Follow You Follow Me

"Follow You Follow Me"
Song
B-side	"Ballad of Big" (UK) "Inside & Out" (US)

"Follow You Follow Me" is a 1978 single by Genesis. The music was written by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, and Mike Rutherford, with lyrics by Rutherford. Originally released as the last track from their 1978 album …And Then There Were Three…, the single was Genesis's first to reach the American Top 40 (#23) and UK Top 10 (#7). It was also a harbinger of the more radio friendly direction Genesis would take over the next decade.

Background

The slower, overtly sentimental love-themed "Follow You Follow Me" was a departure from their previous work, and indeed the rest of the album. Although previous albums contained love ballads, such as Selling England by the Pound's "More Fool Me", "Follow You Follow Me" was the first worldwide pop success by the group and gained the band play on adult contemporary and pop music stations. The band all agreed that their music was attracting mainly male audiences, almost 95% in fact. This song was written specifically to redress the balance.

Music video

The music video for the song was a mimed live performance of the band. Featured on their DVD The Video Show.

Live performances

The song was played live during the …And Then There Were Three…, Duke, Three Sides Live Encore tour , Mama, Invisible Touch (1986 set only), The Way We Walk, Calling All Stations (with Ray Wilson on vocals), and Turn It on Again Tours .

For The Way We Walk, this song was played as part of a medley of old Genesis songs called the Old Medley. Because of this the song wasn't always played in its entirety during the The Way We Walk tour.

During the Turn It on Again Tour, Phil Collins performed on the drums as well as the vocals (making it one of very few songs in which he performs both live), while animated line art of a selection of the band's album art played in the background video screens. The first and last scenes in the animated sequence show the "father" character from the We Can't Dance album cover, raising his hand as if screwing and unscrewing a light bulb; indeed, a bright white spotlight (on Collins) lights up at the beginning of the song, and turns itself off at the end.

Personnel

• Phil Collins:Vocals and drums.
• Tony Banks: Keyboards.
• Mike Rutherford: Guitar and bass guitar.

Cover versions and other appearances

• Former Genesis singer Ray Wilson performs the song acoustically on his solo album Ray Wilson Live.

• It was also covered by American band Red House Painters for the first edition of Badman's Shanti Project Collection.

• This song has been featured in the television series, Cold Case (season 1 episode 12, "Glued"), and can be heard briefly in the 2007 film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.