Peter Gabriel is an English singer-songwriter, record producer, and advocate who is best known as the lead vocalist and the founding member of the English rock band Genesis. After departing Genesis in 1975, Gabriel began a successful solo career with his debut single, “Solsbury Hill”. He is one of the most ambitious and creative musicians of the rock era trying to incorporate various forms and aspects of music such as world music, experimentalism, and electronic music.
Having been in the music industry for over half a century, Gabriel has participated in twelve concert tours either independently or as a part of the Genesis band. His last solo tour was in 2018 in promotion of his then-released album, “I/O”. Gabriel is also famous for his spectacular live shows which always feature rather fancy stage devices and video accompaniments. During his concert tours, he sings songs from the current album, other new songs, and hits from his previous albums.
Early Genesis Days During the early 1970s, when Gabriel was still with Genesis, he was able to develop his prowess as a performer through several tours in the UK and other parts of Europe in support of albums such as "Trespass", "Nursery Cryme" and "Foxtrot” among others. The use of stage personas and costumes was introduced in the live set with the band as a part of Gabriel’s performances. This began building the foundation of Gabriel’s ‘God of Theatrical Rock’ moniker in the early years of the band’s performances.
First Solo Tour – 1976/1977 Gabriel left Genesis in mid-1975 and did not record or tour for a long time the first album from the new Gabriel was recorded and released in early 1977 and was simply titled Peter Gabriel. To support this album, he embarked on the first solo tour in North America and the UK from April to October 1977. As ever not far from his Genesis theatrics, Gabriel brought exotic visuals and interpretative themes into the tour including the first-ever use of capsule microphones for amplification and dramatic emphasis. Songs included ‘Solsbury Hill’, ‘Moribund the Burgermeister’ and other songs from his solo career.
1980 Tour – Pop Minimalism In 1980, Gabriel came out with his third solo album which was titled “Peter Gabriel” and was received well by the critics. The lead single, “Games Without Frontiers”, marked his first major success as a solo artist. To market the avant-garde new album, which featured a more pop-oriented sound, Gabriel went on an intensive worldwide tour for North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe from March through July of 1980. In terms of visuals, it was even less complex and minimalistic when compared to his previous works. An innovative sound was created by a rhythmic beat supported by Tony Levin on bass and Jerry Marotta on drums against clean beats. Other new tracks sung were “Games Without Frontiers”, “No Self Control”, and “And Biko”, among others The set also included some of his other solo hits.
Tour 1982/1983 – Up Close Following the release of the Security album and the Shock the Monkey single in 1982, Gabriel toured again from the end of 1982 to mid-1983 as part of the Security tour. Because this is an up-close and personal concert, there was no ramping during the concert but Gabriel had a flat stage extension leading directly into the floor of the venue to feel the fans even more. Engagement of the audience and its contact became the focus of attention. It also saw Gabriel greatly increase the use of body mics to pick up and beam out sounds, voices, and percussions to great effect in demonstrating innovative production. These included “Shock the Monkey”, “I Have the Touch”, “San Jacinto” and other previous hits.
Tour 1986 So Big Capitalizing on the success of the 1986 hit album “So”, Gabriel undertook his biggest tour up to that point in 1986-87. Himself on a 9-month tour across North America, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand, for the first time, it was his longest and most attended solo tour where he played many arenas. Production was clean providing the contrast of the aesthetics he embraced thus making the album pop while retaining his artistry. The tour was also memorable for one of his most recognizable visuals – a giant spherical module that filled the stage and opened to let Gabriel inside to perform the popular track “Sledgehammer”. Other songs done off ‘So’ were ‘Sledgehammer’, ‘In Your Eyes’ and ‘Don’t Give Up’ among other songs that have been done as solo performances.
1993/1994 Tour – Up & Down The Americas However, in support of the 1992 album “US” which received a lukewarm reception and 1993 follow-up “Up” which was a commercial effort as well, Gabriel undertook his biggest tour in terms of coverage stretching over 150 shows in 27 months across North and South America, Europe, and, Asia. Landmark events were performing at the Rock in Rio festival in 1993 in front of 300000 people and being one of the last bands to ever play the Roxy in Los Angeles. Songs included ‘Steam’, ‘Blood of Eden’, and ‘Secret World’; they also included more mainstream songs such as ‘Solsbury Hill’.
2002/2003 Tour – ‘Growing Up Live’ Gabriel 2002 released his album called “Up” which received both critical and commercial acclaim, then in 2003 came out with the “Growing Up” hit single. For both albums, Gabriel arranged a 120-show Growing Up tour in Europe and North America from May 2002 to November 2003. The tour name was a growing, evolving journey and this was expressed in all aspects of the production and the theme of the stage matched the experimental and complex nature of the new material. Some of the major elements incorporated were the revolving stage prop ‘The Veil’ and ‘The Glowing Lens’ through which Gabriel demonstrated transformation. The songs played were “Growing Up”, “Signal to Noise”, “In Your Eyes” and many others.
2007 Tour – Still Growing Gabriel has followed suit, releasing an album of original songs in 2010 titled Scratch My Back before his New Blood album. For both, Gabriel organized the Scratch My Back world tour in the year 2010-2011 which included over 100 concerts in Europe, Canada, and the United States. The second North American leg, staged in 2012, was called the Back to Front tour, during which Gabriel and the band played the «typical» Genesis hits for the first time after he left the group in 1975. The next segment was a live encore of his 1986 debut album “So”, which earned him much recognition. In addition to explaining the meaning of Genesis classics such as ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ or solo hits such as ‘Sledgehammer’, the tour unveiled the wireless projection screen prop as iconic.
2014 Tour – Back to Front Again Because of the enormous popularity and sales all over the world, Gabriel performed another world tour in 2014 and 2015 known as Back to Front in which he focused on the “So” album and other hits of Genesis. It reached Europe and North America and sold out famous venues such as London’s O2 Arena. A special one was “So DNA”, a VIP pre-show where fans were privileged to hear some of the behind-the-scenes stories and experiences that the artist behind “So” had to share with some exclusive demos before the actual show. In addition to performing “So” and other songs from Genesis, Gabriel also included orchestral renditions of “O But” and encores “Biko” showing versatility.
2018 – I/O Tour After releasing his last album in 2015, Gabriel came back in 2022 with his eleventh studio album, his first solo work, titled “I/O”. As a means of presenting the new work as experimental and electronic, Gabriel planned a brief but enthusiastically greeted North American and European tour in September through November of 2022. Utilizing contemporary digital projection and lighting against a comparatively plain setting, Gabriel reminded his audience of his 1982 Security tour and gave fans a very up-close and personal experience. In addition to running through entire-career signature pieces such as ‘Games Without Frontiers,’ the concerts celebrated 6 songs from ‘I/O’ as signs of artistic regeneration. A world stadium tour is expected to follow this “road test” leg as Gabriel comes back to his peak touring form once more.
