
Reviews and Reception
Upon release, the Decca catalogue described The Silent Sun as ‘quietly attractive.’’.3 New Musical Express praised its ‘beautiful flowing arrangement of violins and cellos,’ though they speculated it ‘might be a bit too complex for the average fan.’4
A Single That Failed but a Band That Flourished
Despite their enthusiasm, The Silent Sun failed to chart. The accompanying album, From Genesis to Revelation, was also a commercial failure. Eventually, Genesis parted ways with Jonathan King, allowing them to explore a more adventurous and distinctive musical direction.
As the band gained fame, King repeatedly re-released these early recordings in various formats, capitalizing on Genesis’ later success. But for Genesis themselves, The Silent Sun remains a fascinating footnote in their history—their first step on the road to greatness.
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Sources
GENESIS REUNION 2014: THE THREE. Part ONE. NOW FULL UNCUT VERSION ! + improved audio!
Thompson, Dave, Turn it on again. Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins & Genesis. (San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2005).