Peter Gabriel, born 1950 in Surrey, England, fronted Genesis before launching one of art rock's great solo careers. The four self-titled albums built the world; So (1986), with Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes, brought it to everyone else. He also founded WOMAD and Real World Records. Shop Peter Gabriel vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Peter Brian Gabriel was born in Chobham, Surrey, England on February 13, 1950. He co-founded Genesis with Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Anthony Phillips at Charterhouse School in 1967. Genesis released the progressive rock landmarks From Genesis to Revelation (1969), Trespass (1970), Nursery Cryme (1971), Foxtrot (1972), Selling England by the Pound (1973), and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974). Gabriel departed Genesis in August 1975 (replaced by drummer Phil Collins as lead vocalist) and launched his solo career. His first four eponymously-titled albums (1977-1982, distinguished by their cover images and informally nicknamed Car, Scratch, Melt, and Security) established his solo approach. His 1986 album So - featuring Sledgehammer, In Your Eyes (used in the 1989 film Say Anything..., with pop culture resonance), and Big Time - became his commercial breakthrough. He has parallel work as a film score composer (work on the 1988 Martin Scorsese film The Last Temptation of Christ - released as Passion 1989, won Grammy Award for Best New Age Album), founder of the WOMAD Festival (1980, promoting world music) and Real World Records (1989, distributing world music). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice (2010 Genesis; 2014 solo). His foundational influence on progressive rock, art pop, world music advocacy, and broader popular music is widely cited.
Peter Gabriel's sound combines art pop, art rock, progressive rock, world music, electronic, ambient, and worldbeat with his distinctive baritone vocal delivery, extensive use of innovative production technologies (early adoption of digital sampling), and conceptual approach to album-length work. His foundational influence on world music advocacy in Western popular music is widely documented.
Original Charisma, Atlantic, Atco, Mercury, Geffen, and Real World pressings of the Peter Gabriel catalog are widely collected.
Listeners new to Peter Gabriel typically start with So (1986) or Peter Gabriel (1980, 'Melt').
