Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel is an English singer, songwriter, musician and human rights activist from Cobham, United Kingdom. Born in 1950, he first comes to wider attention as the original frontman of Genesis, a role that establishes him as part of one of progressive rock’s best-known bands before he leaves in 1975 to focus on solo work. He is also associated with Garden Wall, Peace Choir, Big Blue Ball, The Spoken Word and The Conspirators.

Solo career

Gabriel begins his solo career with the single “Solsbury Hill”, which becomes a hit. His early solo work includes four self-titled studio albums, followed by So in 1986, his best-selling album. So is certified triple platinum in the UK and five times platinum in the US, and its single “Sledgehammer” wins nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards. The song is later reported by Time as the most played music video on MTV.

His later studio albums include Us (1992), OVO (2000), Up (2002), I/O (2023) and the planned follow-up O\I. He also releases Scratch My Back, a cover album, and New Blood. Other solo recordings include “Down to Earth”, made for Pixar’s WALL-E.

Projects, labels and collaborations

Gabriel co-founds WOMAD, the World of Music, Arts and Dance festival, in 1982 and promotes artists through Real World Records. He is also connected with Real World Music, Ltd., Cliofine Limited and Real World. His wider work includes the companion project And I’ll Scratch Yours, on which other artists cover his songs. He also co-founds OD2, an early online music download service.

He tours with the Back to Front Tour from 2012 to 2014 and later tours with Sting on the Rock Paper Scissors Tour in 2016.

Activism and recognition

Gabriel records the anti-apartheid single “Biko” in 1980 and takes part in Amnesty International’s Human Rights Now! tour in 1988. He co-founds Witness in 1992 and helps develop The Elders with Nelson Mandela and Richard Branson in 2007. His honours include three Brit Awards, six Grammy Awards, 13 MTV Video Music Awards, the BT Digital Music Awards Pioneer Award, the Q Lifetime Achievement Award, the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Polar Music Prize. He is named a BMI Icon, receives the Man of Peace award in 2006, is listed by Time among the 100 most influential people in 2008, and is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: with Genesis in 2010 and as a solo artist in 2014. He also receives an honorary doctorate from the University of South Australia in 2015.

Musical style

Gabriel is associated with art pop, art rock, chamber pop, crossover prog, experimental and folk, and his work spans progressive rock, rock, singer-songwriter and classic pop and rock audiences. He is often described through both his solo recordings and his earlier role in Genesis.