Songfacts®:

• "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" was written for Jacob Finster, Genesis' roadie from 1971-1973. He could never hold jobs - he was a lawn mower, a pawn store clerk and a cashier. By the time he died, he worked in a doughnut shop where he overdosed on heroin. This song struck a chord with adolescents struggling with their future and living in the middle of doubt.
• "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" tells the story of Jacob, a young groundskeeper who finds peace in mowing lawns, even as others try to push him toward a more "respectable" life.
  
  The inspiration came from The Dream, a painting by Betty Swanwick that graced the cover of the Selling England by the Pound album. At Peter Gabriel's suggestion, Swanwick added a lawnmower to the artwork to match the song's theme, tying the pastoral imagery of the painting directly to Jacob's story.
• Released in early 1974, "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" became Genesis' first UK charting single, reaching #21 in April, an unusual feat for a group better known at the time for sprawling progressive rock epics than concise radio-friendly tunes.
• The song became a live favorite. During shows, Peter Gabriel would bring Jacob to life on stage - helmet on head, stalks of wheat in hand - while acting out the lawnmower scene. After Gabriel left the band, Phil Collins put his own stamp on the performance, famously adding a wild tambourine dance that became a crowd-pleaser.
• Despite its success, Genesis refused to perform the song on Top of the Pops. "I saw Fairport Convention doing the show and Simon Nicol had a capo on his guitar, so it was obvious he was miming," Gabriel told Mojo magazine. "I liked that gamesmanship, but because we felt rejected by the music business, we thought doing the show was selling out."