Peter Gabriel

Peter Brian Gabriel was born in Surrey, England on February, 13 1950. While attending Charterhouse school, he started the progressive rock band Genesis, which rose to prominence not only in England, but also in Italy, Belgium and Germany. The band attracted notice mostly due to flamboyant costumes, used by Gabriel on stage, and comic, sometimes dreamlike stories told as the introduction to some songs. All of this led to increased attention towards the musician from critics and fans and growing tension between the band members, which eventually resulted in singer’s departure from the band in 1975.

Gabriel decided to start working on his own material and during the first years of solo career (1977-1982) he recorded four albums, refusing to name any of them – their covers have only his name, being distinguished by critics and fans by numbers: Peter Gabriel I, II, III, IV. In his work over the first albums the artist was assisted by producers Bob Ezrin (known due to his work with such rock monsters, as Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd and KISS) and Robert Fripp, guitarist of the progressive rock band King Crimson. The first four albums did not gain great success, though some things deserved the critics’ attention: the single Solsbury Hill (Peter Gabriel I), Games Without Frontiers and Biko (Peter Gabriel III) and the song Shock The Monkey (Peter Gabriel IV), video for which held the first position in MTV charts for nine weeks. As regards the music, one shall note that after his departure from Genesis Gabriel took big interest in experiments with world music and sound effects, often using the latest technologies and the sound of old instruments in his music.

The next period of creative work began in 1986, after the release of So, which was a break-through for the artist – Sledgehammer, Big Time and Don’t Give Up, a duet with Kate Bush, entered the charts of the UK and the USA. Sledgehammer hit first position in American charts, and the video for that song in 1987 won numerous MTV Music Video Awards and established new standards for art in the music video industry. Later the album became platinum and brought the singer the all-time fame. In 1989 Gabriel was awarded his first Grammy for the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s movie The Last Temptation of Christ. Three years later he recorded Us, devoted to his personal problems concerning his failed marriage and complicated relationships with his daughter. Irish singer Sinead O’Connor helped him in recording of the disc – she lent her voice for backing vocals in Come Talk To Me and Blood Of Eden.

In 2002, after ten years of break, Gabriel returned to music with his new creation called Up, which in many ways resembled his work during the late70’s – early 80’s. None of the singles hit the charts, but owing to the army of loyal fans which Gabriel had acquired over 40 years of his career, the album sold out well globally. In 2010 Peter Gabriel released his eighth work Scratch My Back, produced by Bob Ezrin again. This time the musician decided to give music fans a treat with cover versions of songs by famous bands and artists, like David Bowie, Lou Reed, Neil Young, Randy Newman, Radiohead, Talking Heads and The Arcade Fire. Full absence of guitars and drums, Gabriel’s coarse voice and orchestral sound inhale new life in the well-known tracks, creating a thoughtful and sometimes melancholic atmosphere. Gabriel called the album a “song swap”, hinting that some musicians intended to release covers for his songs as well.