Peter Gabriel

Peter Brian Gabriel (born February 13, 1950, in Cobham, Surrey, England) is an English musician. He first came to fame as a member of the progressive rock group Genesis, went on to a successful solo career, and more recently has focused on producing and promoting world music and pioneering digital distribution methods for music. In addition he has been involved in various humanitarian efforts.

Solo career

Gabriel famously refused to title any of his first four solo albums (they were all labeled peter gabriel using the same typeface, but different cover art), since he wanted them to be considered like issues of a magazine instead of individual works; they are usually differentiated by number in order of release, or sleeve design. (His fourth solo album, still called Peter Gabriel in the UK, was titled Security in the U.S., at the behest of Geffen Records.) Even after acquiescing to distinctive titles, he cheekily used words as short as possible: So, Us, and Up. Even his most recent compilations have been called, simply, Hit and Miss.

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The "untitled era"

Gabriel recorded his first solo album in 1976 and 1977 with producer Bob Ezrin, simply titled Peter Gabriel. His first solo success came with the single "Solsbury Hill", an autobiographical piece expressing his thoughts on leaving Genesis. In it, he sings, "My friends would think I was a nut...", alluding to his decision to begin a period of self-exploration and reflection, while he grew cabbages, played the piano for long hours, practised yoga and biofeedback, and spent quality time with his family.

Related Topics:
1976 - 1977 - Bob Ezrin - Solsbury Hill - Genesis - Yoga - Biofeedback

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Gabriel worked with guitarist Robert Fripp (of King Crimson fame) as producer of his second solo LP, in 1978. That album was darker and more experimental, and yielded some fine recordings, but no major hits. His third, in 1980, arose as a collaboration with Steve Lillywhite, who also produced early albums by U2. It was notable for the hit singles "Games Without Frontiers" and "Biko," for Gabriel's new interest in world music (especially for percussion), and for its bold production, which made extensive use of recording tricks and sound effects.

Related Topics:
Robert Fripp - King Crimson - Steve Lillywhite - U2

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In addition, Gabriel's old Genesis band-mate Phil Collins played drums on several tracks, including the opener, "Intruder," which introduced to the world the reverse-gated, cymbal-less drum kit sound which Collins would make famous through the rest of the 1980s. The massive, distinctive hollow sound arose through some experiments by Collins and engineer Hugh Padgham. Gabriel had requested that his drummers use no cymbals in the album's sessions, and when he heard the result from Collins and Padgham, he asked Collins to play a simple pattern for several minutes, then built "Intruder" on it.

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Arduous and occasionally damp recording sessions at his rural English estate in 1981 and 1982, with co-producer/engineer David Lord, resulted in Gabriel's fourth LP release (the aforementioned Security), on which Gabriel took more production responsibility. It was one of the first commercial albums recorded entirely to digital tape (using a Sony mobile truck), and featured the early, extremely expensive Fairlight CMI sampling computer. Gabriel combined a variety of sampled and deconstructed sounds with world-beat percussion and other unusual instrumentation to create a radically new, emotionally charged soundscape. Furthermore, the sleeve art consisted of inscrutable, video-based imagery. Despite the album's peculiar sound, odd appearance, and often disturbing themes, it sold well and had a hit single in "Shock the Monkey", which also became a groundbreaking music video.

Related Topics:
1981 - 1982 - Fairlight CMI - Music video

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Gabriel toured extensively for each of his albums, continuing the dramatic shows he began with Genesis, often involving elaborate stage props and acrobatics which had him suspended from gantries, distorting his face with fresnel lenses and mirrors, and wearing unusual makeup. For one tour, his entire band shaved their heads. His 1982-83 tour included a section opening for David Bowie, where many audience members and critics thought that Gabriel as opener (especially with his elaborate makeup) overshadowed Bowie at the height of his popularity. The stage was set for Gabriel's true breakout with his next studio release.

Related Topics:
Fresnel lens - David Bowie

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The hit years: So, Passion, Us, and Up

Although early on he achieved critical success and some commercial success (e.g. "Games Without Frontiers" from his third album and "Shock the Monkey" from his fourth), Gabriel achieved his greatest popularity with songs from the 1986 So album, most notably "Sledgehammer" and "In Your Eyes." Gabriel co-produced So with Canadian Daniel Lanois, also known for his work with U2.

Related Topics:
1986 - So - Daniel Lanois

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Gabriel's song "Sledgehammer" was accompanied by a visually stunning music video, which was a collaboration with director Stephen Johnson, Aardman Animation, and the Brothers Quay. The video won numerous awards at the 1987 MTV Music Video Awards, and set a new standard for art in the music video industry. A follow-up video for the song "Big Time" also broke new ground in music video animation and special effects.

Related Topics:
Sledgehammer - Music video - Stephen Johnson - Aardman Animation - Brothers Quay - 1987 - MTV Music Video Awards

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In 1989, Gabriel released ', the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese's movie The Last Temptation of Christ. Many consider the album to be the climax of his work in world music.

Related Topics:
Soundtrack - Martin Scorsese - The Last Temptation of Christ - World music

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Following it, Gabriel recorded Us in 1992 (also co-produced with Lanois), an album in which he deals with the pain of his life problems of the previous years (his failed first marriage, the distance with his first daughter). He metaphorically talks to the river: "River, river, carry me on to the place where I come from... Bring me something that will let me get to sleep... Bring me something to take this pain away." He also digs inside, trying to unearth the things inside of him that cause him trouble in the song "Digging in the Dirt". He fights to get through to his daughter in "Come Talk To Me".

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The result was one of his most personal albums, followed by a world tour that consisted of two stages: a round one and a square one, united by a bridge that he crossed riding a boat.

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In 2000, he followed Us with the music to OVO, a soundtrack for the Millennium Dome Show in London, and Long Walk Home, the music from the Australian movie Rabbit-Proof Fence, early in 2002. In September 2002, he released Up, his most recent full-length album, which was entirely self-produced, and returned to some of the less commercial, darker themes of this work in the late '70s and early '80s. Aside from the ending piano ballad "The Drop," no song on Up is shorter than six minutes, and many go through several distinct movements, with great dynamics in sound and theme.

Related Topics:
OVO - Millennium Dome Show - London - Long Walk Home - Rabbit-Proof Fence - Up

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Musicians and collaborators

While the gaps between his studio album releases have become longer and longer (six years between So and Us, ten between Us and Up), Gabriel has continued to work with a relatively stable crew of musicians and recording engineers. Bass and Stick player Tony Levin, for example, has appeared on every Peter Gabriel studio album and tour since 1976. Gabriel is known for choosing top-flight collaborators, from co-producers such as Ezrin, Fripp, Lillywhite, and Lanois to musicians such as Yossou N'Dour, Larry Fast, Nasret Fateh Ali Khan, Paula Cole, Manu Katche, and Stewart Copeland.

Related Topics:
Bass - Stick - Tony Levin - Yossou N'Dour - Larry Fast - Nasret Fateh Ali Khan - Paula Cole - Manu Katche - Stewart Copeland

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Over the years, Gabriel has collaborated with singer Kate Bush several times; Bush provided backing vocals for Gabriel's as far back as "Games Without Frontiers" in 1980, and on "No Self Control" and "Don't Give Up" (a Top 30 hit) in 1986, and Gabriel appeared on her television special. Their duet of Roy Harper's "Another Day" was discussed for release as a single, but never appeared.

Related Topics:
Kate Bush - Roy Harper

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He also collaborated with Laurie Anderson on two versions of her composition "Excellent Birds" - one for her album, Mister Heartbreak, and a slightly different version called This is the Picture which appeared on cassette and CD versions of So. In 1987, when presenting Gabriel with an award for his music videos, Anderson related an occasion in which a recording session had gone late into the night and Gabriel's voice began to sound somewhat strange, almost dreamlike. It was discovered that he had fallen asleep in front of the microphone, but had continued to sing.

Related Topics:
Laurie Anderson - Cassette

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Unusually, in 1998 Gabriel appeared on the soundtrack of ', not as a composer, but as the singer of the song "That'll Do", written by Randy Newman. The song was nominated for an Academy Award, and Gabriel and Newman performed it at the following year's Oscar telecast. Many who saw him on that broadcast didn't recognize him, since his hair had greyed and thinned since his most recent tour several years earlier.

Related Topics:
1998 - Randy Newman - Academy Award

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