Warren Vlass Admin · Kim Poor is now answering questions from the group. Please join!



Sue Labriola hi Kim!

Kim Poor Hi!

Sue Labriola Kim thanks for being here.  Are you still designing album covers etc?

Gregory Ward Love your album covers !!

Kim Poor Hi. Good afternoon!

Kim Poor I already have some questions that were submitted in advance so I'm going to paste those in first. From Jen Selinsky:

• What was the first really significant piece of art you ever created?
  
  
• Hi Jen. Really interesting question to start with! My first important piece was a print – Stagnation – inspired by the song on Trespass. I gave it to Pete when I first met him at The Academy of Music in New York in 1974. He still has it in his collection. Here it is …

Kim Poor A question from Justin:

• Did he ever express regret with leaving Genesis when they made it huge???
  
  
• Do you mean Pete? I don’t think so. He followed what he really wanted to do and didn’t look back.

Warren Vlass. Kim - can you show us some of your paintings

Kim Poor Be happy to.

Kim Poor A question from Tete:

• how much aware of Genesis career was Kim by the time she met them? What songs/pieces (if any at all 🙂 ) were an actual inspiration for her artwork?
  
  
• I was huge fan. I was at a college at the time and listened to their music every day because, aside from inspiring me, it reminded me of home in Brazil, where I had first been introduced to their records by my then boyfriend. The first albums I became aware of were Trespass and Foxtrot in 1973. My boyfriend then, Luiz, had studied at Stowe (school) in England, which was a rival to Charterhouse so he had seen the band very early on and through him I was introduced to Genesis. It was not a coincidence it seems. The band and I shared many common interests in art, theatre, music and, in Steve’s case, the Tarot. We were into the pre Raphaelites, the Symbolist painters of the 19th century, Lindsay Kemp (the choreographer and actor) who, I think, later worked with Pete. The I Ching and, in Pete’s case, Ginseng root, which he chewed for most of the Lamb tour. The songs that inspired me at that time can be found in the Genesis Lyrics book I produced for the band - Kim Poor and Genesis — Kim Poor
  


• John Cole wow I’m not rich but if you have anything you dont want i have some walls not in use. great art. big kiss from england.
  

• Kim Poor Thanks John!@ I still have plenty of wall space - lol!
  

• John Cole Kim Poor your the first famous person i have ever talked to lol. have a great day.
  

Kim Poor Another question from Teté Vendaval ...

• how lively and inspiring did she find the seventies, as an artist?
  
  
• It was certainly an exciting time, juggling my studies at Parsons School of Design in New York and Skidmore College upstate and being on the road with the band when they were beginning to break in America. At the same time as I was inspired by their music the song Entangled was written and inspired by my painting Entangled In Your Own Dreams. Here's Entangled ...

Warren Vlass Very nice Kim

Kim Poor The next question came from Lia ...

• If you're on to create or just consider something new (doesn't matter if it's art, music, writing), what triggers you, to do so?
  
  
• Music! I listen and I meditate to music.
  

Kim Poor And she also asked ...

• When you're combining music with art: What's the main initial feeling you can describe?
  
  
• I will take a couple of hours and listen to the kind of music that is inspiring my soul at that moment. Sometimes I’ll listen to the same track 10 times, which helps me to get in touch with my subconscious creative flow
  

Warren Vlass. Can we talk a bit about Steve’s album covers?



Kim Poor Yes. That’s Voyage of The Acolyte. And here's the original painting ...



Warren Vlass



Kim Poor Thanks, Warren. And that was the inside spread of Acolyte.

Warren Vlass



Kim Poor The artwork for Steve’s Voyage Of The Acolyte was awarded Best Album Sleeve in 1975 so that’s a favorite of mine.

Warren Vlass. What inspires you now?

Kim Poor Warren - you asked if Steve had written songs honoring me? And if so, what songs? There were many! Including of course, Kim, recorded originally, I think on his Bay of Kings album and in many subsequent versions. Also all of his original albums from Voyage Of The Acolyte to To Watch The Storms were dedicated to me.

Warren Vlass. Nice

Kim Poor Another favorite early cover was Please Don't Touch ...



Warren Vlass. Your jewelry. Any pieces you want to show us?

Kim Poor Hi Warren - I'd love to show some jewelry but first - about Please Don't Touch and what inspired that cover

Steve and I used to go to a shop on the Portobello Road in London

Warren Vlass. Ok...sorry...getting ahead of myself here

Kim Poor It belonged to a very eccentric man called Jack Donovan. Jack collected amazing Victorian automata. And music boxes! We spent many afternoons exploring these incredible machines I thought "What would happen if one broke into the shop at night and these characters came to life and attacked you! Because you had inadvertently touched one ...”

Oh - I forgot to say - the shop was filled with signs saying "PLEASE DON'T TOUCH"

Later, through a mutual friend, we found out that Ridley Scott had used my cover painting for the Please Don't Touch album as an inspiration for one of the toy scenes in Blade Runner.

Warren Vlass. Ridley Scott - the producer??

Kim Poor Yes!

Warren Vlass. Nice

Warren Vlass



Kim Poor That letter's also available with additional photos at kimpoor.com/A-Brief-History

Kim Poor here's another question from Lia

• When you're combining music with art: What's the main initial feeling you can describe?
  
  
• I will take a couple of hours and listen to the kind of music that is inspiring my soul at that moment. Sometimes I’ll listen to the same track 10 times, which helps me to get in touch with my subconscious creative flow. Also - one of my last art exhibitions, The Shadow of Angels, was influenced by constantly listening to Pete's amazing orchestral album. And in fact we used Red Rain as the sound track to the video of the exhibition - https://youtu.be/raRin_Kt40I
  
  
• KIM-POOR_The-Shadow-of-Angels_Opening-Night-in-London

Warren Vlass. Do you still talk to Pete?

Kim Poor  We all have busy schedules. I am very grateful to Pete - he helped me a lot when I was going through a dark time.

Warren Vlass. How so?

Kim Poor  He put me in touch with his 'fairy godmother' - Meg Sharp - who became my analyst and close friend

Warren - you also asked earlier

• “Do you still talk to the other members of Genesis today? If so, which ones and what do you talk about?”
  
  
• Tony and Mike. We talk mostly about art.
  

Warren Vlass. Do you think that Genesis will get together one more time for a song, a concert.....anything?

Kim Poor I'd love to know that too! I don't think even they know. It's been broached so many times. I think the fly in the ointment may be Pete I don't think he likes going back - he's a very forward thinking person. Also, sadly, there are Phil's health problems.

Warren Vlass. Agree. I worry about Phil’s health

Kim Poor Justin asked

• "Did she have free reign on the artwork?"
  
  
• Yes, I did. It was always a complete partnership of art and music.
  

Sue Labriola Kim, not siure if you answered this already.. do you still do artwork for other composers/musicians? (I am one lol)..

Kim Poor  Hi Sue. Yes, I do. Sue - you also asked earlier

• "Is she still in contact with Steve.. or does she still do artwork for him?"
  
  
• No. As someone once said (may have been Shakespeare – lol) “Love is eternal while it lasts.” (NB: The quote is actually from the Brazilian poet and lyricist Vinicius de Moraes)
  

Sue Labriola never heard that before,. but I like it 😊..

Kim Poor Here’s another question put in advance of the thread opening up – from Neil:

• “Who was really Gabriel's best mate in the band ?”
  
  
• His oldest friend was Tony. On The Lamb tour there was an awful lot of reminiscing about the good old days at Charterhouse. And how they were forbidden to play their music and listen to rock and roll. And, I think, even beaten for it! Today that would be viewed as abuse!
  

Warren Vlass. Wow

Kim Poor A lot of the Lamb tour in America was done in cars so we all spent a lot of time together. I must have seen that show almost a hundred times and every night I saw something different and interesting

Warren Vlass. Was there a lot of infighting over Peters costumes and antics?

Kim Poor No, not during the tour. The band, realising early on that Pete was leaving after the tour, had given in to his demands of writing all the lyrics and that he would be doing the art direction of the show

Warren Vlass. So it was already decided during the writing of the Lamb

Kim Poor Yes, Warren

Kim Poor In a lot of ways The Lamb was Pete's show and there was probably resentment over that. There was a famous incident before the tour where Steve was quite drunk at a party when someone said to him that Genesis would be nothing without Pete. At which point, in anger, he crushed a wine glass in his hand. That resulted in problems with the tour and there was also a lot of resentment towards him over that.

Warren Vlass. Hence, the thumb injury

Kim Poor Yes. Steve never forgave the band because he felt they had been unsympathetic towards his injury

Warren Vlass. Did this impact why he left 2 years later?

Kim Poor Steve ... It's well documented, including in letters from Steve to me, that he remained in the band for an extra two years because of me and my love for the band and their music. He had planned his leaving well before he actually left. He had been seeing other managers and PRs and lawyers behind the scenes. The band knew nothing of this. The Voyage of the Acolyte album had been successful for Steve. Both Charisma and Chrysalis in America had promoted it heavily because it was seen as an interim album between The Lamb and Trick of The Tail, which at that point held a lot of uncertainty for the band whether they would survive Pete's departure. Steve knew I was against him leaving. He waited until I went to Brazil to visit my folks and had decided to leave no matter what. That is one of the reasons why Phil never understood why he just walked out on them in the studio and never came back! Unfortunately, all these years, Tony Banks was made a scapegoat for Steve's well planned decision. He actually waited over a week to phone and tell me what he had done. By then it was too late.

Warren Vlass. Interesting

Kim Poor  Warren - you also asked earlier

• "Peter was obviously torn between family, Genesis and his future in what he wanted to do. The Lamb reflects this clearly to me. Did you ever talk to him during this period about his struggle to find what to do best for himself?"
  
  
• Yes, he was struggling with his decisions. He had already announced to the band before the Lamb tour that he would leave at the end of this tour. That is why the tour was so long, I think it was almost a year with a few breaks. Pete had been approached by William Friedkin of Excorcist fame. He was interested in Pete writing possibly acting in one of his movies and Pete used this to springboard himself out of Genesis. When Friedkin heard this would be used as the cause for Pete leaving he dropped him. But I think by then the damage was done. Throughout the tour I think the other members always hoped Pete would stay. The feeling in the band then was very much that Genesis would not last without him. His then wife Jill came on tour for a while with their first baby daughter. Tours are not great for babies and Pete felt after such a long time on the road he needed a break. The rest is History.
  
  
• To answer your question, yes, he did talk about his doubts. But also seemed to distance himself from the others.
  

Warren Vlass. Great answer Kim. Been wondering that for the longest time

Warren Vlass. Kim - it is 1:00. Want to continue?

Angela Lincoln Not sure if Kim is still online but it was so wonderful of her to take the time to visit with us. I didn't have any questions for her but it was interesting to read the discussion.

Kim Poor Thank you, Angela. It's been pleasure.

Thank you everyone.

Sue Labriola will read this entire thread later today. But I want to thank Kim for such warm and detailed answers. I will certainly check out your great work..,And thanks to Warren for making this happen .

Warren Vlass. Thank you Kim

Kim Poor Thank you for all the interesting questions.