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Peter Gabriel
Peter
Brian Gabriel (born February 13, 1950, in Chobham, Surrey,
England) is an English musician. He first came to fame as
the lead vocalist, flautist, and percussionist 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.
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'.
Genesis quickly became one of the most talked-about bands
in the UK 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.
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.
Gabriel's departure from Genesis (which stunned fans of the
group and left many commentators wondering if they 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.
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 time with his family. Although mainly happy with
the album, Peter Gabriel felt that the track "Here Comes
the Flood" was over-produced. A far simpler rendition
can be found on Robert Fripp's album, Exposure, in his first
compilation, and in his 2003 concert DVD. His recent live
performances of this track are even more raw with just piano
and vocals. The stripped-down version is on Gabriel's greatest
hits albums Shaking the Tree (1990) and Hit (2002).
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. (Fellow King Crimson member, drummer, Bill
Bruford, had previously served as Genesis' live drummer while
drummer Phil Collins attended to lead vocal duties in 1976
and 1977 including on the tour recorded as Seconds Out). Gabriel's
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. 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 (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.
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.
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, highlights being the 60's-tinged pop and suggestiveness
of "Sledgehammer" (a #1 smash in the US, ironically
knocked off the top by Gabriel's old band Genesis's "Invisible
Touch"), ""Big Time", the tear-jerking
ballad "Don't Give Up" with Kate Bush about the
devastation of unemployment and love song "In Your Eyes."
("In Your Eyes" had a conspicuous inclusion in the
1989 film Say Anything...; consequently, it was as popular
that year as it was initially in 1986.) Gabriel co-produced
So with Canadian 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.
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Gabriel played a prominent role in supporting Amnesty International
at this time, appearing on the 1986 U.S. A Conspiracy of Hope
Tour (where "Shock the Monkey"'s percussive echoing
around stadiums was a highlight) and on the 1988 worldwide
Human Rights Now! Tour.
In 1989, Gabriel released Passion, 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. Following
this, Gabriel recorded Us in 1992 (also co-produced with Daniel
Lanois), an album in which he deals with the pain of his life
problems of the previous years, his failed first marriage,
and the distance with his first daughter.
Gabriel's introspection within the context of the album continues
in "Digging in the Dirt", an extended metaphor which
Gabriel uses to describe his process of trying to unearth
the things inside of him that cause him trouble. Accompanied
by a graphic and disturbing video featuring footage of 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. The
result was one of his most personal albums, though one with
limited popular success. He followed the release of the album
with a world tour. One prominent feature was a set-up that
consisted of two stages: a round one and a square one, united
by a bridge that he crossed riding a boat.
In 2000, Gabriel 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 his work
in the late '70s and early '80s. The album also shows Gabriel's
continued freedom from the typical requirements for airplay
of songs: 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. --Bio Courtesy of wikipedia
Vist
the official Peter Gabriel web site www.petergabriel.com |
