Video Classics: ‘Paperlate’ – Genesis

Steve Hackett (R) with Genesis comrades, Phil Collins and Tony Banks, at their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

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“Paperlate” was the first (and most successful) track of Genesis‘ 1982 EP 3 X 3. 3 X 3 was titled as such because it featured 3 tracks by the band’s 3 musicians, though as one can hear with “Paperlate”, they got a little bit of help for that song.

The help came in the form of the horn section from Earth, Wind & Fire. Genesis would also use them for the song “No Reply at Al”l from the Abacab sessions. Phil Collins would go on to make more extensive use of them in his solo career, with the result that the horn-heavy soul-rock sound has become something of a Collins Calling Card.

As a final note, the title of “Paperlate” comes from the lyrics of a Genesis song from almost a decade earlier, “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight”. That song, in turn, grabbed the ‘paper late’ line from something shouted by evening newspaper vendors in London.

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