"A Trick of the Tail"
Single byGenesis
from the albumA Trick of the Tail
B-side	"Ripples"
Released	12 March 1976[1]
Recorded	1975 Trident Studios, London
Genre	Progressive rock art rock
Length	4:35
Label	Charisma/Phonogram (UK) Atco (US)
Songwriter	Tony Banks
Producers	David Hentschel Genesis
Genesis singles chronology
"The Carpet Crawlers" (1975) "A Trick of the Tail" (1976) "Entangled" (1976)

"A Trick of the Tail" is a song by theprogressive rock bandGenesis taken from the 1976album of the same name. It was written by the band's keyboard playerTony Banks.

The song was released as a single with "Ripples" as the B-side but failed to make any significant chart impact. The majority of the song was written in 1972 and was originally intended for theFoxtrot album. The song's rhythm, according to Banks, is partly influenced by The Beatles' "Getting Better.^[2]

The lyrics are inspired by the 1955 novelThe Inheritors by British authorWilliam Golding.^[2] Like much of the albumA Trick of the Tail, the song's lyrics focus on a specific character: the "Beast" who leaves his own kingdom and enters the world of humans. He is captured and put on display in afreak show after his captors refuse to believe in his kingdom. The Beast laments his decision to leave his home, describing it as a paradise covered in gold. His captors then release him in exchange for leading them to his world. However, just as they see what appears to be a "spire of gold", they find that the Beast has vanished, though they do hear his voice.

"A Trick of the Tail" was the third Genesis song to be accompanied by a promotional video, and the first single featuringPhil Collins as the band'slead vocalist. The video, directed byBruce Gowers, features the band gathered around an upright piano, with the front panels removed, performing the song.

Special effects includingchroma key make Collins, in miniature size, appear to walk and dance inside the piano, as well as onSteve Hackett's guitar. The video concludes with all four of the band miniaturized on the piano keyboard. In a 1994 interview withVH1 for the "Phil Collins One on One" episode, Collins called the video the most embarrassing and cringe-worthy of his entire career.

• Mike Rutherford – bass guitar, bass pedals
• Tony Banks – piano
• Phil Collins – drums, lead and backing vocals
• Steve Hackett – electric guitar

• 1975 songs
• Genesis (band) songs
• Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers
• Songs written by Tony Banks (musician)
• Charisma Records singles
• Music based on novels

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