Peter Gabriel
English musician (born 1950) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter and human rights activist. He was the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis.[1] After leaving the band in 1975, he launched a solo career with "Solsbury Hill" as his first single. His fifth studio album, So (1986), is his best-selling release and is certified triple platinum in the UK and five times platinum in the US. The album's most successful single, "Sledgehammer", won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards and, according to a report in 2011, it was MTV's most played music video of all time.[2]
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Birth name | Peter Brian Gabriel |
Born | (1950-02-13) 13 February 1950 (age 74) Chobham, Surrey, England |
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Years active | 1965–present |
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Website | petergabriel |
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Gabriel has been a champion of world music for much of his career. He co-founded the WOMAD festival in 1982.[3] He has continued to focus on producing and promoting world music through his Real World Records label. He has pioneered digital distribution methods for music, co-founding OD2, one of the first online music download services.[4] Gabriel has also been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts. In 1980, he released the anti-apartheid single "Biko".[3] He has participated in several human-rights benefit concerts, including Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! tour in 1988, and co-founded the Witness human rights organisation in 1992.[3] Gabriel developed The Elders with Richard Branson, which was launched by Nelson Mandela in 2007.[5]
Gabriel has won three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1987,[6] six Grammy Awards,[7] thirteen MTV Video Music Awards, the first Pioneer Award at the BT Digital Music Awards,[8] the Q magazine Lifetime Achievement,[9] the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement,[10] and the Polar Music Prize.[11] He was made a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI London Awards for his "influence on generations of music makers".[12] In recognition of his many years of human rights activism, he received the Man of Peace award from the Nobel Peace Prize laureates in 2006,[13] and Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008.[14] AllMusic described Gabriel as "one of rock's most ambitious, innovative musicians, as well as one of its most political".[15] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010,[16] and as a solo artist in 2014.[17] In March 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of South Australia in recognition of his achievements in music.