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erik neuteboom 
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005
Location: Netherlands
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Points: 7659
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 Topic: The fox in a red dress...
Posted: February 03 2006 at 04:32 |
When Peter was a very young boy he was emotionally neglected by his parents: his mother was more busy with his suster and his father was always busy with his work at home (inventions). Then Peter used to walk alone on the fields of his grandfather, I presume that his huge imagination started there. He was very often in nature, that could be a clue to his obsession to nature that you can trace in many songs. You can say he was emotionally traumatized, this was also during his period on the Charterhouse. I have the opinion that his stage antics were an escape from his many bad memories and feelings. Peter was also a totally different person in normal life and on stage. Once his father in law had the idea that Peter was schizophrenic (because of the misunderstanding that a split personality is a part of schizophrenia), he was astonished that Peter was so shy at home and so extravert on stage! The foxhead and the red dress were Peter his start to his creative visuals, culminating on Supper's Ready, The Lamb and later the innovative video Sledgehammer! Peter Gabriel for president!!
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Ricochet
Special Collaborator
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Joined: February 27 2005
Location: Nauru
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Points: 46301
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Posted: February 03 2006 at 01:59 |
DUDES,THE IDEA IS ONE OF THE GREATEST EVER!! WHY DO WE HAVE TO TAKE EVERYTHING LITERALLY?? 
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Viajero Astral
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 16 2006
Location: Mexico
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Points: 3118
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Posted: February 03 2006 at 01:51 |
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How many disguise he use during his Genesis era?
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Ivan_Melgar_M
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 23:49 |
According to several sources I read during the years, the Fox with the red dress was a surprise even for the band.
Peter was a really shy guy, he was somehow afraid of public at the beginning of his career with Genesis, if you have a copy of the Belgium TV show, he hardly moved in the stage from a 2 square meters spot and even sung with the hands rossed on his chest.
During the very early shows they didn't had enough money to buy several guitars tuned for each song, so between songs they spent 2 or 3 minutes tunning the instruments and Peter standing up with his mouth closed in front of the audience. So Anthony Phillips was almost the first frontman who spoke to the crowd, but he developed stage panic and left the band.
Peter always wanted to shock the audience so he started telling creepy stories of people rubbing their flesh or girls beheading kids (Shock...boom.....Henry dead!!), but this wasn't enough for him.
During the May 1972 Lincoln Festival he painted his face in white using heavy makeup in his eyes and used the reverse Mohawk heircut for the first time, this shocked the audience, but still it wasn't the reaction he wanted, he expected a mixture of horror and surprise.
So in the same year they had a concert in Dublin's National Stadium, and Peter asked Jill (his wife) for a red dress, Paul Conroy from Charisma records bought the fox head for him.
During the instrumental part of Musical Box Peter always left the stage to leave the band playing, but this time he returned with the dress and the mask, the audience and the rest of the band were really shocked, because as peter later said Dublin was not the best place in 1972 for a guy to wear a red dress.
Happy with the reaction, he decided to go further and started to use a different costume for each song as an aid to understand the lyrics, like Brittania (The Roman Soldier with the British flag) for Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, the Old Henry mask for Musical Box, three different costumes for Supper's Ready, etc.
So it was not for economic purpose, it was only a product of Peter desire for creating reactions in the audience.
Iván
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JayDee
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Location: Elysian Fields
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 23:49 |
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greenback
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 23:05 |
i don't know, but what i know is that every time i look at the foxtrot paint, i can smell in my head the omega-3 flax paint oil on the canvas!
  
Edited by greenback
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[HEADPINS - LINE OF FIRE: THE RECORD HAVING THE MOST POWERFUL GUITAR SOUND IN THE WHOLE HISTORY OF MUSIC!>
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005
Location: Netherlands
Status: Offline
Points: 7659
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 13:11 |
In most of the books about Genesis our hero Peter Gabriel explains that he started to tell stories because so many thimes the 12-string guitars had to be tuned. This was the start for Peter Gabriel to work out this and he added costumes and masks, he was very pleased with the attention he got but in my opinion most of these stage antics fitted perfect to the music. If I take a look at the live footage from early Genesis every time I am blown away and got very excited about Peter Gabriel his stage antics, especially in Supper's Ready  !
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10266
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 12:36 |
 RoyalJelly wrote:
I think it's presumptuous to say that the fox head/red dress
costume was a gimmick to get attention...it's a pretty absurd
combination, and totally uncommercial, and could easily have
backfired as such. It fits much more in the traditions of
surrealism, and reminds one very much of Max Ernst's collages
from various book illustrations. Surrealism was very much
about creating dream-like images through combinations of
disparate objects. Gabriel and Genesis were seriously
concerned with bringing theatrical elements into rock in an
artistic way, and I'm sure his intention was really to stun the
audience with a costume of such incongruous elements, totally
out of place in the rock context of the time. It's easy to look back
from a cynical standpoint of today and say, "Oh, it's just a
commercial gimmick", but of you've seen videos of the stage
shows of Selling England and Supper's Ready, you've seen
that all of their use of theatrical elements is very well thought
out, expressive and artistic. |
Gabriel himself said so, so why contradict him?
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 BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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RoyalJelly
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 29 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 582
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 12:15 |
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I think it's presumptuous to say that the fox head/red dress
costume was a gimmick to get attention...it's a pretty absurd
combination, and totally uncommercial, and could easily have
backfired as such. It fits much more in the traditions of
surrealism, and reminds one very much of Max Ernst's collages
from various book illustrations. Surrealism was very much
about creating dream-like images through combinations of
disparate objects. Gabriel and Genesis were seriously
concerned with bringing theatrical elements into rock in an
artistic way, and I'm sure his intention was really to stun the
audience with a costume of such incongruous elements, totally
out of place in the rock context of the time. It's easy to look back
from a cynical standpoint of today and say, "Oh, it's just a
commercial gimmick", but of you've seen videos of the stage
shows of Selling England and Supper's Ready, you've seen
that all of their use of theatrical elements is very well thought
out, expressive and artistic.
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sleeper
Prog Reviewer
Joined: October 09 2005
Location: Entropia
Status: Offline
Points: 16449
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 11:38 |
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It might be that the costumes started out as a gimmick as the rest of the band wasnt very energetic in their performances, but this grew into a method to help explain the songs that they performed live and changed from a gimmick to attract attention to an integral part of the performance. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
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Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
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Lindsay Lohan
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 25 2005
Location: Norway
Status: Offline
Points: 3254
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 11:33 |
Strange...but does this costumes mean anything? Since he uses it under The Musical box is he meant to represent that Cynthia girl 
I always thought the costumes of gabriel in genesis had a "meaning" behind them like forexample the costumes he uses to explain the story of The lamb...
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10266
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 11:32 |
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The fox head and red dress Gabriel wore on stage did not have anything to do with any of the songs, they were just a gimmick to get some attention.
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BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005
Location: Netherlands
Status: Offline
Points: 7659
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 11:30 |
I just read in Armando Gallo his book Genesis The Evolution Of A Rock band:
October 1972: Peter Gabriel wore the foxhead with a red dress during the performance of Musical Box. He replaced it with the Old Man mask in February 1973.
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Lindsay Lohan
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Joined: May 25 2005
Location: Norway
Status: Offline
Points: 3254
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 11:30 |
Hm so the dress does not mean anything? Just a gimmerick thing is it 
I belivie this was Gabriel's first real costume?
Edited by Lindsay Lohan
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10266
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 11:26 |
Lindsay Lohan wrote:
Hmm is the word fox even mentioned in the lyrics on the album |
Yes, in "Supper's Ready", in the passage "Willow Farm": "If you go down to Willow Farm,
to look for butterflies, flutterbyes, gutterflies
Open your eyes, it's full of surprise, everyone lies,
like the fox on the rocks,
and the musical box.
Oh, there's Mum & Dad, and good and bad,
and everyone's happy to be here."
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BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005
Location: Netherlands
Status: Offline
Points: 7659
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 11:26 |
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The fox in the red dress is from the Foxtrot cover, when Gabriel wanted to perform this on stage he used the red dress from his wife her wardrobe, even the other members were surprised! On very early footage from Genesis you can see Peter Gabriel wearing that red dress and fox mask.
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Lindsay Lohan
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Joined: May 25 2005
Location: Norway
Status: Offline
Points: 3254
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 11:22 |
BaldFriede wrote:
The fox used to be one of Gabriel's disguises on stage, that's why it appears on the album. The disguises did not necessarily have anything to do with the songs. |
Ah i though he used the costume because it appeared on the album first...afterall gabriel claims he wears those costumes to EXPLAIN the story of the songs...so which song do he use the dress on?
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10266
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 11:21 |
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The fox used to be one of Gabriel's disguises on stage, that's why it appears on the album. The disguises did not necessarily have anything to do with the songs.
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BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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Lindsay Lohan
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 25 2005
Location: Norway
Status: Offline
Points: 3254
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 11:21 |
Hmm is the word fox even mentioned in the lyrics on the album
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Winter Wine
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 12 2005
Location: Ireland
Status: Offline
Points: 1140
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Posted: February 02 2006 at 11:11 |
I dunno, the fact that it's evil!!!  poor fox
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The fox in a red dress...
