I remember having read in some book that Taylor (yes, the one from Queen)
had been a drummer candidate for Genesis.
http://www.queenzone.com/queenzone/news_view.aspx?news_id=4981
"Phil and Roger were contenders for the drumming role in Genesis when
their drummer John Silver left in 1970. Phil auditioned, Roger didn't."
Not quite...
John Mayhew replaced John Silver and played on Trespass, which was recorded
in June / July 1970. After the recording was completed, but before it was
released, Ant left and Peter, Tony and Mike decided that they should look
for a better drummer. So they held secret auditions at Peter's parents
house, of which Phil was the last to audition. Phil got the gig, Mayhew was
sacked, and the band played a few gigs as a four-piece before recruiting
Mick Barnard for a few months. However, that didn't work out. Then Peter
spotted Steve's "striving beyond stagnant forms" ad in the back of Melody
Maker, phoned him, and the rest (as they say) is history...
Ant is quite complimentary about Mayhew in his reissue interview on the
Trespass DVD, and feels that he gets a bad press due principally to
inevitable comparison with his successor... It was interesting to see them
chatting at the convention in 2006 - AFAIK, it was the first time they'd had
any contact with each other since August 1970.
I believe there is an on-going legal battle between Mayhew and Tony Smith /
Hit & Run regarding royalties...