110-447: Secret World Tour was a 1993–94 concert tour mounted by British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel to promote his 1992 album Us . The stage show was designed by French-Canadian Robert Lepage , expressing the themes of tension and union between male and female forces, as represented by two stages linked by moving walkway . Three tour legs with elaborate staging were interspersed with two legs of much simpler WOMAD festival dates. Many of
220-500: A Yamaha PM4000, assisted by audio crew leader Huw Richards mixing drum microphones on a Yamaha PM3000. A third mixer made by Sonosax was used to blend in pre-recorded tracks. The outboard gear included Lexicon PCM70 reverbs, TC Electronic graphic equalizers, and BSS Varicurves—all of these digital devices were controlled by an Apple PowerBook sending MIDI scene changes. The band's stage monitor system relied largely on radio-frequency wireless in-ear monitors (IEM), along with
330-528: A demo tape of songs. Gabriel and Banks contributed "She Is Beautiful", the first song they wrote together. The tape was sent to former Charterhouse pupil turned musician Jonathan King , who was immediately enthusiastic, largely due to Gabriel's vocals. He signed the group and suggested a band name of Gabriel's Angels, but it was unpopular with the other members. They settled on King's other suggestion, Genesis . After King suggested they stick to more straightforward pop, Gabriel and Banks wrote " The Silent Sun " as
440-761: A public school in Godalming , Surrey. There, he was a drummer and vocalist for his first band: the trad jazz outfit the Milords (or M'Lords). This was followed by a holiday band called the Spoken Word, which recorded an acetate in 1966. Gabriel played drums in both these bands, and his schoolmate Mike Rutherford commented in 1985 that "Pete was - and still is, I think - a frustrated drummer." In 1965, Gabriel formed Garden Wall with school friends Tony Banks on piano, Johnny Trapman on trumpet, and Chris Stewart on drums. Banks had started at Charterhouse at
550-695: A European leg from September 2013 to December 2014. In 2014, Gabriel was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin . They performed Gabriel's "Washing of the Water" together. Gabriel performed " Heroes " by David Bowie with an orchestra at a concert in Berlin to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 2014. In 2016, he
660-525: A Puerto Rican youth living in New York City, and insisted upon writing all the lyrics himself, whereas on previous albums the lyrics had been divided among all the members of Genesis. Tensions increased during this period, and Gabriel split with the band to pursue a film project with William Friedkin , only to rejoin a week later. Matters were complicated further with the difficult birth of Gabriel's first daughter, resulting in periods of time away from
770-432: A clear basin of water, captured by a video camera under the stage aimed upward through the water. The hit song " Sledgehammer " was followed by " Secret World ", the tour's theme song and the show finale . Images of revolving furniture transitioned to revolving heads of the band members. A stream of luggage moved down the conveyor belt to the square stage, reminiscent of an airport baggage handling system , to indicate that
880-497: A collection of his own songs with an orchestra. The result, New Blood , was released in October 2011. In September 2012, Gabriel kicked off his Back to Front Tour which featured So (1986) performed in its entirety with the original musicians who played on the album, to mark its 25th anniversary. When the opening leg finished a month later, Gabriel took one year off to travel the world with his children. The tour resumed with
990-544: A fan invading the stage. The incident received front-page coverage in Melody Maker , giving them national exposure which allowed the group to double their performance fee. One of Gabriel's stories was printed on the liner notes of their live album, Genesis Live (1973). By late 1973, following the success of Selling England by the Pound (1973), which centred on English themes and literary and materialistic references,
1100-417: A few earlier compositions for the set list of Secret World, taking songs primarily from Us , but also from So and other works. A handful of songs called for female vocals, especially " Blood of Eden " with its theme of sexual union. For these roles, Gabriel began the tour with British musician Joy Askew as second keyboardist and vocal duet partner, then he brought Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor onto
1210-501: A few traditional foldback loudspeakers for effects, and to serve as a back-up in case the IEMs stopped working. Gabriel was hesitant to change his monitor style and accept IEMs, but upon testing them he was thoroughly convinced. Independent engineer Bryan Olson of New York–based Firehouse Productions provided some of the equipment and mixed the band's monitors. The complex production suffered from too few technical rehearsals before opening to
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#17327917336171320-444: A fox's head, mimicking the album's cover. The idea of the fox costume had been suggested to him by Paul Conroy and Glen Colson, employees of Genesis's record label, Charisma Records . Gabriel said he consulted the rest of Genesis about the fox costume but grew tired of arguing about it, but the other members all maintained that nothing was said about it beforehand and that when Gabriel came out in costume they initially mistook him for
1430-483: A frontman, and during an encore performance of " The Knife " on 19 June 1971, he took a running jump into the audience, expecting them to catch him, only for them to instead move out of the way and leave him to land on the floor, breaking an ankle. He consequently had to perform Genesis's next several shows with a wheelchair and crutches. Also during the Trespass tour, he started to recite stories to introduce numbers as
1540-521: A full-time working band. In early 1970, Gabriel played the flute on Mona Bone Jakon by Cat Stevens . The second studio album by Genesis, Trespass (1970), marked Gabriel expanding his musical output with the flute, accordion, tambourine and bass drum, and incorporating his soul music influences. Gabriel explained that he was driven to play these instruments because he was uncomfortable with doing nothing during instrumental sections. He would have preferred to play keyboard instruments, but "Tony [Banks]
1650-585: A guest artist before she formally joined the tour. During the WOMAD festival in Chile, local stars Inti-Illimani shared the stage with Gabriel's band to play the song " Wallflower " from Gabriel's self-titled 1982 album . Jazz drummer Billy Cobham filled in for Manu Katché in May 1994 for a few dates when Katché was out sick. French-Armenian musician Levon Minassian played alone on the duduk at some concerts, following
1760-483: A lengthy argument with Banks, he was allowed to play a minor keyboard part on " I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) ", only for this part to be left out of the mix. "I Know What I Like" became Genesis's first hit single, reaching number 21 in the UK Singles Chart . The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) was Gabriel's final studio album with Genesis. He devised its story of the spiritual journey of Rael,
1870-514: A noise processing technique which came about while recording drums on " Intruder ", one of the tracks featuring Phil Collins . Collins implemented the reverb to great effect on his debut solo single " In the Air Tonight " and it has since became a signature sound of the 1980s and beyond. Upon completion Atlantic Records , Gabriel's US distributor who had released his first two albums, refused to put out Peter Gabriel 3: Melt as they thought it
1980-507: A pastiche of the Bee Gees , one of King's favourite bands. It became Genesis's first single, released in 1968. It was included on their debut studio album, From Genesis to Revelation (1968). After the commercial failure of From Genesis to Revelation , the band went their separate ways, and Gabriel continued his studies at Charterhouse. In September 1969, Gabriel, Banks, Rutherford and Phillips decided to drop their plans and make Genesis
2090-539: A powerful and original way". Gabriel used musicians from WOMAD to perform instrumental pieces with focus on rhythm and African, Middle Eastern and European textures, using the National Sound Archive in London for additional inspiration. The initial plan had dedicated ten weeks for recording before it was cut to three, leaving Gabriel unable to finish all the pieces he originally wanted to record. When
2200-515: A private primary school in Woking , Surrey, followed by St Andrews Preparatory School for Boys in Horsell , Surrey. During his time at the latter, his teachers noticed his singing talent, but he opted for piano lessons from his mother and developed an interest in drumming. At age 10, he purchased a floor tom-tom. Gabriel remarked of his early influences, " Hymns played quite a large part. They were
2310-569: A second system to ease the gruelling back-to-back installation/tear-down schedule. A video projection screen was rigged over the square stage; it could be lowered to the stage, or revolved in place by motors. A translucent white dome and associated lighting rig was flown over the circular stage with the ability to lower the dome on command, completely covering the stage. Trapdoors in the two stages, equipped with lifts, allowed performers to rise up from below, or descend out of view. The moving walkway brought performers and props smoothly from one stage to
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#17327917336172420-468: A shipwreck raft from the circular stage to the square stage where he pantomimed behind the screen, lit from behind to show a giant silhouette. Gabriel's song "Lovetown", from the 1993 film Philadelphia , preceded the feminine-themed " Digging in the Dirt ", for which Gabriel wore a miniature video camera to provide distorted views of his face to the video projection screen, intercut later with distortions of
2530-532: A typical Genesis show had Gabriel wear fluorescent make-up, a cape, and bat wings for " Watcher of the Skies ", a helmet, chest plate, and a shield for " Dancing with the Moonlit Knight ", a crown of thorns and a flower mask for " Supper's Ready ", and an old man mask for "The Musical Box". Gabriel continued to fight for involvement with Genesis's keyboards throughout his time with the group, and following
2640-518: A way to cover the silence between songs while the band tuned their instruments, or while technical faults were being fixed. These stories were all improvised on the spot, and evolved as the tour went along. The opener of their next studio album, Nursery Cryme (1971), " The Musical Box ", was their first song in which Gabriel incorporated a story and characters into the lyrics; the lyrics to previous story-based Genesis songs such as "White Mountain" and "One-Eyed Hound" were all written by other members of
2750-517: Is an autobiographical song about a spiritual experience on top of Solsbury Hill in Somerset. "It's about being prepared to lose what you have for what you might get ..." said Gabriel. "It's about letting go." Gabriel toured the album with an 80-date tour from March to November 1977 with a band that included guitarist Robert Fripp of King Crimson often playing off stage and introduced as "Dusty Rhodes". In late 1977, Gabriel started recording
2860-497: Is his best-selling release and is certified triple platinum in the UK and five times platinum in the US. The album's most successful single, " Sledgehammer ", won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards and, according to a report in 2011, it was MTV 's most played music video of all time. Gabriel has been a champion of world music for much of his career. He co-founded
2970-499: Is to do it like a magazine, which will only come out once a year," he remarked in 1978. "So it's the same title, the same lettering in the same place; only the photo is different." Each album has, however, been given a nickname by fans, usually relating to the album cover. Peter Gabriel (a.k.a. Peter Gabriel 1: Car ) was released in February 1977 and reached No. 7 in the UK and No. 38 in the US. Its lead single , " Solsbury Hill ",
3080-856: The 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, but FIFA cancelled the idea in January 2006. At the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , Gabriel performed John Lennon 's " Imagine ". 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 General Secretary of the USSR and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev and Walter Veltroni , Mayor of Rome,
3190-525: The 2008 Academy Awards telecast because producers of the show were limiting his performance of "Down to Earth" from WALL-E to 90 seconds. According to Gabriel, his window was reduced to 65 seconds. John Legend and the Soweto Gospel Choir performed the song in his stead. Gabriel's 2009 tour appearances included Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Venezuela. His first ever performance in Peru
3300-552: The Brothers Quay and won a record nine MTV Video Music Awards in 1987. In 1998, it was named MTV's number one animated video of all time. So earned Gabriel two wins at the 1987 Brit Awards for Best British Male Solo Artist and Best British Video (for "Sledgehammer"). He was nominated for four Grammy Awards : Best Male Rock Vocal Performance , Song of the Year , and Record of the Year for "Sledgehammer", and Album of
3410-607: The Civil Service Department Store on the Strand, London . Gabriel's father was an electrical engineer and dairy farm-owner from a long-established family of London timber importers and merchants, and his mother was from a musical family. Gabriel was raised at Deep Pool Farm, Coxhill, a Victorian manor just outside Chobham. His great-great-great-uncle, Sir Thomas Gabriel, 1st Baronet , was Lord Mayor of London from 1866 to 1877. Gabriel attended Cable House,
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3520-650: The Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 1993 and 1994 for the videos to "Digging in the Dirt" and "Steam", respectively. Gabriel also won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video for his Secret World Live video. In 1997, Gabriel was invited to participate in the direction and soundtrack of the Millennium Dome Show , a live multimedia performance staged in the Millennium Dome in London throughout 2000. Gabriel said
3630-490: The Pixar film WALL-E soundtrack in 2008 with Thomas Newman , including the film's closing song, " Down to Earth ", for which they received the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media . The song was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and an Academy Award for Best Original Song . In February 2009, Gabriel announced that he would not be performing on
3740-641: The Polar Music Prize . He was made a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI London Awards for his "influence on generations of music makers". In recognition of his many years of human rights activism, he received the Man of Peace award from the Nobel Peace Prize laureates in 2006, and Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008. AllMusic described Gabriel as "one of rock's most ambitious, innovative musicians, as well as one of its most political". He
3850-570: The Rosemont Horizon Arena , and the uneven mix marred by occasional voices or instruments delivered piercingly loud. Retrospective reviews based on the concert recording Secret World Live are universally positive. In a Guardian article published in 2003, James Griffiths wrote that Gabriel's Secret World Tour staging and musicianship combined well: "The total effect was surprisingly focused and intimate, with Gabriel's confessional singing style providing an emotional anchor for
3960-584: The WOMAD festival in 1982. He has continued to focus on producing and promoting world music through his Real World Records label. He has pioneered digital distribution methods for music, co-founding OD2 , one of the first online music download services. Gabriel has also been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts. In 1980, he released the anti- apartheid single " Biko ". He has participated in several human-rights benefit concerts, including Amnesty International 's Human Rights Now! tour in 1988, and co-founded
4070-638: The Witness human rights organisation in 1992. Gabriel developed The Elders with Richard Branson , which was launched by Nelson Mandela in 2007. Gabriel has won three Brit Awards —winning Best British Male in 1987, six Grammy Awards , thirteen MTV Video Music Awards , the first Pioneer Award at the BT Digital Music Awards , the Q magazine Lifetime Achievement, the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement, and
4180-545: The Woodstock '94 festival in New York with Gabriel as headliner at the main stage. Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter and human rights activist. He was the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis . After leaving the band in 1975, he launched a solo career with " Solsbury Hill " as his first single. His fifth studio album, So (1986),
4290-525: The second Peter Gabriel studio album (a.k.a. Peter Gabriel 2: Scratch ) in the Netherlands, with Fripp as producer. Its "Mother of Violence" was written by Gabriel and his first wife Jill. Released in June 1978, the album went to No. 10 in the UK and No. 45 in the US. Gabriel's tour for the album lasted from August to December 1978. On this tour, Gabriel and his band shaved their heads. Gabriel recorded
4400-513: The third Peter Gabriel studio album (a.k.a. Peter Gabriel 3: Melt ) in England in 1979. He developed an interest in African music and drum machines and later hailed the record as his artistic breakthrough. Gabriel banned the use of cymbals on the album in order to grant more sonic space for instruments like keyboards and synths. This resulted in the creation of the distinctive gated reverb ,
4510-413: The 1986 Kate Bush collaboration " Don't Give Up " as an encore duet near the end of the concert. Cole was only a few days into the tour when the performance was filmed for Secret World Live , a concert video which earned a Grammy Award. The tour was Cole's first international exposure, and it boosted her solo career. Guest musicians appeared at certain concerts. Sinéad O'Connor appeared sporadically as
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4620-439: The 1990s. He planned its release in the US without assistance from a label; he raised £2 million towards the recording and distribution of the album with Ingenious Media with the worldwide release handled through Warner Bros. Records . Gabriel appeared on a nationwide tour for the album in 2009. Gabriel was a judge for the 6th and 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists. Gabriel contributed to
4730-585: The 1996 Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video , naming director Francois Girard and producer Robert Warr. Gabriel employed an innovative approach in the marketing of the Us album. Not wishing to feature only images of himself, he asked artist filmmakers Nichola Bruce and Michael Coulson to co-ordinate a marketing campaign using contemporary artists. Artists such as Helen Chadwick , Rebecca Horn , Nils-Udo , Andy Goldsworthy , David Mach and Yayoi Kusama collaborated to create original artworks for each song on
4840-726: The Australian film Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) with worldbeat music. Released in June 2002, Long Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score – Motion Picture. Later in 2002, Up , Gabriel's first full-length studio album in a decade, was released in September 2002. He started work on it in 1995 before production halted three years later to focus time on other projects and collaborations. Work resumed in 2000, by which time Gabriel had 130 potential songs for
4950-498: The Dirt " directed by John Downer. Accompanied by a video featuring Gabriel covered in snails and various foliage, this song made reference to the psychotherapy which had taken up much of Gabriel's time since the previous studio album. Gabriel describes his struggle to get through to his daughter in " Come Talk to Me " directed by Matt Mahurin , which featured backing vocals by Sinéad O'Connor . O'Connor also lent vocals to " Blood of Eden ", directed by Nichola Bruce and Michael Coulson,
5060-452: The UK and No. 28 in the US. The second single, " Shock the Monkey ", became Gabriel's first top 40 hit in the US, reaching No. 29. To handle American distribution, Gabriel signed with Geffen Records , which—initially unbeknown to Gabriel—titled the album Security to differentiate it from the first three. Gabriel's 1982 tour lasted a year and became his first to make a profit. Recordings from
5170-534: The UK. Gabriel toured worldwide with the New Blood Tour from March 2010 to July 2012 with a 54-piece orchestra and his daughter Melanie and Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun on backing vocals. The follow-up, And I'll Scratch Yours , was released in September 2013. During the New Blood Tour, Gabriel decided to expand on the Scratch My Back concept and, with Metcalfe's assistance, re-record
5280-516: The US alone. It produced one of Gabriel's signature songs, that has become a concert staple: In Your Eyes , with a distinctive vocal appearance by Youssou N'Dour , and three UK top 20 singles: " Sledgehammer ", " Big Time " and " Don't Give Up ", a duet with Kate Bush . The first went to No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 , Gabriel's only single of his career to do so. It knocked " Invisible Touch " by Genesis, his former band, out of
5390-685: The US in the months leading up to the Secret World Tour. These "warm-up" performances did not include the elaborate staging design. The first official Secret World Tour date with extensive staging was performed on 13 April 1993 in Sweden at the Stockholm Globe Arena . Gabriel considered the preview concerts, the Secret World concerts, and the WOMAD festivals to be part of the same 17-month tour which ended 14 August 1994 at
5500-426: The US. Up until 1989, Gabriel was managed by Gail Colson . From 1989 to 1992, Gabriel recorded his follow-up to So , titled Us . The album saw Gabriel address personal themes, including his failed first marriage, psychotherapy, and the growing distance between him and his eldest daughter at the time. Gabriel's introspection within the context of the album Us can be seen in the first single release " Digging in
5610-687: The United Kingdom charts, was certified 2× Platinum in Italy, and was certified Gold in the United States. Gabriel's sixth studio album Us was released at the end of September 1992, and was very quickly certified Gold in the UK. Responding to this success, Gabriel planned a concert tour. In November, he spoke to Quebec-based stage director Robert Lepage about putting together a show based on extensive use of video projection screens , and multiple stages linked by railway track . However, U2
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#17327917336175720-531: The Year for So . Gabriel toured worldwide to support So with the This Way Up Tour, from November 1986 to October 1987. In 1988, Gabriel became involved as composer for Martin Scorsese 's film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Scorsese had contacted Gabriel about the project since 1983 and wished, according to Gabriel, to present "the struggle between the humanity and divinity of Christ in
5830-517: The album, and spent almost two years on it before management at Virgin Records pushed Gabriel to complete it. Up reached No. 9 in the US and No. 11 in the UK, and supported with a world tour with a band that included Gabriel's daughter Melanie on backing vocals. The tour was documented with two live DVDs: Growing Up Live (2003) and Still Growing Up: Live & Unwrapped (2005). In 2004, Gabriel met with his former Genesis bandmates to discuss
5940-503: The audience in a crucifix position. The stunt became a staple of his live shows. On Peter Gabriel four (a.k.a. Peter Gabriel 4: Security ), Gabriel took on greater responsibility over the production than before. He recorded it in 1981 and 1982, solely on digital tape, with a mobile studio parked at his home, Ashcombe House , in Somerset. Gabriel utilized a Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer and incorporated electronic instrumentation with sampling world beat percussion. "Over
6050-431: The band of his intention to leave at its conclusion. Rutherford recalled that they all "could see it coming." Music critics often focused their reviews on Gabriel's theatrics and took the band's musical performance as secondary, which irritated the rest of the band. The tour ended in May 1975, after which Gabriel wrote a piece for the press on 15 August, entitled "Out, Angels Out", about his departure, his disillusion with
6160-425: The band. The other members complained that Gabriel was showing a lack of commitment to the band. Gabriel saw this as a "really unsympathetic handling of my dealing with a family crisis" and said it caused a breakdown in his relationships with the rest of Genesis; Rutherford later admitted that they had been overly fixated on their music and were very unhelpful in what must have been a difficult time for Gabriel. Gabriel
6270-449: The business, and his desire to spend time with his family. The news stunned fans of the group and left commentators wondering if the band could survive without him. His exit resulted in drummer Phil Collins reluctantly taking over on lead vocals after 400 singers were fruitlessly auditioned. Gabriel described his break from the music business as his "learning period", during which he took piano and music lessons. He had recorded demos by
6380-485: The circular stage into the light to sing backing vocals. Gabriel emerged from the telephone box, straining toward his female counterpart with the handset cord taut with tension, pulling further and further from the box as Gabriel moves by way of the conveyor belt toward the circular stage. "Quiet Steam" served as a prelude to the masculine and energetic " Steam ", performed by the ensemble. Industrial mechanisms were shown on screen, and jets of visible white vapor shot up from
6490-596: The closest I came to soul music before I discovered soul music. There are certain hymns that you can scream your lungs out on, and I used to love that. It was great when you used to get the old shivers down the back." At age 12, Gabriel wrote his first song, "Sammy the Slug". Around this time, an aunt gave him money for professional singing lessons, but he used it to buy the Beatles ' debut studio album Please Please Me (1963). In September 1963, he started at Charterhouse ,
6600-429: The concert series, based on Walsh's successful editing and mixing of Gabriel's Plays Live album. Walsh was reluctant to leave the studio, but he warmed to touring and stayed with Secret World to the end, totalling 162 concerts in a year-and-a-half. Walsh also mixed the double album Secret World Live as well as the film of the same name . Walsh found his thorough knowledge of the show to be an enormous asset later in
6710-498: The course of the last two albums," he observed, "I've got back into a rhythm consciousness. And the writing—particularly with the invention of these drum machines—is fantastic. You can store in their memories rhythms that interest you and excite you. And then the groove will carry on without you, and the groove will be exactly what you want it to be, rather than what a drummer thinks is appropriate for what you're doing." The fourth Peter Gabriel , released in September 1982, hit No. 6 in
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#17327917336176820-584: The duet " Don't Give Up ", "Only Us", "Love To Be Loved", " Mercy Street ", " Family Snapshot ", " Wallflower ", " Red Rain " and " Shock the Monkey ". A few times Gabriel performed a stripped-down solo version of "Here Comes the Flood" as a third encore, at least once in the German language as Jetzt kommt die Flut . Gabriel and his band previewed and practised the tour set list at concerts in Australia, Canada and
6930-509: The duets. She had previously recorded "Blood of Eden" and "Come Talk to Me" at Gabriel's Real World Studios for the album Us . Unlike Askew, O'Connor did not support the production with additional keyboard parts, so Jean-Claude Naimro of Kassav' was hired in July for that role. Askew stayed through early August to train Naimro as her replacement. O'Connor and Gabriel were linked romantically in
7040-518: The end of 1975, the fruits of a period of writing around 20 songs with his friend Martin Hall. After preparing material for a studio album Gabriel recorded his solo debut, Peter Gabriel , in 1976 and 1977 in Toronto and London, with producer Bob Ezrin . Gabriel did not title his first four studio albums. All were labelled Peter Gabriel , using the same typeface, with designs by Hipgnosis . "The idea
7150-440: The ever-shifting visuals." PopMatters wrote in 2012 that the Secret World Tour was an "unforgettable stage show" exploring Jungian themes. PopMatters opined that Gabriel used visual elements with more skill than "his contemporaries—including U2 ". Singer Paula Cole was named as "one of the real stars" of the show, proving that she was equal to the task of covering Kate Bush , and superior to Sinéad O'Connor. Gabriel began
7260-539: The film was finished, Gabriel worked on the soundtrack for an additional four months to develop more of his unfinished ideas. Its soundtrack was released as Passion in June 1989. It won Gabriel a Grammy Award for Best New Age Performance and a nomination for a Golden Globe for Best Original Score – Motion Picture . In 1990, Gabriel put out his first compilation album, Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats , which sold 2 million copies in
7370-452: The floor to the stage, and a seven-foot-high (2.1 m) model of the Statue of Liberty that was purloined from the props department of a Paris concert hall, and placed on the conveyor belt during the finale that night. Gabriel often made small changes to the tour set list to keep it interesting. A typical set list is as follows: Other songs that may have been performed at various dates include
7480-574: The group. Gabriel was the primary writer of "Harold the Barrel", another story song on Nursery Cryme , with Collins helping him on the lyrics. The shows featuring Foxtrot (1972) marked a key development in Gabriel's stage performance. During a gig in Dublin in September 1972, he disappeared from the set during the instrumental section of " The Musical Box " and reappeared in his wife's red dress and
7590-544: The intimacy of feeling, the public with the secret." For the Chicago Reader , Kevin McKeough wrote that Gabriel's elaborate staging "frequently overwhelmed" Gabriel's "often-brilliant performance". McKeough praised "the continuity of ideas and images" projected on the video screen, but he criticized the technical failures he witnessed, including several microphone malfunctions, the unforgivingly boomy room acoustics of
7700-421: The main seating area. The runway between them was to be about 80 feet (24 m) long. A living tree at the centre of the circular stage represented womanhood, while a red British telephone kiosk at the square stage represented manhood. The UK firm Brilliant Stages was hired to construct the stage equipment. Only one complete stage set-up was created; the production crew would not be able to "leap-frog" ahead with
7810-429: The main speaker system was essentially running six loudspeaker zones in monaural (mono) sound rather than stereo, with occasional musical elements given a directional emphasis. The square stage held the main arrays of speakers, with mid-high boxes flown overhead, and low frequency boxes stacked on the floor, while a smaller but similar layout surrounded most of the circular stage. Walsh mixed the majority of microphones on
7920-473: The multi-million-selling CD. Coulson and Bruce documented the process on Hi-8 video. Bruce left Real World and Coulson continued with the campaign, using the documentary background material as the basis for a promotional EPK, the long-form video All About Us and the interactive CD-ROM Xplora1: Peter Gabriel's Secret World . Gabriel won three more Grammy Awards , all in the Music Video category. He won
8030-417: The musicians were leaving. Gabriel opened the last and largest piece of luggage over the trap door, and each musician stepped into the luggage and disappeared. Gabriel closed this large suitcase and appeared to struggle with it toward the center stage where a blue-lit dome descended from above to cover and conceal him. The tour received mixed reviews for its theatricality and for the music. Jon Pareles caught
8140-464: The other musicians' faces. Gabriel revealed a large white sculptured face looking up from the circular stage. The introspective song "Washing of the Water" was followed by Gabriel's first solo hit, " Solsbury Hill ", featuring the musicians skipping around the stage as children, accompanied by projected visuals of Gabriel's youth. Gabriel sang and played harmonica for " Kiss That Frog ", and the video screen showed him and other musicians looking down through
8250-420: The other. Two complete sets of band gear were used, allowing musicians to shift quickly between the two stages. Extensive radio-frequency wireless technology provided freedom of movement for Gabriel and most of his band, except for drum sets, guitar amps and keyboard rigs which were connected by cabling. Stage crew were very busy throughout the show, moving props and set pieces underneath the two stages, operating
8360-626: The possibility of staging The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) as a reunion tour. He ultimately dismissed the idea, paving the way for Banks, Rutherford and Collins to organise the Turn It On Again: The Tour . Gabriel produced and performed at the Eden Project Live 8 concert in July 2005. He joined Cat Stevens on stage to perform " Wild World " during Nelson Mandela 's 46664 concert. In 2005, FIFA asked Gabriel and Brian Eno to organise an opening ceremony for
8470-508: The pre-recorded "Zaar" intro with "The Feeling Begins"—both tunes from Gabriel's 1989 album Passion . In June 1994 in New York City, multi-instrumentalist Lenny Kravitz was added on guitar. The show crew was headed by director Dave Taraskevics, known as "Dave T"; he continued to work with Gabriel on future shows. Britannia Row Productions , founded by Pink Floyd 's concert team, provided sound equipment and crew. Gabriel personally asked Real World Studios sound engineer Peter Walsh to mix
8580-423: The press, especially on 2 September 1993 when Gabriel appeared with O'Connor at his side at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards . She continued to perform with Gabriel at WOMAD festivals until October when she left precipitously. She worked on her next album, Universal Mother , a process which she described as "therapy". The album's first single was " Thank You for Hearing Me ", released in 1994; later she said that it
8690-498: The public; Sound on Sound magazine wrote that "the first couple of weeks of 'The Secret World Tour' formed a not-so-secret rehearsal session." Robert Lepage and Peter Gabriel would collaborate again on two of his tours, the Growing Up Tour (2002-2005) and the i/o Tour (2023). The concert opened with darkness and the sound of the pre-recorded instrumental "Zaar" from Gabriel's 1989 album Passion . For some concerts, this
8800-467: The release of the album with the Secret World Tour , first using touring keyboardist Joy Askew to sing O'Connor's part, then O'Connor herself for a few months. O'Connor quit the tour, and was replaced by Paula Cole , the latter appearing on the tour recordings: a double album Secret World Live , and a concert video also called Secret World Live , both released in 1994. The film received
8910-407: The same songs were performed by Gabriel, and he felt that all of his large-scale performances during these two years were part of the same tour. Secret World was Gabriel's first major solo outing since his tour of 1986–87 to support the album So . Afterward, he waited for almost a decade before embarking on the next tour, Growing Up, in 2002. Musically, Gabriel used his most recent songs as well as
9020-431: The same time as Gabriel; the two were uninterested in school activities but bonded over music and started to write songs. At a final concert before they broke up, Gabriel, dressed in a kaftan and beads, showered the audience with petals he had picked from neighbouring gardens. In April 1967, after Garden Wall had disbanded, Gabriel and Banks were invited by fellow pupils Anthony Phillips and Mike Rutherford to work on
9130-541: The show in April 1993, and wrote in The New York Times that Gabriel's dance moves looked forced rather than natural, that the intimacy he sought in his reflective songs was prevented by the cheerful dance routines of the preceding songs. By contrast, Susan Richardson of Rolling Stone found that the focus on male–female tension was successful: "The result is tantamount to a religious rite, merging grandeur with
9240-410: The soundtrack to Birdy , Gabriel shifted his musical focus from rhythm and texture, as heard on Peter Gabriel four and Birdy , towards more straightforward songs. In 1985, he recorded his fifth studio album, So (also co-produced with Lanois). So was released in May 1986 and reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the US. It remains Gabriel's best-selling album with over five million copies sold in
9350-495: The stage. Next was " Games Without Frontiers ", a song from Gabriel's 1980 self-titled album . The WOMAD song "Across the River" followed, with Gabriel in some concerts urging the audience to sing notes which were then sampled to create a synthesized choir for the song. Gabriel held a rainstick and pantomimed the role of oarsman while the band members "floated" from the square to the circular stage. The instrumental "Slow Marimbas"
9460-475: The studio, mixing the 96 channels of multi-track recordings to create the live album and concert video. In early August 1993, one of the crew tour buses collided at speed with a heavy dustbin lorry on a highway in Leesburg, Florida , seriously injuring the 18-year-old American bus driver, and sending assistant stage manager John Gray to the hospital for surgery to treat a deep cut on his leg. The concert series
9570-406: The team from Atelier Markgraph. A dual-stage design emerged, with a square stage representing masculine energy paired with a circular stage representing feminine energy. A bridge or catwalk would run between the two stages, complete with a conveyor belt to form a moving walkway. The square stage would be in the usual position at one end of the concert venue, while the circular stage would extend into
9680-491: The team were given free rein, which contributed to the various problems they encountered with it, such as a lack of proper budgeting. He also felt that management, while succeeding to get the building finished on time, failed to understand the artistic side of the show and its content. Gabriel's soundtrack was released as OVO in June 2000. The Story of OVO was released in the CD-booklet-shaped comic book which
9790-518: The third single to be released from the album, and once again dealing with relationship struggles, this time going right back to Adam 's rib for inspiration. The album is one of Gabriel's most personal. It met with less success than So , reaching No. 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". Gabriel followed
9900-470: The top spot, which was also their only US number one hit. In the UK, the single went to No. 4. In 1990, Rolling Stone ranked So at No. 14 on its list of "Top 100 Albums of the Eighties". "Sledgehammer" was particularly successful, dealing with sex and sexual relations through lyrical innuendos. Its famed music video was a collaboration between director Stephen R. Johnson , Aardman Animations , and
10010-440: The tour as guest vocalist, covering Askew's keyboard parts with Jean-Claude Naimro of Kassav' . O'Connor left suddenly in October, and American singer-songwriter Paula Cole was quickly recruited to fill her position, earning high praise for her performance. The core of Gabriel's touring band was composed of long-time collaborators: bassist Tony Levin , guitarist David Rhodes , drummer Manu Katché and violinist L. Shankar . This
10120-570: The tour were released on Gabriel's debut live release, Plays Live (1983). Gabriel produced versions of the third and fourth Peter Gabriel albums with German lyrics. The third consisted of the studio recordings, overdubbed with new vocals. The fourth was remixed, with several tracks extended or altered. In 1983, Gabriel developed the soundtrack for Alan Parker 's drama film Birdy (1984), co-produced with Daniel Lanois . This consisted of new material, without lyrics, as well as remixed instrumentals from his previous studio album. After finishing
10230-522: The tour with North England–born Joy Askew playing keyboards and singing. She was the first woman in Gabriel's band. Askew had toured extensively with Joe Jackson and was living in New York City . Askew sang with Gabriel in the duets "Blood of Eden" and "Come Talk to Me". The New York Times praised her for conveying "ethereal tenderness" with her voice. A few months into the tour, Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor joined Gabriel in singing
10340-478: The trapdoors and lifts, and striking or re-setting band gear. Two control booths flanked the stage, one for the lighting desk and show director Dave T, the other for multiple sound mixing consoles . Brilliant Stages, a division of the Samuelson Group, built the pair of stages linked by moving walkway. Gabriel appreciated the results. He said that "having two places to go, the feeling of playing two stages,
10450-454: Was Gabriel's composition from the 1984 film Birdy . An extended performance of the feminine-themed " Shaking the Tree " was used by Gabriel as an opportunity to introduce the three longest-serving band members individually on the circular stage. A red lighting wash covered the male–female duet " Blood of Eden ", leading into " San Jacinto " from Gabriel's self-titled 1982 album . Gabriel piloted
10560-543: Was about breaking up with Gabriel. To provide the tour with a female vocalist, Gabriel asked his colleagues for recommendations. Real World Studios engineer Kevin Killen suggested singer-songwriter Paula Cole in San Francisco, California. Gabriel telephoned Cole who flew immediately to Mannheim, Germany , to rehearse briefly before singing with Gabriel in front of a crowd of 16,000. With Cole on board, Gabriel added
10670-408: Was already incorporating massive video elements on their Zoo TV Tour , and Gabriel did not want to copy their style. The railway idea proved impractical, so Gabriel and Lepage met with German design firm Atelier Markgraph for a brainstorming session, to formulate a tour concept. Early the next year, British director Dave "T" Taraskevics joined Gabriel and Lepage in meetings with scenic designers and
10780-541: 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. At the end of the year, he was awarded the Q magazine Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by American musician Moby . In an interview published in the magazine to accompany the award, Gabriel's contribution to music
10890-496: Was described as "vast and enduring." Gabriel took on a project with the BBC World Service 's competition "The Next Big Thing" to find the world's best young band. Gabriel judged the final six young artists with William Orbit , Geoff Travis and Angélique Kidjo . In June 2008, Gabriel released Big Blue Ball , an album of various artists collaborating with each other at his Real World Studios across three summers in
11000-586: Was extraordinarily possessive about the keyboards. I'd done a bit of flute at school, I always liked the sound, and a little bit of oboe (I was an even worse oboe player, but it made a couple of good noises now and again). Then the bass drum was something physical, visual, that I could kick hard and occasionally it was in time!" The album sold little and at one point, Gabriel secured a place at London School of Film Technique because Genesis "seemed to be dying." Genesis recruited guitarist Steve Hackett and drummer Phil Collins . Gabriel began growing in confidence as
11110-447: Was followed by solo duduk played by guest musician Levon Minassian interpreting the composition "The Feeling Begins", also from Passion . For most of the concerts, "Zaar" was instead followed by a red British telephone box revealed in light, rising up from the square stage, with Peter Gabriel illuminated inside, singing " Come Talk to Me " into a telephone handset. Gabriel was joined either by Sinéad O'Connor or Paula Cole rising up from
11220-511: Was for Gabriel to cover an artists' song if they, in turn, covered one of his for an album simultaneously released as I'll Scratch Yours , but several participants later declined or were late to deliver and it was placed on hold. Gabriel avoided using drums and guitar in favour of orchestral arrangements, and altered his usual songwriting method by finishing the vocals first and then the song, for which he collaborated with John Metcalfe . Released in February 2010, Scratch My Back reached No. 12 in
11330-735: Was held in Lima on 20 March 2009, during his second visit to the country. On 25 July 2009, he played at WOMAD Charlton Park, his only European performance of the year, to promote Witness. The show included two tracks from the then-forthcoming Scratch My Back : Paul Simon 's "The Boy in the Bubble" and the Magnetic Fields ' "The Book of Love". In 2009, Gabriel recorded Scratch My Back , an album of cover songs by various artists including David Bowie , Lou Reed , Arcade Fire , Radiohead , Regina Spektor and Neil Young . The original concept
11440-563: Was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010, and as a solo artist in 2014. In March 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of South Australia in recognition of his achievements in music. Peter Brian Gabriel was born on 13 February 1950 in Chobham , Surrey , England, son of Ralph Parton Gabriel (1912–2012) and Edith Irene (1921–2016), daughter of Colonel Edward Allen, chairman of
11550-524: Was late to deliver the lyrics, but has denied that he was too busy to write much music for the album and relied on contributions from Banks and Rutherford. Banks corroborated that Gabriel was the primary composer of the Lamb songs " The Carpet Crawlers " and "The Chamber of 32 Doors" and the sole composer of "Counting Out Time". During a stop in Cleveland, Ohio, early into the album's tour, Gabriel informed
11660-428: Was not affected. Members of the production crew produced a humorous secret newsletter titled Us and Them , containing tales of tour hijinks and "unpublishable" anecdotes. Gabriel discovered the newsletter, but allowed it to continue. Many of the crew were involved in practical jokes played on each other and on Gabriel: among these were plastic "trick" dog feces the crew placed on a stage lift that brought Gabriel up from
11770-537: Was not commercial enough. Gabriel signed a recording contract with Mercury Records . Released in May 1980, the album went to No. 1 in the UK for three weeks. In the US, it peaked at No. 22. The single " Games Without Frontiers " went to No. 4 and " Biko " went to No. 36 in the UK. After a handful of shows in 1979, Gabriel toured the album from February to October 1980. The tour marked Gabriel's first successful instance of crowd surfing (following his failed June 1971 attempt when touring with Genesis) when he fell back into
11880-503: Was part of the CD edition with the title "OVO The Millennium Show". Around that same time, the Genesis greatest hits album, Turn It On Again: The Hits (1999), featured Gabriel sharing vocals with Phil Collins on a new version of " The Carpet Crawlers " entitled "The Carpet Crawlers 1999", produced by Trevor Horn . In 2002 he stuck with soundtrack work for his next project, scoring for
11990-511: Was quite different from the usual show where everybody's pointing the same way and the energy is going in the same direction." Lepage insisted the band learn to dance together, even skipping together. Britannia Row Productions provided the sound system , composed of 70 Turbosound Flashlight mid-high loudspeakers, 78 Flashlight low frequency enclosures, 34 near-field speakers made by Funktion One, and Turbosound TMS3 delay speakers as required. Gabriel's front of house mixer Peter Walsh said that
12100-480: Was the first time that Gabriel used in-ear monitors on tour. A few days after Cole joined the tour, the show was filmed and recorded in Modena, Italy , to produce the concert video Secret World Live . The video was honoured at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards , winning in the category Best Music Video, Long Form . An associated live album was released with the same name— Secret World Live —it rose to number 10 on
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