Peter Gabriel
Although Peter Gabriel is mostly characterized as a singer/songwriter, his many varied interests really defy categorization. Gabriel co-founded the rock group Genesis in 1967 and served as lead singer for the group until 1975. Genesis rode the art rock wave, treating fans to spectacular live performances that featured Gabriel in inventive costumes and black light. By the mid-1970s he began to focus on his own work and finally left the band, eventually being replaced as lead singer by drummer Phil Collins. Gabriel's first three self-titled solo albums experimented with sampling, electronica, and worldbeat. Hits include the political anthem "Biko" and "Games without Frontiers". In 1982 the album Security gave him his first top 40 hit with "Shock the Monkey". Gabriel was a pioneer in the emerging art of the music video, and songs like "Sledgehammer" with its stop-motion animation broke new ground in the world of MTV. Throughout the 1980s, Gabriel supported Amnesty International and toured several times to raise money for human rights causes. He also co-founded the group Witness, which is dedicated to exposing human rights violations. At this time he also began to compose and record soundtracks for films, including Birdy (1984), The Last Temptation of Christ (for which he won a Grammy in 1989), and the Australian movie Rabbit Proof Fences (2002). Gabriel has been a champion of world music, co-founding the annual music festival - WOMAD and promoting artists through his Real World record label. Gabriel also founded On Demand Distribution (OD2), one of the first online music download systems. Peter Gabriel continues to work on multimedia projects, record music, and support human rights causes.
