Information AboutPeter Gabriel |
Peter Brian Gabriel (born , England ) is an English Musician . He first came to fame as the lead Vocalist and Flautist of the Progressive Rock group Genesis . After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career. More recently he has focused on producing and promoting World Music and pioneering digital distribution methods for music. He has also been involved in various humanitarian efforts. GENESIS Gabriel founded Genesis in 1967 while a pupil at Charterhouse School with bandmates Tony Banks , Anthony Phillips , Mike Rutherford , and drummer Chris Stewart . The name of the band was suggested by fellow Charterhouse School alumnus, the pop music impresario Jonathan King who produced their first album '' From Genesis To Revelation ''. A lover of Soul Music , Gabriel was influenced by many different sources in his way of singing, mainly Nina Simone , Gary Brooker of Procol Harum and Cat Stevens . He also played the flute on Stevens' '' Mona Bone Jakon '' album in 1970. Genesis quickly became one of the most talked-about bands in England and eventually Italy, Belgium, Germany and other European countries, largely due to Gabriel's flamboyant stage presence, which involved numerous bizarre costume changes and comical, dreamlike stories told as the introduction to each song. The concerts made extensive use of Black Light with the normal stage lighting subdued or off. A backdrop of fluorescing white sheets and a comparatively sparse stage made the band into a set of silhouettes, with Gabriel's fluorescent costume and makeup the only other sources of light. Among Gabriel's many famous costumes (which he developed partly as way of overcoming his Stage Fright ) were "The Flower" (worn for "Supper's Ready", from ''Foxtrot''), "Magog" (also worn for "Supper's Ready", from ''Foxtrot''), "Britannia" (worn for "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight", from '' Selling England By The Pound ''), "The Old Man" (worn for "The Musical Box", from '' Nursery Cryme ''), "Rael" (worn throughout most of the performance of the album '' The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway ''), and "The Slipperman" (worn during "The Colony of Slippermen", also from ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway''). Backing vocals in Genesis during Gabriel's tenure in the band were usually handled by bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford, keyboardist/guitarist Tony Banks, and (most prominently) drummer Phil Collins , who (after a long search for a replacement) eventually became Genesis 's lead singer after Gabriel left the band in 1975. The Departure Gabriel's departure from Genesis (which stunned fans of the group and left many commentators wondering if the band could survive) was the result of a number of factors. His stature as the lead singer of the band, and the added attention garnered by his flamboyant stage personae, led to tensions within the band. Genesis had always operated more or less as a collective, and Gabriel's burgeoning public profile led to fears within the group that he was being unfairly singled out as the creative hub of the group. Tensions were heightened by the ambitious album and tour of the concept work '' The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway '', a Gabriel-created concept piece which saw him taking on the lion's share of the lyric writing. During the writing and recording of ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'', Gabriel was approached by director William Friedkin , allegedly because Friedkin had found Gabriel's short story in the liner notes to ''Genesis Live'' interesting. Gabriel's interest in a film project with Friedkin was another contributing factor in his decision to leave Genesis. The decision to quit the band was made before the tour supporting ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'', but Gabriel stayed with the band until the conclusion of that tour. The breaking point came with the difficult pregnancy of Gabriel's wife, Jill, and birth of their first child, Anna. When he opted to stay with his sick daughter and wife rather than go record and tour, the resentment from the rest of the band led Gabriel to conclude that he had to leave the band. " Solsbury Hill ", Gabriel's debut single as a solo artist, was written about his departure. SOLO CAREER Gabriel refused to title any of his first four solo albums, which were all labelled ''Peter Gabriel'' using the same typeface, but different cover art. He wanted them to be considered similar to consecutive issues of a magazine instead of individual works; they are usually differentiated by number in order of release, or sleeve design, I, II and III being referred to as '' magazine lists.) The "untitled era" Gabriel recorded his first solo album in 1976 and 1977 with producer Bob Ezrin , 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, practiced Yoga and Biofeedback , and spent time with his family. Although mainly happy with the music, Gabriel felt that the album, and especially the track "Here Comes the Flood" was over-produced. Sparser versions can be heard on Robert Fripp's '' Exposure '', and on Gabriel's greatest hits compilation '' Shaking The Tree '' (1990). Gabriel worked with guitarist Robert Fripp (of King Crimson fame) as producer of his second solo LP, in 1978. This album was leaner, darker and more experimental, and yielded decent reviews, but no major hits. Gabriel's third album, released 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. Gabriel's third album is generally credited as the first LP to use the now-famous " Gated Drum " sound, invented by engineer Hugh Padgham and Gabriel's old Genesis band-mate Phil Collins. Collins played drums on several tracks, including the opener, "Intruder", which featured the reverse-gated, cymbal-less drum kit sound which Collins would make famous on his single " In The Air Tonight " and through the rest of the 1980s. The massive, distinctive hollow sound arose through some experiments by Collins and 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. 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 (''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 . 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 Lens es and mirrors, and wearing unusual makeup. For one tour, his entire band shaved their heads. It is rumoured that Gabriel shaved his head as a way of asking forgiveness from his wife Jill for having had an affair, which he had confessed to her before leaving on the tour. 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 commercial popularity. Recordings of this tour were released as the double LP '' Plays Live '' The stage was set for Gabriel's critical and commercial breakout with his next studio release '' So '' which was in production for almost three years. During the recording and production of the album Gabriel found time to work on the film soundtrack for Alan Parker 's 1984 feature Birdy , which consisted of new material as well as remixed instrumental tracks from his previous studio album. The hit years: ''So'', ''Passion'', ''Us'' Although he had already achieved critical, and some commercial, solo 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, highlights being the '60s-tinged pop and suggestiveness of " Sledgehammer " (a #1 smash in the US, knocking Genesis's '' Invisible Touch '' off of the top spot), " Big Time ", the ballad " Don't Give Up " with Kate Bush about the devastation of unemployment, and the love song " In Your Eyes ". "In Your Eyes" later became ingrained in pop culture in a scene where it is played on John Cusack 's boom box in the 1989 film ''Say Anything...'' . Gabriel co-produced ''So'' with Daniel Lanois , also known for his work with U2 . Gabriel's song " Sledgehammer " was accompanied by a visually stunning Music Video , which was a collaboration with director Stephen R. Johnson , Aardman Animations , 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. Gabriel played a prominent role in supporting Amnesty International at this time, appearing on the 1986 U.S. A Conspiracy Of Hope Tour and on the 1988 worldwide Human Rights Now! Tour . In 1989, Gabriel released '''', the Soundtrack for Martin Scorsese 's movie '' The Last Temptation Of Christ ''. For this work Gabriel received his first Grammy Award , in the category of Best New Age Performance. He also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score - Motion Picture. Following this, Gabriel recorded '' Us '' in 1992 (also co-produced with Daniel Lanois), an album in which he explored the pain of recent personal problems; his failed first marriage, his relationship with Rosanna Arquette , and the growing distance between him and his first daughter. Gabriel's introspection within the context of the album '' Us '' can be seen in the first single release "Digging in the Dirt". Accompanied by a disturbing video featuring Gabriel covered in worms, this song also made reference to the way media coverage seems to wallow in the foibles and mistakes of high visibility artists. Gabriel describes his struggle to get through to his daughter in "Come Talk To Me" which featured backing vocals by Sinéad O'Connor . O'Connor also lent vocals to "Blood of Eden" the third single to be released from the album. The result was one of his most personal albums, though one with less success than ''So'', reaching #2 in the album chart on both sides of the Atlantic, and making modest chart impact with the singles "Digging in the Dirt" and the funkier " Steam " which evoked memories of " Sledgehammer ". He followed the release of the album with a world tour and accompanying double CD and DVD '' Secret World Live '' in 1994. Gabriel won three more Grammy Awards , all in the genre of Music Videos. He won the Best Music Video - Short Form Grammy in 1992 and 1993 for the videos to "Digging in the Dirt" and "Steam" respectively. Gabriel also won the 1995 Grammy for Best Music Video - Long Form for his ''Secret World Live'' video. Later Albums After five years of not releasing any new music, Gabriel re-emerged with '''', the music from the Australian movie '' Rabbit-Proof Fence '', early in 2002. This soundtrack also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score - Motion Picture. In September 2002, Gabriel released '' Up '', his first full-length studio album in a decade. Entirely self-produced, ''Up'' returned to some of the themes of his work in the late '70s and early '80s. Three singles failed to make an impression on the charts but the album sold well globally, as Gabriel continues to draw from a loyal fan base from his almost forty years in the music business. ''Up'' was also accompanied by a live concert DVD, featuring his daughter on backing vocals. 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 except Passion and Long Walk Home as well as performed on every solo tour and Guitar player David Rhodes has been Gabriel’s guitarist of choice since 1979, both in the studio and on the road. Gabriel is known for choosing top-flight collaborators, from co-producers such as Ezrin, Fripp, Lillywhite, and Lanois to musicians such as L. Shankar , Trent Reznor , Youssou N'Dour , Larry Fast , Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan , Sinéad O'Connor , Kate Bush , Paula Cole , John Giblin , Papa Wemba , Manu Katché , and Stewart Copeland . Over the years, Gabriel has collaborated with singer Kate Bush several times; Bush provided backing vocals for Gabriel's "Games Without Frontiers" and "No Self Control" in 1980, and female lead vocal for "Don't Give Up" (a Top 10 hit in the UK) 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. 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 (Excellent Birds)" 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. 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. Gabriel has also appeared on Robbie Robertson 's self-titled album, singing on "Fallen Angel", co-wrote two Tom Robinson singles, and appeared on Joni Mitchell 's 1988 album, ''Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm'', on the track "My Secret Place". WOMAD AND OTHER PROJECTS Gabriel has been interested in Laureates with the Man Of Peace award. In the 1990s he developed advanced Multimedia CD-ROM-based entertainment projects, creating the acclaimed ''Xplora'' and ''Eve'' CD-ROMs. These can no longer be played on modern PCs, due to changes to their Operating Systems . He was one of the founders of On Demand Distribution ( OD2 ), one of the first online music download services. Its technology is used by MSN Music UK and others, and has become the dominant music download technology platform for stores in Europe. OD2 was bought by US company Loudeye in June of 2004 and subsequently by Finnish mobile giant Nokia in October 2006 for $60 million. Additionally, Gabriel is also co-founder (with Brian Eno ) of a musicians union called Mudda, short for "magnificent union of digitally downloading artists." In June 2005, Gabriel and broadcast industry entrepreneur David Engelke purchased Solid State Logic , a leading manufacturer of mixing consoles and digital audio workstations from Harmony Central . SSL is among the top 2 or 3 recording console manufacturers in the world of recording. In July 2007 Peter performed at WOMAD in Charlton Park for the first time in the 25 years of the festival. {Link without Title} HUMANITARIAN INITITATIVES In the late 1990s, Peter Gabriel and entrepreneur Richard Branson discussed with Nelson Mandela their idea of a small, dedicated group of leaders, working objectively and without any vested personal interest to solve difficult global conflicts. On July 18 , 2007 , in Johannesburg , South Africa , Nelson Mandela announced the formation of a new group, Global Elders , in a speech he delivered on the occasion of his 89th birthday. The founding members of this group are Desmond Tutu , Graça Machel , Kofi Annan , Ela Bhatt , Gro Harlem Brundtland , Jimmy Carter , Li Zhaoxing , Mary Robinson , and Muhammad Yunus . {Link without Title} The Elders will be independently funded by a group of "Founders", including Branson and Gabriel. Desmond Tutu serves as the chair of The Elders—who will use their collective skills to catalyze peaceful resolutions to long-standing conflicts, articulate new approaches to global issues that are or may cause immense human suffering, and share wisdom by helping to connect voices all over the world. They will work together over the next several months to carefully consider which specific issues they will approach. In 1992 Peter Gabriel founded WITNESS a non-profit group that equips, trains and supports locally-based organizations worldwide to utilize video and the internet in human rights documentation and advocacy. SOUNDTRACKS Gabriel's music has appeared in many motion pictures and the three films that he personally scored :
All those records were recorded at Realworld Studios - even 1985 Birdy. Films that feature Gabriel's music or voice include :
PERSONAL LIFE Peter Gabriel has two daughters from his marriage to first wife Jill: Melanie and Anna. Melanie was a backing vocalist during Gabriel's 2002 Growing Up and 2007 Warm Up tours, and Anna filmed a documentary of that same tour, called Growing Up On Tour: A Family Portrait. Gabriel and his second wife, Meabh (from Limerick City Ireland and went to Crescent College school) had a son, Isaac, in 2002. RECENT WORK AND APPEARANCES He coordinated and performed at the Eden Project Live 8 Concert in July 2005. Gabriel played on stage with Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens ), 33 years after having played on Stevens' ''Mona Bone Jakon'' album, in Johannesburg during Nelson Mandela 's 46664 concert. The two performed the Stevens hit "Wild World". A double DVD set, ''Peter Gabriel Live & Unwrapped'', was released in October, 2005. A future DVD release will be the concert film PoV , previously available on VHS. It is getting the full 5.1 remix treatment in Gabriel's Realworld studios. FIFA asked Gabriel and Brian Eno to organize an opening ceremony for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in Germany, planned to take place a couple of days before the start of the tournament. Gabriel had recently become a fan of the game and European champions Liverpool, and worked on songs for the show in Berlin's Olympic Stadium. Although the show was cancelled in January 2006 by FIFA due to going overbudget and supposed lack of interest, the official explanation was potential damage to the pitch. Rumours of a possible reunion of the original Genesis line-up began circulating in 2004 after Phil Collins stated in an interview that he is open to the idea of sitting back behind the drums and "let Peter be the singer." The classic line-up has only reformed for a live performance once before, In 1982 . However, the group did work together to create a new version of an old Genesis song ''The Carpet Crawlers 1999'', released on the ''Genesis Hits'' record. Gabriel later met with other Genesis band members, and a possible reunion tour of '' The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway '' was discussed. Gabriel declined a reunion, so Collins, Banks, and Rutherford chose to tour as Genesis without him. Gabriel performed John Lennon's "Imagine" at the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Torino , Italy on February 10, 2006. Cingular Wireless has aired commercials featuring Gabriel's " Solsbury Hill ." Gabriel is currently recording a new studio album entitled Input/Output, which will be his first new album release since ''Up'' in 2002. No release date has been announced. Gabriel's current line-up includes Drumtech trained drummer, Jed Lynch. Gabriel's song "Digging in the Dirt" is now being used for promotional videos for the FX show " Dirt " Gabriel is involved in The Filter , an add-on application for ITunes , Windows Media Player and some Nokia phones which can automatically generate playlists based on music you select. In November 2006, the Seventh World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome presented Gabriel with the Man Of Peace award. The award, presented by former President of the USSR and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev and Walter Veltroni , Mayor of Rome, was an acknowledgement of Gabriel’s extensive contribution and work on behalf of human rights and peace. The award was presented in the Giulio Cesare Hall of the Campidoglio in Rome. Also at the end of 2006 Peter was awarded the Q Magazine Lifetime achievement award. Gabriel's most recent project is with the BBC World Service 's competition "The Next Big Thing" to find the world's best young band. Gabriel is judging the final six young artists with William Orbit , Geoff Travis and Angelique Kidjo . First reported in ''''. 2007-01-21 . Gabriel's new album, ''''. 2007-01-24 . On May 24th 2007, he was honoured with the Ivor Novello Award for lifetime achievement. FURTHER READING In 1976, Gabriel covered the Beatles song " Strawberry Fields Forever " for the musical documentary '' All This And World War II ''. He has also recorded covers of Leonard Cohen 's " Suzanne ," the Gershwin standard " Summertime ," The Magnetic Fields ' "The Book Of Love," and The Four Tops ' "I'll Be There." Gabriel's "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" from '' So '' refers to Milgram's Experiment . Gabriel's song " Big Time " was the official theme song of World Wrestling Entertainment's WrestleMania 22 . The 2003 videos from game companies Cyan Worlds and Ubisoft featured the song "Burn You Up, Burn You Down". The 2004 release of " or "Portal to Dreamworld". Gabriel also performs a voice acting part in the game. Gabriel was referenced in the December 10 2003 episode of South Park called Raisins in a parody of the John Cusack with boombox scene from Say Anything . DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Peter Gabriel discography REFERENCES SEE ALSO
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