The 1981 Genesis track Tony Banks knew fans would hate: “It’s a controversial song”
If a band, like Genesis, at the peak of their popularity, allowed fans to dictate the music they make, then they can wave goodbye to artistic integrity.
As much as every band always needs fans to exist and thrive, it should never be at the forefront of their minds in the studio. If they adopt that filter and start artistically self-censoring in a bid to keep fans happy, then they are on a hiding to nothing.
After all, bands never achieve greatness in the first place by playing to the gallery, even if that’s the route they end up taking. True creative brilliance often stems from taking risks, just look at The Beatles. While this approach may occasionally lead to backlash and alienate some fans, artists must prioritise their soul and stay true to their principles, even if it means upsetting a portion of their audience, as Genesis once did with one particular song.
Without mastering the art of reinvention, Genesis would never have hit such great heights in the first place. Throughout their tenure, they were reaped deserved rewards for their ingenuity, even if it risked pissing off the odd person on route to their destination.
They also had a strong inclination of how a song would be received long before fans had heard it. With ‘Who Dunnit?’ on their 1981 album Abacab, they knew it would go down like a lead balloon, which only incentivised them more to release it rather than throw it in the trash.
Fans weren’t wrong for hating it either, if I’m being totally honest. Phil Collins adopts a strong Cockney accent and blurts out a barrage of lyrics that make little sense, which is supposedly precisely the point of the deliberately bizarre creation.
While ‘Who Dunnit’ isn’t intended to be taken seriously and should be viewed through the lens of frivolous fun, it’s not one for a greatest hits compilation. Collins thought up the lyrics without too much thought, which tells, and it’s one that most fans would rather forget.
During an interview with Vulture, Tony Banks named ‘Who Dunnit’ the band’s weirdest song, and frankly admitted of the lukewarm reaction from fans, “Most of our audience just hated it. But we rather enjoyed it.”
Banks then explained that they foresaw the backlash, before sharing how Genesis made ‘Who Dunnit’, adding, “We knew it was going to cause controversy. I had this Prophet-5 that I abused to create that backing sound. I think I played it so often that Mike and Phil felt they had to do something. Phil went along and wrote this ridiculous lyric that went with it — very repetitive.”
While their fans didn’t greet ‘Who Dunnit?’ with open arms, Banks and the rest of Genesis wouldn’t change a thing about it. After all, it’s just a song, and they had an absolute blast making it, which should be all that matters at the end of the day.
Banks elaborated: “I actually really enjoy it and I still enjoy it, but it’s a controversial song because it doesn’t fit necessarily with the idea of Genesis. We vary between, I suppose, beauty and atmosphere, as well as a bit of musical accomplishment. It’s got none of those things, apart from just making you sit up and listen.”
While social media sentiment should be taken with a grain of salt, a popular Reddit post made in 2017 in the Genesis community echoes the sentiments of Banks’ comments. After a fan labelled ‘Who Dunnit?’ as “the worst and stupidest song ever written by Genesis”, the remark was met with almost universal agreement.
More than 40 years on, ‘Who Dunnit? still infuriates many who wish Genesis had not wasted a slot on Abacab with the creation. However, if a song can continue to cause people to feel so strongly all these years later, then, bizarrely, perhaps this validates Genesis’ decision to include it.
Admittedly, ‘Who Dunnit?’ is nobody’s favourite Genesis track, but it showcases the lesser-seen mischievous side of their artistry and acts as proof that they weren’t always stern-faced. However, let’s all be grateful that they didn’t make an entire album in this vein.
