Gabriel, Peter

▪ British musician

born Feb. 13, 1950, Woking, Surrey, Eng.

      former lead singer of the progressive rock (art rock) band Genesis and solo artist known for the intelligence and depth of his lyrics and for his commitment to various political causes.

      Gabriel left Genesis in 1975 and developed a deep interest in world music rhythms and textures, reflected in four eponymous albums (the last, released in 1982, was titled Security for its American release), while songs like "Games Without Frontiers" and "Biko" announced his political convictions. This two-sided involvement in Third World affairs led to his cofounding of the WOMAD (World of Music, Arts, and Dance) Festival in 1982 and Real World Records in 1989. His 1986 album, So, was a more personal statement; strengthened by the contributions of Laurie Anderson (Anderson, Laurie), Kate Bush, and Senegalese pop star Youssou N'Dour, it brought Gabriel critical acclaim and was a multimillion-seller. His next album, Passion: Music for “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1989), featured a number of African and Middle Eastern artists (several of whom released albums with Real World) and won a Grammy Award. Gabriel's work also has been marked by an imaginative visual component. His performances with Genesis were noted for their supreme theatricality, and his music videos (music video) set new standards for the nascent medium; the video for "Sledgehammer" was voted best video of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 1993, and two of Gabriel's other videos, based on his 1992 album Us, won Grammy Awards in 1992 and 1993.

      In 1994 Gabriel released Xplora 1, one of the first multimedia CD-ROMs created by a mainstream artist, and six years later he composed OVO, a multimedia presentation for London's Millennium Dome. In 2000 Gabriel showed that he remained ahead of the technological curve when he founded On Demand Distribution, an Internet service that became one of Europe's leading online music providers; he later sold the company for $38 million. New material emerged in a slow trickle from the Real World studios as Gabriel contributed single songs to film sound tracks or appeared as a guest performer on other artists' albums. In 2002 he composed Long Walk Home, the score to the film Rabbit-Proof Fence, and he followed later that year with Up, his first full-length studio release in 10 years. The former recalled his work on Passion, while the latter was a dark meditation on loss and longing. In 2008 Gabriel received the Ambassador of Conscience award from Amnesty International for the decades of support he had given that organization.

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