Biography
Who is Peter Gabriel?
Early life and education
Peter Gabriel was born in Chobham, United Kingdom, on February 13, 1950. His mother was Edith Irene Allen, and his father was Ralph Parton Gabriel. He grew up near Chobham at Deep Pool Farm, which was a Victorian manor. He attended several schools during his childhood, including Cable House in Woking and St. Andrews Preparatory School for Boys in Horsell.
During his school years, he focused on piano lessons with his mother and developed an interest in drumming. He wrote his first song, titled Sammy the Slug, at the age of twelve. In September 1963, he started attending Charterhouse School in Godalming. At this school, he played drums and sang for his first band, a trad jazz group called the Milords, and later joined a holiday band named the Spoken Word.
Genesis and early career
In 1965, while still attending Charterhouse, Peter Gabriel formed the band Garden Wall with schoolmates Tony Banks, Johnny Trapman, and Chris Stewart. The group disbanded in 1967. Shortly after, Gabriel and Banks joined forces with Anthony Phillips and Mike Rutherford to work on a demo tape. An alumnus named Jonathan King heard the tape, signed the group, and suggested the name Genesis.
Genesis released their debut studio album, From Genesis to Revelation, in 1968. As the lead vocalist and principal lyricist, Gabriel fronted the band through several progressive rock albums, such as Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, and Selling England by the Pound. He became known for his theatrical stage performances and costumes. Tensions arose during the creation of the concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, and Gabriel officially left Genesis in 1975 following a world tour.
Solo career and albums
After leaving Genesis, Peter Gabriel took a brief musical hiatus before launching a successful solo career. He released four self-titled studio albums spanning progressive rock, new wave, post-punk, and world music styles. These releases featured well-known hit singles like Solsbury Hill, Games Without Frontiers, Shock the Monkey, and Biko, which was a protest song against apartheid in South Africa.
In 1986, Gabriel released the worldbeat-influenced album So, which became his best-selling release and reached triple-platinum certification in the UK and quintuple-platinum in the US. The album featured the single Sledgehammer, whose music video won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards. He later released albums such as Us in 1992 and Up in 2002. He continued his career by contributing the song Down to Earth to the Pixar film WALL-E in 2008 and releasing the album I/O in 2023.
Humanitarian work and projects
Alongside his music career, Peter Gabriel has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts and world music projects. In 1982, he co-founded the World of Music, Arts and Dance festival, commonly known as WOMAD. He also wrote the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese's film The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988. He established Real World Studios in Wiltshire to produce and promote world music through his Real World Records label.
Gabriel has headlined several human rights benefit concerts, starting with Amnesty International's A Conspiracy of Hope tour in 1986. In 1992, he co-created the human rights organization Witness. Alongside Nelson Mandela and Richard Branson, he also helped develop the idea for The Elders in 2007, which is an organization of public figures recognized as peace activists.
Birthday and age
Peter Gabriel was born on February 13, 1950, which makes Peter 76 years old today. That birthday falls under the Aquarius sign. Peter shares the date with 23 other famous people.
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