|
PETER GABRIEL
- 1977
COUNTRY:
UNITED KINGDOM
GENRE(S):
ATMOSPHERIC ROCK, OTHERS, PROGRESSIVE ROCK
|
SIMILAR BANDS:
PETER HAMMILL, CARPTREE, LAZULI, JON ANDERSON, SHAUN GUERIN, CITIZEN CAIN, GENESIS, PHIL COLLINS, DAVID BOWIE, TONY LEVIN
|
Peter Gabriel has been one of music's leading personalities for thirty years. While some may dismiss him as progressive at the same time as he leaves Genesis, they forget the freedom and impertinence of one of the finest musicians of our time.
TORPEDO
- 01.12.2023
|
|
|
|
Peter Gabriel was born in Woking, Surrey, on February 13, 1950. His mother was a piano teacher, his aunt an opera singer, and his father a brilliant inventor who created interactive TV half a century before Canal Plus. In short, in his big house in the green British countryside, Peter Gabriel grew up in the midst of a family with a heavy heritage of gentle extravagance. A dreamy child, he studied the piano at an early age, then the flute and oboe, but preferred to go into the woods and bathe in streams, dreaming that young women would kiss the immersed part of his body. He wrote children's songs, then took up the drums more seriously, playing them in his first pre-teen band, "The Miros".
At the age of 13, Peter Gabriel's life took a double turn. He was sent to an austere English school, Charterhouse, which bordered on a caricature of austere, conservative education. There he meets a young pianist, Tony Banks, who becomes his best friend. Stuck in the macho, sinister world of Charterhouse, the two sensitive, creative boys support each other. Peter sneaks out to see Jill, his future wife. Tony and Peter play tennis together and then rush through the shortcut through the kitchens into the living room, where there's a piano. Here they record their first songs on a tape recorder. They soon met Mike Rutherford and Anthony Philips, with whom they formed Genesis (see the band's history).
Peter Gabriel was Genesis' singer-flautist from 1969 to 1975. He had a modest influence on the compositions, but much more on the mystical, baroque lyrics. On stage, he took to disguising himself to embody the characters in the songs. This process reached its climax in 1974. Peter wrote a short story entitled "The lamb lies down on Broadway", which became one of the band's concept albums. He was now more advanced musically, more mature than his companions. What's more, while the album was being recorded, his wife gave birth to their first daughter, and the child was in mortal danger after a difficult delivery. His life was in turmoil, and he no longer wanted to take on the role of Genesis leader. He talks to Tony about it, and decides to leave after the last concert of the tour in St Etienne. Before going on stage, he plays the funeral march on the oboe, and the Genesis page is turned. He always maintained excellent relations with the band members.
Peter Gabriel waited two years before releasing his first solo album. Time enough to forget about himself, look after his daughter, relearn the piano, take mime and acting lessons, and write a variety of potentially exploitable projects. Eventually, he opted for a much simpler, untitled album featuring Robert Fripp. Until 1982, three untitled albums with similar covers were released. Peter Gabriel gradually shifted from decadent rock habits to a more typical sound: the combination of his progressive spirit, synthetic sounds and World Music-style percussion. Over the course of his albums, he met Robert Fripp, Tony Levin and Kate Bush. By 1982, he was a respected artist known worldwide for his bold, inventive sounds. This first solo phase was crowned by a live album.
But Peter Gabriel was still not satisfied. He multiplies his projects. Film scores: "Birdie", then "The Last Temptation of Christ". He set up a world music festival, WOMAD, and a label, RealWorld, to produce artists from developing countries. His commitment led to the discovery of many artists whose sounds are magical and distant to our ears, of whom Youssou n'dour remains the finest example.
Peter Gabriel finally returned to solo projects in 1985, with the release of "So". He now asserts a mature, accomplished style that remains unchanged to this day. "So" is an extraordinary album, and remains the most emblematic of his work. This was followed by a media abyss, with Peter waiting until 1991 to release "Us", an album in the same vein as the previous one. Nevertheless, although he was out of the media spotlight for six years, he had gathered around him a very large community of fans and artists from all over the world, who hailed his integrity and great musical talent.
Once again, we had to wait many years for a Gab' album. In the 90s, he sang "Summertime" on a tribute album to Gershwin. Then, in 2000, he released "Ovo" for New Year's Day, an album that gave rise to a show. Finally, in 2002, he released "Up", an album of unprecedented force and intact genius.
Peter Gabriel fans won't have much to listen to after that: an album of covers ("Scratch My Back"), another revisiting a few songs in orchestral version ("New Blood"), a few live albums, compilations, sporadic appearances with other artists and a handful of singles. It would take 21 years for the gab' to finally release a new album in 2023, "i/o", which is on a par with his best productions.
More informations on http://www.petergabriel.com
|
DID YOU KNOW?
 Peter Gabriel was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 for his work with Genesis and his solo career.
Peter Gabriel is a fervent supporter of environmental protection and co-founded The Elders, an organization dedicated to solving global problems.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DERNIERS ARTICLES ASSOCIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|