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[[File:PeterGabriel_5811.jpg|frame]]
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Born in Surrey, England, Peter Gabriel is the former frontman of the influential [[Progressive Rock]] band [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] (for details on his time with them, visit their page) and currently a solo artist.
After leaving the band, he first gained a hit with "Solsbury Hill," which was, appropriately enough, about his breakup with them. He then went on to release four increasingly experimental solo albums from 1977-1985, [[One Steve Limit|all of which were initially named]] ''[[Self-Titled Album|Peter Gabriel]]'', but have since been re-titled based on their cover art. They were fairly successful, producing multiple hits, such as "Games Without Frontiers", "I Don't Remember", and "Shock The Monkey".
Then came 1986, and his album ''So'' along with it. It was a smash hit that gave Gabriel his greatest mainstream success, featuring some of his most famous songs (particularly [[Double Entendre|"Sledgehammer"]] and [[Say Anything|"In Your Eyes"]]). Six years later came ''Us'', followed (almost ''ten years later'') by ''Up'', with his most recent being a [[Cover Album]], ''Scratch My Back''. He has also done work for various films, most famously "Down To Earth" for ''[[WALL-E]]''.
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* ''Big Blue Ball'' (a WOMAD collaboration album he did some songs for)
* ''[[Cover Album|Scratch My Back]]''
* ''New Blood''
''Scratch My Back'' was originally going to have a companion album, ''I'll Scratch Yours'', with the artists whose songs Gabriel covered covering some of his in turn, including [[Velvet Underground|Lou Reed]], Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields, Arcade Fire, and more; while these covers were being released as singles, coupled with the corresponding artist's cover, no news on either the album or the next single has been heard for some time.
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* [[Album Title Drop]]: "Only Us", from ''[[Captain Obvious|Us]]''.
** And "Growing Up" from ''Up''.
* [[Award Bait Song]]: While it doesn't exactly fit the typical stereotype, "Down To Earth" was actually nominated for an Oscar.
* [[Bishonen]]: During his early years with [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], up until ''[[The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway]]'' era.
* [[Book Ends]]: The song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOYK7sG5c2Q Big Time] starts and ends with an American voice saying 'Hi There!'
** That's [[Fake American|Gabriel's voice]].
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** There is actually a series of songs that appear on different albums ("Down The Dolce Vita", "Here Comes The Flood", "On The Air", "Exposure", "Red Rain", "Big Blue Ball") that form a song cycle concerning the character Mozo, though they don't really form a story/narrative either. The [[What Could Have Been|original plan]] was to create a movie about him, but it never panned out.
* [[The Cover Changes the Meaning]]: Stephin Merritt of [[The Magnetic Fields]] had this to say about Gabriel's cover of "Book of Love":
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** ''Scratch My Back'' is all over this Trope. His cover of [[David Bowie]] takes "Heroes" from cynical to a bittersweet [[Tear Jerker]].
* [[
** What is this I don't even...
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: While his albums have always tended to be rather dark (with the exception of most of ''So''), ''Security'' is noticeably more so.
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* [[Evolving Music]]: "Here Comes The Flood", see the Crowning Music entry above.
** "I Have The Touch", which went through three different permutations: the original track on ''Security'', a remixed version on the [[Greatest Hits Album]] ''Shaking The Tree'' (additional percussion track), and a completely remade version for the soundtrack to the [[John Travolta]] film ''Phenomenon'' (slower tempo, new lyrics, new instrumentation).
** His album "Passion" started out being the soundtrack for "Last Temptation Of Christ" -- but he kept tweaking and changing each of the songs after the film was released, to the point that he didn't feel right calling it "the soundtrack" any more.
* [[Gentleman Snarker]]
* [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]]: He had them on the innersleeve of his first solo album. [http://www.hardformat.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/peter-gabriel-1-4.jpg The effect was achieved with a flash bulb and a pair of reflective contact lenses.]
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** No. 4 was actually released under the title "Security" in the US.
* [[Shout-Out]]: During his ''New Blood'' tour, which features a symphony orchestra, his performance of "Solsbury Hill" contains the melody from the [[Ode to Joy]].
* [[The Song Before the Storm]]: "Down The Dolce Vita" from ''Car'', both in the context of the song itself (it's literally before an impending storm) and the album as a whole (it's the penultimate song on the album, preceding and leading directly into the even more bombastic original version of "Here Comes The Flood").
* [[Soprano and Gravel]]: "Don't Give Up", a duet with [[Kate Bush]].
* [[Spiritual Successor]]: "Steam" is basically Gabriel's attempt to recapture the sound and feel of "Sledgehammer". Whether he succeeded or not and its overall quality is [[Your Mileage May Vary|up to the listener]].
* [[Studio Chatter]]: At the beginning of "Not One Of Us".
* [[Take That]]: "The Barry Williams Show", against trashy, exploitative daytime TV-like shows (Barry Williams is basically the UK equivalent of Jerry Springer, and actually appears as himself in the music video, which was directed by Sean Penn).
** "Solsbury Hill" is about Gabriel's departure from [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]]. [[Word of God]] has confirmed this.
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* [[Title-Only Chorus]]: "Not One Of Us", "Kiss That Frog"
* [[Uncommon Time]]: "Solsbury Hill" is in 7/4 time.
* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: "Sledgehammer" is about Gabriel's "sledgehammer", [[
* [[Up to Eleven]]: On ''[[Cover Album|Scratch My Back]]'', he manages to make [[Radiohead]]'s "Street Spirit" ''even more depressing''.
* [[Wasted Song]]: "Out Out" from ''[[Gremlins]]'', which appears briefly and never shows up again (it doesn't help that the soundtrack was never even put on CD and is now out of print).
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[[Category:Musicians]]
[[Category:The Eighties]]
[[Category:Peter Gabriel]]▼
[[Category:Music]]
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