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Peter
Gabriel
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Peter
Gabriel began playing music as a drummer in rock and soul
bands. In 1966 with classmates at the British secondary
school, Charterhouse, he founded a songwriter's collective
initially dubbed the Garden Wall. Soon, however, the band
became known as Genesis.
With Gabriel
as its leader, vocalist and main songwriter, Genesis became
known for its elaborate stage spectacles, theatrical flair,
and an adventurous approach to a complex, richly textured
music. The band quickly attained cult status through seven
albums -- From Genesis to Revelation (1969), Trespass
(1970), Nursery Cryme (1971), Foxtrot (1972), Genesis Live
(1973), Selling England by the Pound (1973) and The Lamb
Lies Down on Broadway (1974).
In 1975,
just as Genesis seemed to be entering the elite pantheon of
seventies arena-rock groups, Gabriel withdrew from the band
to pursue other interests. His eponymous debut solo album,
released in 1977, featured a number of U.S. session heavies,
including
keyboardist
Larry
Fast
and
bassist
Tony
Levin.
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Peter
Gabriel (his first four solo albums all answered to the same
name) made a splash in the U.K., but went virtually
unnoticed in the States. Also referred to as "Rainy
Windshield" or "Car" because of its cover design, the album
generated a British hit in "Solsbury Hill," which he had
written as a symbol of hope for his post-Genesis career.
Gabriel next album (distinguished by the fingernails on its
cover) was produced by King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp.
More experimental and with no obvious singles, the album
fared well enough at home in the U.K., but again, interest
on the other side of the Atlantic wasn't piqued. His third
album (with the melting face on the cover), released in
1980, marked his biggest Stateside success to date, and
charted in the U.S. Top 30. In the U.K., the album topped
the charts, and the single (Games Without Frontiersö
ascended into the Top 5.
Moving into
uncharted musical territory, Gabriel's third album also
betrayed a newfound interest in the digital effects of the
Fairlight CMI (a computer-controlled synthesizer), as well
as inklings of a burgeoning interest in the music and
troubles of the Third World. The latter awareness was most
obviously evidenced by "Biko," an homage to murdered
anti-apartheid activist Steven Biko that became an anthem
for the South African protest movement. Inspired by his work
with African artists, Gabriel founded WOMAD (World of
Music, Arts, and Dance), a festival that brings together
musicians from around the world to promote the arts from
both traditional and contemporary cultures with
performances, educational projects, and records.
Gabriel's
fourth self-titled album (dubbed Security for the U.S.
market) expanded upon the world-music influences of his
previous effort. The album went gold, and the single "Shock
the Monkey" earned him a Grammy nomination. Recorded during
his 1982 North American tour, the double album Peter
Gabriel/Plays Live was released in 1983, and for the next
two years, Gabriel dropped out of sight. He resurfaced with
a soundtrack to Alan Parker 1985 film Birdy, which featured
reworkings of earlier songs he had co-produced with Daniel
Lanois. The soundtrack represented Gabriel only output until
the 1986 release of "So", an adventurous foray into pop that
proved to be his biggest commercial success to date as an
artist, topping the U.K. charts and reaching No. 3 in the
U.S. Boosted by its award-winning music video, the single
"Sledgehammer" was a smash hit in America and helped propel
So to platinum sales and Grammy consideration for Album of
the Year; the song also received Grammy nods for Best Rock
Vocal, Record, and Song of the Year. Featuring spectacular
use of claymation, the music video for "Sledgehammer" ranked
No. 1 on Rolling Stone's (Top 100 Music Videosö list,
and snagged nine MTV Awards, including Best Video honors.
The follow-up single, "Big Time," continued Gabriel's
winning ways and also cracked the Top 10 in the States.
Gabriel
embarked on a world tour in support of So and took part in
two charity tours for Amnesty International: the 1986
U.S. Conspiracy of Hope tour (with U2, Sting, and Bryan
Adams) and the 1988 Human Rights Now! Tour (with
Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, and Youssou
NİDour). During this period he also launched his own
world-music record label and space-age studio, both named
Real World. The first album released by Real World
was Passion, Gabriel's film score for Martin Scorsese's
Last Temptation of Christ (1989). The album won him a
Grammy for Best New Age Recording and a nomination for Best
Original Score. His greatest-hits collection, Shaking the
Tree--16 Golden Greats, followed the next year.
It would be
three years until the release of Us in October of 1992,
Gabrielİs first non-soundtrack effort since So, more
than six years earlier. A certified platinum smash, Us went
as high as No. 2 on the Billboard album chart. Gabriel's
reputation as rock's most celebrated video artist was sealed
when he became the first to win back-to-back Grammys for
Best Short Form Music Video with "Digging in the Dirt" in
1992 and "Steam" in 1993. The Secret World tour in support
of Us lasted well into 1994, and helped spawn the career of
Paula Cole, who was the backup singer on the tour's second
leg.
Though
five years have now passed since Gabriel's last studio album
(a two-CD live set SW, a.k.a. Secret World Live, did come
out in 1994), he has been a busy man. Each year, he hosts
musicians from around the globe at his studios for seven
days of creative synergy known as Real World Recording Week.
And on top of that, heİs a highly active contributor
to a number of humanitarian organizations. In 1992, he
co-founded the Witness Program, an international
human-rights organization that arms advocates in Third World
countries with camcorders, fax machines, and other
technology to help document abuses. His most recent release
came in the form of a CD-ROM titled Eve, which allows users
to mix and create their own versions of his songs. And
Gabriel says he is getting close to completing his next
album, which should be released sometime in early
1998.
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