PETER GABRIEL

Random and bite-sized facts on all things on the mythical figure that is Peter Gabriel. Totally random but totally fascinating if you're into it. Do you know Peter Gabriel now?

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GABRIEL SPENT HOURS UNDER A SHEET OF GLASS

For the "Sledgehammer" video, Peter Gabriel lay beneath a sheet of glass while the crew filmed him frame by frame. The painstaking stop-motion technique helped create one of the most instantly recognisable music videos of the 1980s.

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AARDMAN ANIMATIONS HELPED CREATE SLEDGEHAMMER

The wonderfully surreal "Sledgehammer" video combined the work of Aardman Animations, later famous for "Wallace & Gromit", with animation by the Brothers Quay. Director Stephen R. Johnson brought these very different visual styles together.

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SLEDGEHAMMER REPLACED GENESIS AT NUMBER ONE

In July 1986, "Sledgehammer" reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, replacing Genesis' "Invisible Touch". Gabriel's solo career had briefly overtaken the chart success of the band he had left ten years earlier.

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DOLLY PARTON WAS CONSIDERED FOR "DON'T GIVE UP"

Gabriel originally approached Dolly Parton about singing the female part on "Don't Give Up". She declined, and Kate Bush eventually recorded the duet with him. Their voices became one of the defining features of the song.

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KATE BUSH SANG ON GABRIEL'S MUSIC SIX YEARS EARLIER

Before "Don't Give Up", Kate Bush sang backing vocals on two tracks from Gabriel's 1980 album "Peter Gabriel", usually known as "Melt": "Games Without Frontiers" and "No Self Control". Their musical connection went back further than their famous duet.

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"BIKO" DREW ON A SOUTH AFRICAN SONG

The musical inspiration for "Biko" partly came from "Shosholoza", a traditional Southern African song Gabriel had encountered through the film "Dingaka". He used the influence to help shape the song's communal, chant-like sound.

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GABRIEL BUILT SONGS AROUND RHYTHM

For his third solo album, released in 1980, Gabriel increasingly started with rhythmic patterns rather than conventional melodies. The album, commonly called "Melt", helped establish the drum-led sound that became a major part of his solo work.

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"SO" WAS RECORDED IN A CONVERTED COWSHED

Peter Gabriel recorded much of "So" at Ashcombe House, his home in Somerset. The studio was a converted cowshed, giving him the freedom to experiment without paying for expensive studio time. Producer Daniel Lanois later recalled that the album took almost exactly a year to complete.

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THE ALBUM WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO BE CALLED "GOOD"

Before settling on "So", Gabriel considered calling the album "Good". The final title was deliberately short and unusual, following several earlier solo albums that were identified by their covers or nicknames rather than conventional titles.

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THE COVER PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN BY TREVOR KEY

The close-up portrait on "So" was photographed by Trevor Key, known for his work with synthesiser designer Peter Zinovieff and for photographing electronic instruments. Peter Saville designed the cover, with typography by Brett Wickens. It was a striking change from Gabriel's earlier album covers, which often obscured or transformed his face.

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"SLEDGEHAMMER" WAS A TRIBUTE TO THE SOUL MUSIC HE GREW UP WITH

Gabriel said "Sledgehammer" was partly an homage to the soul and blues music he loved growing up. He was particularly keen to work with brass players who had previously played with Otis Redding, his favourite singer.

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LAURIE ANDERSON HELPED WRITE "THIS IS THE PICTURE"

"This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)" grew out of Gabriel's collaboration with American experimental artist Laurie Anderson. They had been approached by video artist Nam June Paik for a television project and had only about a week to write, record and make the video. The track later appeared on "So".

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YOUSSOU N'DOUR'S VOICE WAS A TURNING POINT

Gabriel described recording with Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour on "In Your Eyes" as especially exciting. Around this period, Gabriel was travelling in Africa and becoming increasingly inspired by the rhythms and vocal styles he heard. N'Dour's contribution became one of the song's defining moments.

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"IN YOUR EYES" WASN'T A UK SINGLE

Despite becoming one of Gabriel's best-known songs, "In Your Eyes" was not released as a single in the UK in 1986. It was released as a single in the United States, where it reached number 26 and spent 28 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.

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"US" STARTED WITH 23 LYRIC IDEAS

Peter Gabriel began work on "Us" with 23 different lyric ideas. As the album developed, he realised that the more personal material was dominating the writing, so the record gradually became much more about relationships and his own life.

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"DIGGING IN THE DIRT" TOOK TWO YEARS TO MAKE

"Digging in the Dirt" wasn't recorded in one burst. Work on the song stretched over about two years, with sessions taking place at Real World Studios in England and Daniel Lanois' Kingsway Studio in New Orleans.

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THE ENGINEERS KEPT ABOUT A THOUSAND DAT TAPES

During the making of "Us", the engineers were constantly running DAT machines to capture reference recordings. By the end of the project they had around a thousand DAT tapes, allowing Gabriel and the team to go back and find performances they might otherwise have lost.

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SINÉAD O'CONNOR CAME TO REAL WORLD TO SING

Peter Gabriel met Sinéad O'Connor at an Amnesty International concert in Chile in 1990. He subsequently invited her to Real World Studios, where she sang on both "Come Talk to Me" and "Blood of Eden".

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JOHN PAUL JONES PLAYED ON "US"

Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones appears on "Us", adding bass to "Fourteen Black Paintings". Gabriel also brought Brian Eno, Peter Hammill and Sinéad O'Connor into the project, making the album a remarkably varied collaboration.

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THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED IN THREE COUNTRIES

"Us" was mainly recorded at Gabriel's Real World Studios in Wiltshire, but sessions also took place at Kingsway Studio in New Orleans and Studio 2000 in Dakar, Senegal. The album's mixture of electronic technology and musicians from different musical traditions came together across those sessions.

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GABRIEL'S OLD GENESIS BASS DRUM CAME BACK FOR "US"

During the first full-band sessions for "Us", drummer Manu Katché used an African percussion setup that included Peter Gabriel's old bass drum from his Genesis days. A piece of Gabriel's earliest musical life had quietly found its way into the sessions for his sixth solo album.

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GENESIS ALMOST HAD A VERY DIFFERENT NAME

When Peter Gabriel and his school friends were forming the band that became Genesis, they considered the name "Gabriel's Angels". The name Genesis was eventually chosen instead.

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GABRIEL WAS ONLY 17 WHEN GENESIS MADE THEIR FIRST RECORD

Peter Gabriel was just 17 when Genesis recorded their first single, "The Silent Sun", in 1968. The band had formed while its members were still at school.

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THE FOX COSTUME WAS HIS WIFE'S DRESS

For the famous Genesis performance where Gabriel appeared as a fox, he wore a red dress belonging to his wife. He added the fox's head and walked onstage during "The Musical Box". The rest of Genesis initially thought a fan had invaded the stage.

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HE LEFT GENESIS IN 1975

Gabriel left Genesis in 1975 after the "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" tour. He later explained that the pressures surrounding the band, including the birth of his first child, had become a major factor in his decision.

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HE HELPED BRING WORLD MUSIC TO A MUCH WIDER AUDIENCE

Gabriel founded WOMAD in 1980, with the first festival taking place in 1982. The idea was to bring musicians, artists and performers from different cultures together rather than treating non-Western music as something separate.

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REAL WORLD RECORDS GREW OUT OF WOMAD

Gabriel founded Real World Records in 1989 partly because WOMAD had introduced him to so many musicians who lacked access to modern recording facilities. The label gave artists from around the world the opportunity to record and release their music internationally.

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REAL WORLD STUDIOS WAS DESIGNED TO REMOVE THE WALL BETWEEN MUSICIANS AND ENGINEERS

Gabriel disliked the traditional studio arrangement where musicians were isolated from the producer and engineer behind glass. When he created Real World Studios, he deliberately designed the main recording room so musicians, engineers and producers could work together in the same space.

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THE STUDIO WAS BUILT AROUND AN OLD WATER MILL

Real World Studios was built in a group of old buildings at Box in Wiltshire. The site had previously been a water mill, and Gabriel specifically wanted a location near water when he was looking for somewhere to build the studio.

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GABRIEL HAS RELEASED MUSIC FOR THREE FILMS

Alongside his studio albums, Gabriel has written music for three major films: "Birdy", "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence". The soundtracks allowed him to explore music that didn't fit neatly into his normal album work.

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HE WAS AROUND 130 SONGS INTO "UP"

When Gabriel was working on "Up", he said he had around 130 songs in various stages of completion from the previous decade. He joked that he enjoyed making music more than selling it, and that deadlines were something he simply passed through on the way to finishing.

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HE WANTED REAL WORLD TO FEEL LIKE A TRAIN STATION

Gabriel once described Real World Studios as being less like an isolated retreat and more like a train station, with musicians arriving from all over the world. He liked the constant flow of different artists because it kept him exposed to new music.

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GABRIEL DIDN'T TOUR "SO" STRAIGHT AWAY

"SO" was released in May 1986, but Gabriel didn't begin the full "This Way Up" tour until November. Before that, he joined Amnesty International's "A Conspiracy of Hope" concerts in America alongside U2, Sting and other artists.

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THE "SO" TOUR LASTED ALMOST A YEAR

Gabriel's "This Way Up" tour began in Rochester, New York, on 7 November 1986 and didn't finish until 9 October 1987 in Athens. It covered 93 shows across North America and Europe.

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HE TOURED WITH THE MUSICIANS WHO MADE "SO"

Gabriel took several of the musicians who had played on "So" out on the road, including Tony Levin, David Rhodes and Manu Katché. The live band therefore wasn't simply recreating the record — many of the people who created its sound were actually onstage.

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GABRIEL'S AMNESTY TOUR CHANGED HIS TOURING PLANS

When Bono asked Gabriel to join the 1986 "A Conspiracy of Hope" tour, Gabriel cancelled some of his planned "So" promotion in Spain, Portugal and Japan to take part. He played only six Amnesty shows, but they came at a crucial moment just as "So" was becoming a huge success.

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THE "SECRET WORLD" TOUR USED TWO STAGES

For the 1993 "Secret World" tour, Gabriel performed on a rectangular stage at the back of the arena and a circular stage in the middle of the audience. The two were connected by a long walkway, turning the stage itself into part of the show.

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THE TELEPHONE BOX WAS PART OF THE "SECRET WORLD" SHOW

A giant red telephone box appeared in the "Secret World" production. Robert Lepage developed the idea around the telephone imagery in "Come Talk to Me", with the telephone box connected to the circular stage by a long cable.

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GABRIEL WENT TEN YEARS WITHOUT A FULL TOUR

After the "Secret World" tour in 1993, Gabriel didn't mount another full tour until "Growing Up" in 2002–03. His official site describes "Growing Up Live" as his first live tour in ten years.

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HE STARTED RECORDING EVERY SHOW FOR THE ENCORE SERIES

From the 2003 "Still Growing Up" tour onwards, Gabriel began recording his concerts directly from the mixing desk. The "Encore Series" turned individual performances into complete, unedited two-CD releases, with each city getting its own recording.

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GABRIEL SANG "BIKO" FOR MANDELA AT WEMBLEY

On 11 June 1988, Peter Gabriel performed "Biko" at Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday tribute concert at Wembley Stadium. He joined Simple Minds and Youssou N'Dour for the performance, in front of a huge international television audience.

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THE CONCERT WAS BROADCAST AROUND THE WORLD

The 1988 Wembley concert lasted around 11 hours and was broadcast internationally. The Anti-Apartheid Movement says it reached more than 60 countries, helping turn Mandela's imprisonment into an even bigger international issue.

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GABRIEL JOINED SIMPLE MINDS ON STAGE

Gabriel didn't perform "Biko" alone at Wembley. He joined Simple Minds and Youssou N'Dour during the band's set, making the performance an unusual meeting of British rock, Senegalese music and Gabriel's own South African-inspired song.

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MANDELA LATER THANKED THE PEOPLE WHO HAD CAMPAIGNED FOR HIM

When Mandela finally appeared at Wembley in April 1990, he thanked the people who had campaigned for his freedom. The Anti-Apartheid Movement records that Peter Gabriel was among the artists involved in the earlier 1988 concert.

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GABRIEL LATER PERFORMED AT MANDELA'S 46664 CONCERTS

Gabriel's connection with Mandela continued long after apartheid. He performed at the 46664 AIDS-awareness concert in Johannesburg in December 2007, part of the series named after Mandela's prison number.

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HE PLAYED ONLY ONE SONG AT 46664 ARCTIC

When Gabriel joined Mandela for the 46664 Arctic concert in Tromsø, Norway, in 2005, he deliberately performed just one track. His official website announced that he would appear without his band for the performance.

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KATE BUSH WAS ALREADY ON GABRIEL'S RECORDS

Kate Bush had already sung on Peter Gabriel's "Games Without Frontiers" and "No Self Control" before they recorded "Don't Give Up". On "Games", her backing vocals are part of the finished track alongside David Rhodes and Larry Fast.

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"DON'T GIVE UP" WAS WRITTEN FOR GABRIEL AND BUSH

Kate Bush sang the female part on "Don't Give Up", released as a single in October 1986. It became one of the best-known recordings either artist made with the other.

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PAULA COLE LATER TOOK KATE BUSH'S PART

Seven years later, Paula Cole joined Gabriel's "Secret World" tour and sang "Don't Give Up" with him. The performance was filmed in Modena, Italy for "Secret World Live", effectively putting Cole in the role Bush had occupied on the original recording.

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COLE WAS ALMOST THROWN STRAIGHT ON STAGE

Paula Cole was recommended to Gabriel by his studio engineer Kevin Killen. Gabriel phoned her in San Francisco and she flew to Mannheim, Germany, where she had only a brief rehearsal before performing with him in front of 16,000 people.

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COLE'S FIRST GABRIEL SHOW WAS FILMED

Paula Cole had only just joined the "Secret World" tour when the November 1993 shows in Modena were filmed. The resulting "Secret World Live" became her first major international exposure.

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RHODES AND LEVIN BECAME GABRIEL'S CONSTANTS

David Rhodes and Tony Levin became two of the most enduring members of Peter Gabriel's musical world. Rhodes joined Gabriel around 1980, while Levin had first worked with him in the late 1970s. Both were still part of Gabriel's touring band decades later.

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THE "SO" BAND WASN'T JUST A STUDIO BAND

When Gabriel took "So" on tour in 1986, David Rhodes and Tony Levin went with him, alongside Manu Katché and David Sancious. The same four musicians were brought back together for the 2012–14 "Back to Front" shows.

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LEVIN WAS ALREADY A GABRIEL VETERAN

Tony Levin joined Peter Gabriel's touring band in 1977. He had originally been a New York session musician, but working with Gabriel changed the direction of his career. He later became closely associated with King Crimson too.

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RHODES PLAYED THE 12-STRING ON "IN YOUR EYES"

David Rhodes has said he used an old Shergold 12-string guitar belonging to Gabriel while working on "In Your Eyes". He described it as difficult to play, but said it had exactly the right sound.

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THEY RECORDED WITH VERY LITTLE SPACE LEFT

During the "So" sessions, Rhodes has recalled that there weren't enough tape tracks for everything they wanted to record. He and producer Daniel Lanois sometimes recorded their parts onto the same track, meaning they had to get both performances right together.

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GENESIS WASN'T THEIR FIRST NAME

When the band was being formed at Charterhouse in 1967, producer Jonathan King suggested "Genesis". The name he rejected first was "Gabriel's Angels".

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GABRIEL WAS ONLY 17 ON THE FIRST SINGLE

Peter Gabriel was 17 when Genesis recorded "The Silent Sun", their first single, in 1968. It was released the following year on Decca.

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GENESIS STARTED WITH FIVE SCHOOLBOYS

The original Genesis lineup included Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Anthony Phillips and drummer Chris Stewart. They came together from two school bands at Charterhouse.

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GABRIEL WAS STILL IN GENESIS WHEN "THE LAMB" WAS WRITTEN

"The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" was Genesis's final album with Peter Gabriel. Gabriel wrote the lyrics and story, while the other members developed much of the music during the sessions.

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"THE LAMB" HAD A VERY STRANGE RECORDING LOCATION

Much of "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" was worked on at Headley Grange in Hampshire, a country house that had previously been used by Led Zeppelin. The sessions have since become famous for their chaotic atmosphere.

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GABRIEL'S DEPARTURE WASN'T IMMEDIATE

Peter Gabriel announced that he was leaving Genesis in 1975, but the band still had to finish commitments after "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". His first solo album didn't appear until February 1977.

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