History Music / PeterGabriel

* WorldMusic: Together with Music/TalkingHeads' ''Music/RemainInLight'', Gabriel is credited with helping to introduce influence from world music into mainstream rock, particularly with ''[[Music/PeterGabriel1980 Melt]]'' (released just months before ''Remain in Light''). Some of his best-known examples of this include "Biko" (1980), "The Rhythm of the Heat" (1982), and "In Your Eyes" (1986).

* ''Music/{{Peter Gabriel|1977}}'' (1977; a.k.a. ''Car''; also retroactively known as ''Peter Gabriel I'' or ''Peter Gabriel 1: Car'')
* ''Music/{{Peter Gabriel|1978}}'' (1978; a.k.a. ''Scratch''; released under the title ''Peter Gabriel II'' in the United States)
* ''Music/{{Peter Gabriel|1980}}'' (1980; a.k.a. ''Melt''; released under the title ''Peter Gabriel III'' in the United States)
* ''Music/{{Peter Gabriel|1982}}'' (1982; released under the title ''Security'' in the United States)

* GlowingEyesOfDoom: He had them on [[http://www.hardformat.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/peter-gabriel-1-4.jpg the innersleeve of his first solo album. Creator/{{Hipgnosis}} achieved the effect with a flashbulb and a pair of reflective contact lenses.

** ''Scratch My Back'' has a companion album, ''And I'll Scratch Yours'', with the artists whose songs Gabriel covered covering some of his in turn, including [[Music/VelvetUnderground Lou Reed]], Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields, and Arcade Fire. Six of the songs were released initially in 2010 as singles on iTunes, coupled with the corresponding artist's track from ''Scratch My Back''. However, Radiohead, David Bowie, Neil Young, & Ray Davies, unfortunately, did not contribute in-kind, so Brian Eno and others stepped in. The entire collection was released, finally, in 2013.

* GlowingEyesOfDoom: 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 flashbulb and a pair of reflective contact lenses.]]

* WorldMusic: Together with Music/TalkingHeads' ''Music/RemainInLight'', Gabriel is credited with helping to introduce influence from world music into mainstream rock, particularly with ''Music/{{Melt}}'' (released just months before ''Remain in Light''). Some of his best-known examples of this include "Biko" (1980), "The Rhythm of the Heat" (1982), and "In Your Eyes" (1986).

* ''Peter Gabriel'' (1977; a.k.a. ''Music/{{Car}}''; also retroactively known as ''Peter Gabriel I'' or ''Peter Gabriel 1: Car'')
* ''Peter Gabriel'' (1978; a.k.a. ''Music/{{Scratch}}''; released under the title ''Peter Gabriel II'' in the United States)
* ''Peter Gabriel'' (1980; a.k.a. ''Music/{{Melt}}''; released under the title ''Peter Gabriel III'' in the United States)
* ''Peter Gabriel'' (1982; released under the title ''Music/{{Security}}'' in the United States)

* ''Peter Gabriel'' (1982; released under the title ''[[Music/{{Security}} Security]]'' in the United States)

** ''Security'' is green.
** ''Plays Live'' is gray.

* ''Peter Gabriel'' (1982; released under the title ''Music/{{Security}}'' in the United States)

* GratuitousFrench: Music/KateBush is actually singing "jeux sans frontières", the title of the song in French, on "Games Without Frontiers", though it is [[{{Mondegreen}} frequently misheard]]; native French speakers have reported difficulty understanding her pronunciation. The song's name was inspired by the Europe-wide game show also named ''Jeux sans frontières''; the British spin-off is ''It's a Knockout'', which Gabriel also sings several times in the song.

* ''Passion'' (1989; the score for ''Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist'')[[note]]the album is sometimes classified as both a soundtrack album and a studio album given that Gabriel started with the score itself and added onto it to create ''Passion'', similarly to ''Music/AKindOfMagic'' by Music/{{Queen}} and ''Music/{{Hours}}'' by Music/DavidBowie; most sources however treat it as a soundtrack album alone given that it primarily consists of the music for and was released to tie in with ''The Last Temptation of Christ''[[/note]]

* ''Scratch My Back'' (2010; a CoverAlbum)
* ''New Blood'' (2011; a collection of his songs rearranged and re-recorded for orchestra, done in the same vein as the cover songs on ''Scratch My Back'')

* ''Birdy'' (1985; the score for the eponymous Creator/NicolasCage film)

* ''Peter Gabriel'' (1978; a.k.a. ''Scratch''; released under the title ''Peter Gabriel II'' in the United States)

* ''Peter Gabriel'' (1977; a.k.a. ''Car''; also retroactively known as ''Peter Gabriel I'' or ''Peter Gabriel 1: Car'')

* FadingIntoTheNextSong: "Down the Dolce Vita" → "Here Comes the Flood" on ''Car''.

* TheSongBeforeTheStorm: "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").

** ''Security'' is pea soup green.

* TextlessAlbumCover: ''Passion'', ''Us'', ''OVO'', ''Up'', ''Scratch My Back'', ''New Blood''. ''So'' is an interesting case in that the LP release is textless, but features a small logotype sticker on the shrink wrap, and this logo is incorporated in a larger size on the CD cover, directly onto which it is printed. ''Us'' also features a logo sticker on the CD shrinkwrap, but this is generally not considered part of the album art on any other format or re-release.

Then came 1986, and his album ''Music/{{So}}'' along with it. It was a smash hit that gave Gabriel his greatest mainstream success, featuring some of his most famous songs (particularly [[DoubleEntendre "Sledgehammer"]] and [[Film/SayAnything "In Your Eyes"]]). Six years later came ''Music/{{Us}}'', followed (almost ''ten years later'') by ''Up'', with his most recent being a CoverAlbum, ''Scratch My Back''. He has also done work for various films, most famously singing Randy Newman's "That'll Do" for the film ''Film/BabePigInTheCity'' and for writing and performing "Down to Earth" for ''WesternAnimation/WallE'', each earning Academy Award nominations[[note]]but losing to songs for ''The Prince Of Egypt'' and ''Slumdog Millionare'', repectively[[/note]].

* WorldMusic: Together with Music/TalkingHeads' ''Music/RemainInLight'', Gabriel is credited with helping to introduce influence from world music into mainstream rock, particularly with his third SelfTitledAlbum (released the same year as ''Remain in Light''. Some of his best-known examples of this include "Biko" (1980), "The Rhythm of the Heat" (1982), and "In Your Eyes" (1986).

* NumberedSequels: Gabriel's second and third self-titled albums were respectively released in the United States as ''Peter Gabriel II'' and ''Peter Gabriel III''; the fourth and final self-titled studio album dropped the trend, being released in the States as ''Security'' (though the Japanese release titles it ''Peter Gabriel IV''), while the self-titled compilation album was released only in the United Kingdom. The 2002 remasters take this up a notch and refer to the four albums as ''1'', ''2'', ''3'', and ''4''.

* ''Music/UpPeterGabrielAlbum'' (2002; as of 2020, Gabriel's last collection of original solo material)

* ''Up'' (2002; as of 2020, Gabriel's last collection of original solo material)

* ''Peter Gabriel'' (1982; released under the title ''Security'' in the United States)

* ''Peter Gabriel'' (1980; a.k.a. ''Melt''; released under the title ''Peter Gabriel III'' in the United States)

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, [[OneSteveLimit all which were titled]] [[SelfTitledAlbum eponymously]], but over time each have gotten nicknames that have been embraced by fandom [[AscendedFanon (and Gabriel himself)]] based on their cover art. Each were fairly successful, with the third and fourth producing multiple hits, such "Games Without Frontiers", "I Don't Remember", and "Shock the Monkey".

* ''Passion'' (1989; the score for ''Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist'')

Born in Surrey, England, Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is the former frontman of the influential ProgressiveRock band Music/{{Genesis}} (for details on his time with them, visit their page) and currently a solo artist.

!!Discography (studio albums in bold):
* '''''Peter Gabriel''''' (1977; a.k.a. '''''Car'''''; also retroactively known as '''''Peter Gabriel I''''' or '''''Peter Gabriel 1: Car''''')
* '''''Peter Gabriel''''' (1978; a.k.a. '''''Scratch'''''; released under the title '''''Peter Gabriel II''''' in the United States)
* '''''Peter Gabriel''''' (1980; a.k.a. '''''Melt'''''; released under the title '''''Peter Gabriel III''''' in the United States)
* '''''Peter Gabriel''''' (1982; released under the title '''''Security''''' in the United States)
* ''Peter Gabriel Plays Live'' (1983; the first live album, recorded during the 1982 tour for ''Security'')

* '''''Music/{{So}}''''' (1986)

* ''Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats'' (1990; Gabriel's first greatest hits collection) [[note]]the cover photograph was taken by noted photographer Robert Mapplethorpe[[/note]]
* '''''Music/{{Us}}''''' (1992)
* ''Music/SecretWorldLive'' (1994; the second live album, recorded in 1992-1994 during the tour for ''Us'')

* '''''Up''''' (2002; as of 2020, Gabriel's last collection of original solo material)

* ''Big Blue Ball'' (2008; a collection of WOMAD collaborations recorded in the 90's and eventually mixed & released in 2008.)
* ''[[CoverAlbum Scratch My Back]]'' (2010)
* ''New Blood'' (2011; a collection of his songs rearranged and re-recorded for orchestra, done in the same vein as the cover songs on ''Scratch My Back'')
* ''Live Blood'' (2012; Gabriel's third live album, recorded during the tour for ''New Blood'')

* '''''Up''''' (2002; as of 2018, Gabriel's last collection of original solo material)

* DarkerAndEdgier: While his albums have always tended to be rather dark (with the exception of most of ''So''), ''Security'' is noticeably more so.

* MetalScream: "Signal to Noise".

* ShoutOut: During his ''New Blood'' tour, which features a symphony orchestra, his performance of "Solsbury Hill" contains the melody from the Music/OdeToJoy.