Biography for
Peter Gabriel More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

13 February 1950, Woking, Surrey, England, UK

Birth Name

Peter Brian Gabriel

Height

5' 11" (1.80 m)

Mini Biography

Peter Gabriel was educated at Charterhouse School, Surrey, England. He was the lead singer of leading art rock band Genesis from its inception until he left in 1975 for a successful solo career as a singer-songwriter, soundtrack composer and innovator in visual presentation of music, music videos and digital methods of recording and distributing music. He also became well known as an anti-Apartheid activist, for his efforts to bring different styles of international music to the attention of the West by establishing the WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) Festival, his own Real World label and recording studios as well as the addition of world music performers and styles into his own music. He has also worked extensively for Amnesty International as well as many other humanitarian efforts, such as founding his own human rights organization Witness and co-founding, with Richard Branson and Nelson Mandela, world human rights advocacy group The Elders in July 2007. His dedication to humanitarian causes was recognized with the Nobel Peace Laureates' Man of Peace Award in 2006 and Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience honour in 2008. His career in music has been cited as an inspiration by many artists, including U2, R.E.M., Kate Bush, Moby, Marillion, Simple Minds, It Bites and Elbow.

His greatest commercial success came with the "So" album in 1986, which was a worldwide smash and earned him the British Phonographic Industry Award for British Male Solo Artist the following year. His lasting impact on music has been recognized by the Music Industry Trusts' Award in 2004, the Frankfurt Music Prize, the first Pioneer Award at the BT Digital Music Awards, the Q Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, the BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) Icon Award in 2007, the MIDEM Personality of the Year in 2008 and the Polar Music Prize in 2009.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Spouse

Meabh Flynn	(9 June 2002 - present) 2 children
Jill Moore	(17 March 1971 - 1987) (divorced) 2 children

Trade Mark

Titles his albums sequentially.

Trivia

Peter Gabriel was one of the founding members and former lead singer for the rock group Genesis. He left the group for a solo career in 1975.

Dated Rosanna Arquette

His own company, Real World, promotes world musicians and their music.

His song "Solsbury Hill" is titled after a small hill on the edge of the city of Bath, England. The hill is the site of an ancient dwelling and is now part the UK National Trust.

Two daughters: Anna-Marie born on July 26, 1974 Melanie born August 23, 1976.

Member and promoter of Amnesty International.

Because of his song "Biko", about South African civil rights leader Stephen Bantu Biko, the apartheid government of South Africa banned all of Peter Gabiel's recordings. The bans have since been lifted.

Some sources state that he suffers from bipolar disorder.

His song "Biko" was covered by Simple Minds on their 1989 album "Street Fighting Years".

Genesis had one hit single during his time as the lead singer, "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" which reached 21 in 1974. It was later covered by former Marillion singer Fish on his 1993 album "Songs From The Mirror".

Genesis' 1974 album "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" came sixth in Classic Rock Magazine's list of the 30 greatest concept albums of all time. [March 2003]

His song, "I Don't Remember", was covered by Marillion frontman Steve Hogarth and the H Band on the album "Live Spirit: Live Body" (released 2002).

Performed for the BBC's annual Children in Need charity event. [21 November 2003]

Performed at the "46664" AIDS concert. [29 November 2003]

He can play piano, keyboards, percussion, flute, recorder and harmonica.

In 1999 he reunited with his former Genesis bandmates Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett for a re-recording of the Genesis song "The Carpet Crawlers" (originally from their 1974 album "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway"), which appears on the Genesis compilation "Turn it on Again".

Never scored a UK number one single, but "Sledgehammer" topped the US singles chart in 1986. Ironically, it knocked "Invisible Touch" by his former band Genesis, off the top spot.

Presented with the Music Industry Trusts' Award for his outstanding contribution to the British music industry. [1 November 2004]

His famous song "Solsbury Hill" talks about why he decided to leave Genesis while the band was growing at a fast rate.

Though he left Genesis in 1975, he reunited with the band twice. Once in the early 80s for a special charity concert (Steve Hackett wasn't there, except for the two encores) and in 1999 to record a song for a greatest hits collection. Steve Hackett was there for that reunion, making it the first time the original five performed together since 1975.

Band mate Phil Collins took over vocals from him when he left Genesis in 1975. He sang back up vocals to Collins on the single "Take Me Home" in 1985. Sting also sang back up vocals on that same song.

His song "Don't Give Up" was covered in 2005 by Bono and Alicia Keys for the charity "Keep a Child Alive". Willie Nelson and Sinéad O'Connor also recorded a version of it for Nelson's 1993 album "Across the Borderline".

His song "In Your Eyes" was covered by Darren Hayes.

His song "Solsbury Hill" was covered by Erasure on their 2003 album "Other People's Songs".

Winner of the 1987 British Phonographic Industry Award for British Male Solo Artist.

Winner of the 1987 British Phonographic Industry Award for British Video for his song "Sledgehammer".

Winner of the 1993 Brit Award for British Producer.

Awarded the Frankfurt Music Prize in 2006.

Winner of the first Pioneer Award at the BT Digital Music Awards. [3rd October 2006]

Winner of the 2006 Q Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by Moby.

Ranked #53 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll.

His album "So" was included in College Music Journal's list of the "Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time" and #1 in the "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1986", ranked #14 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums of The 80's" survey and #187 in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time".

His song 'Shock the monkey' was covered by Coal Chamber with Ozzy Osbourne on the album 'Chamber music'.

His 3rd & 4th album were also released in German. The 3rd album was titled 'Ein Deutsches album', his 4th 'Deutsches album'.

Chosen by Time Magazine in 2008 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Placed in the Heroes & Pioneers category, the tribute to him was written by Desmond Tutu.

His wife Meabh gave birth to their second son, Luc, on July 5th 2008 weighing in at 7 lbs, 2 oz. They also have a son Isaac born in 2002.

In 1982 he was one of the first artists to record an album entirely on digital tape and in 2000 he co-founded the first digital music download platform, OD2.

His father was an electrical engineer and his mother was a musician.

Personal Quotes

There has always been a strong relationship between music and religion. It is because they both plug directly into the heart and can have real power for good or evil.

I'm an artist who works incredibly slowly.

I have always loved R.E.M.'s music and respected their commitment to social change.

When I left (Genesis) there was some angst and I think everyone thought I was destroying their careers, but as soon as I left, the band sold a whole lot more records.

Talking about why he demanded to write all the lyrics for the last album he made with Genesis: "There are very few books written by a committee, and for a very good reason".

Music is a universal language, it draws people together and proves, as well as anything, the stupidity of racism.

The flap over The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) is absurd. If people's faith is so weak that it can be destroyed by a film, then it really isn't much to begin with. I think people may find themselves reviewing their own lives and their own points of view on religion as a result of the film. I'm very proud to have been a part of it.

Just to stay in an all white, all male, all middle class preserve would be very boring for me and very boring for the people who listen to what I do.

African artists are strong, charismatic and compelling, and I think they hold people's attention.

Radiohead, for me, are one of the great bands and one of the reasons is that they're always trying to innovate and push back boundaries, both in their musical work and in their video work.

"I've always loved animation since I was a kid and you can do with it anything you can imagine. The idea was to design something that really could hold up to repeated viewing." (Commenting on the "Sledgehammer" video)

"There is so much pressure on musicians to look youthful. I've turned my back on my wilder days. I'm much more relaxed now." (Speaking in 2005)

There is something childlike about the basic concept that poverty might be history, that by doing something, some lives might be saved. I would argue that it doesn't matter how many records get sold or how many balding semi-retired musicians like myself get an audience, even if one life gets saved, it's better than sitting on our fat arses complaining about things.

John Lennon was definitely one of my heroes. I think he always wrote from his heart. He was a very complicated individual, but there's an honesty about his songwriting that I think makes it very powerful. Sometimes it's very simplistic, childlike and naive; and that is what gives it some of its strength.

I think that anyone who doesn't have some sense of idealism when they're young is really missing out a bit of their humanity, because you have the chance to go into the world and feel, quite rightly, that it is soon going to be yours and you can change it. I think that's what my generation did with The Beatles at the front of it.

Working with the tours and meeting all the people that felt their lives had literally been saved by Amnesty made it seem like such a simple, elegant and powerful idea. I think that it is a wonderful organization that really deserves a lot of support.

"I would say to artists at the beginning of their career in this business: own your name, own your website, own your rights. There's a future with a record business, which I think does a great job sometimes, but as a service industry and not as owners of creative talent. But it's only if artists are smart enough, which traditionally we've never been, to act together and to work together that we're going to see that sort of future." (Speaking at the BT Digital Music Awards in 2006)

From the pain comes the suffering, from the suffering comes the dream, from the dream comes the vision, from the vision comes the people, from the people comes the power, from the power comes the change, but if the world could have one father, the man we would want to be our father is Madiba, Mr Nelson Mandela.

Never before has an artist been able to reach out and build an audience so easily - without needing record companies and their marketing departments. Equally, you've never been able to explore all kinds of new music in the instant way the Internet allows.

New technology has always excited me.

I co-founded OD2 with Charles Grimsdale as I thought there were many exciting opportunities for digitally distributed music. As a musician, I believe strongly that all artists should have access to this powerful new means of getting music to people. I was convinced digital music was going to be the main means of distributing music when we set that firm up. I've been surprised how long it has taken.

I must be getting to that awards time of life; it's God's way of telling you you're getting on.

It was really a decision to get out of the music business so it wasn't a decision to go solo. Our first child had just been born and she was in an incubator for three weeks, at the same time the band were trying to finish an album off, for me there was no question of priorities. I hated the feeling that in two years time I would know exactly where I'm going to be and what I'm going to be doing, I wanted a sense of freedom, so I just stopped everything for about a year and worked on my vegetable garden very unsuccessfully but enthusiastically. (On why he left Genesis)

He appears in a lot of writing that I've done over the years because of the groove with which he was associated, which is the Bo Diddley rhythm. He was really one of the first people to make an African element a central part of pop music and it was done with a lot of feel and a lot of style. I was sad to see him on the departed list.

The music business, the way I view it, it's dead in its old model and there are lots of interesting things crawling out of the corpse.

The only drug I was interested in was acid, but I was too frightened by my dreams in regular hours to contemplate that.

This is a fundamental issue of life and death and I very much think the Prime Minister is in the wrong. I'm also sure George Bush (George W. Bush) is an affable bloke but he's highly dangerous and I wish America was in the hands of someone else. To put oil interests ahead of human life is appalling. War is always terrible but unjustified war is obscene and on present evidence that is what we are facing. People want peace and I think it's great that the Mirror is leading this campaign. I think the consequences of this war would be the biggest threat to world peace in my lifetime. Blair has got to get it right. To take action without UN backing would be inviting disaster by setting the Muslim world against the West. If we are taking a moral position why did we arm Iraq when they were killing the Kurds? If it's because of weapons of mass destruction why isn't North Korea higher on the list? Not that I'd support action there. And if it's a principle of what Iraq has done to its own people why do we bend over for China? I'm sure Bush believes he is removing a scourge but he has never done one thing in office against the interests of the oil lobby who paid for a large part of the election. I don't actually believe Tony Blair is focused on oil but if he knows more than we do I wish he would tell us because there's no justification so far for taking life. War with Iraq would be an aggressive, uncalled for action. It's good the Prime Minister is prepared to stick to his principles, going against public opinion, because you elect leaders in part for their conscience. I just think it's terrible that on this of all issues he is making a stand which separates him from the nation. I think Tony Blair is following his conscience but I believe he is misguided. It could cost him the next election and I think he's aware of that. I'd personally be sad if they lost because Labour has done a lot for health and education, but an unjust war would be enough to lose my vote. I'd like to see a reinforced UN weapons inspection team in Iraq and disarmament much more in line with the French and German proposals. There is a slogan which says: 'Peace is what happens when you respect the rights of others'. Iraqis have rights too. (On Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003)

Sting is right in what he says about "The X Factor" (2004). If I was a TV commissioner, I wouldn't take the show off the air, but I'd put on one that showcases new songwriting talent, featuring unique voices. Doing covers, impersonating other artists should not be the only option or goal to aspire to.

When I started, you couldn't get signed unless the label thought you could sell 100,000 records. It took us two years playing gigs to get signed.

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