Peter Gabriel ~ Sledgehammer 1986 Extended Meow Mix

Peter Gabriel was born on February 13, 1950 to Ralph and Edith Irene Gabriel in Surrey, England. His mother encouraged him to learn piano and sent him to private schools for his education. He started off as a drummer for various bands and founded the progressive rock band Genesis in 1967 with fellow students of Charterhouse, namely Tony Banks, Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford and Chris Stewart. Famed prolific UK produce Jonathon King took them under his wing and put out their first LP "From Genesis to Revelation" which opened the door to their recording career but failed to hit with UK audiences. Leaving King behind, the band toured and signed with Charisma records releasing "Trespass" in 1970. "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe" was my favorite tune for a while and was their first UK hit. Gabriel left the band in 1975 and opted for a solo career. His first four solo releases were all called "Peter Gabriel" and were set apart by the details of the artwork on each one. After dabbling in several different styles, he settled on a world beat sound and had his first major hit "Shock The Monkey" that became his first top 40 pop hit in the US. He opened for David Bowie's "Let's Dance" tour of 1983 for several engagements which prepared him for his magnum opus, "So" in 1986 which went triple platinum supported by the singles "Don't Give Up" with Kate Bush, "Big Time" and "Sledgehammer". Gabriel was going for a return to the sound and spirit of 60's soul and he brought in Wayne Jackson, who was an influential trumpeter for the famed soul label Stax house band. "The lyrics of those songs (from the 60's) were full of playful innuendo and this is my contribution to that songwriting tradition. It's also about sex as a means of getting through a a breakdown in communications". To promote the song, he created a stop action music video that demanded he lay under plate glass with his head supported by a steel pole to keep him stable for the sixteen hours it took to film. Gabriel knew the song was doing well on radio, and felt that the unforgettable video is what drove the song to platinum status as it opened him up to a larger audience. "Because I think it (the video) had a sense of humour and fun, neither of which was particularly associated with me. I think I was seen as a fairly intense eccentric Englishman." Peter related. The song and video took nine awards at the MTV awards that year. In an ironic turn his former bandmates Genesis, (who had regrouped with Phil Collins as the main vocalist) had their #1 single "Invisible Touch" sledgehammered out of the top spot.