Steve Hackett Shares How He Luckily Found Peter Gabriel And Tony Banks

In a recent interview with the Vintage Rock Pod, Steve Hackett spoke about how lucky he felt to have met Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks and join the iconic prog-rock group, Genesis.

Having replaced guitarist Anthony Phillips, Steve Hackett joined Genesis as they were recording their third album, 1971’s Nursery Cryme. This album was the follow-up to 1970’s Trespass, which included Genesis’ then-guitarist, Phillips. Hackett joined the band after he picked up the band’s ad, which were looking for a guitarist.

In the interview, Hackett explained his humble beginnings inside the group. “I realized I needed to talk to target idealists,” Hackett recalled. “If people were idealists and prepared to work hard, they would pick up on an ad like that, so it was a good one. Peter Gabriel phoned me up. I did the audition with Genesis, first of all just with Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks, and they seemed to like what I was doing.”

Hackett also expressed his gratitude to Phillips and revealed that he remained “great pals” with him even now. “My predecessor in Genesis was largely responsible for holding the band together and coming up with many of the exotic songs they did before I joined, Anthony Phillips,” he continued. “We’re great pals to this day.”

Watch the interview below.