History Music / Melt

While Gabriel's UK label Charisma didn't raise much of a fuss, the resultant album was the subject of heavy skepticism from Gabriel's US label, Creator/AtlanticRecords, who were turned off by its heavily experimental sound and misinterpreted its lyrical themes of mental decay as the product of a CreatorBreakdown, specifically singling out "Lead a Normal Life", ultimately dropping Gabriel at the recommendation of A&R executive John Kalodner. Incensed, Gabriel quickly signed onto Creator/MercuryRecords to distribute the album in America, and let the album do the rest: it shot up to the top of the UK Albums Charts, peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200 his highest chart placement at that date, and was certified gold by the BPI just ''three days'' after its release (later being certified gold in France and the U.S. as well), overall acting as Gabriel's BreakthroughHit as a solo artist in the UK. Additionally, lead single "Games Without Frontiers" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles chart and became the 54th best-selling single of the year in Britain. The song reached a respectable No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was popular on American rock radio; because Billboard wouldn't develop a chart to measure airplay on AOR stations until the following year. Egg on his face, Kalodner, now working for the fledgling Creator/GeffenRecords, quickly rushed to make amends with Gabriel by signing him on in the US and Canada for 1982's ''Security'' and reissuing the album once Mercury's ownership rights lapsed in 1983; Gabriel would remain on Geffen west of the Atlantic all the way until 2008.

* VillainProtagonist: "Intruder" and "Family Snapshot" are respectively narrated by an experienced burglar and assassin Arthur Brenner.

While Gabriel's UK label Charisma didn't raise much of a fuss, the resultant album was the subject of heavy skepticism from Gabriel's US label, Creator/AtlanticRecords, who were turned off by its heavily experimental sound and misinterpreted its lyrical themes of mental decay as the product of a CreatorBreakdown, specifically singling out "Lead a Normal Life", ultimately dropping Gabriel at the recommendation of A&R executive John Kalodner. Incensed, Gabriel quickly signed onto Creator/MercuryRecords to distribute the album in America, and let the album do the rest: it shot up to the top of the UK Albums Charts, peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the BPI just ''three days'' after its release (later being certified gold in France and the U.S. as well), overall acting as Gabriel's BreakthroughHit as a solo artist in the UK. Additionally, lead single "Games Without Frontiers" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles chart and became the 54th best-selling single of the year in Britain. The song reached a respectable No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was popular on American rock radio; because Billboard wouldn't develop a chart to measure airplay on AOR stations until the following year. Egg on his face, Kalodner, now working for the fledgling Creator/GeffenRecords, quickly rushed to make amends with Gabriel by signing him on in the US and Canada for 1982's ''Security'' and reissuing the album once Mercury's ownership rights lapsed in 1983; Gabriel would remain on Geffen west of the Atlantic all the way until 2008.

While Gabriel's UK label Charisma didn't raise much of a fuss, the resultant album was the subject of heavy skepticism from Gabriel's US label, Creator/AtlanticRecords, who were turned off by its heavily experimental sound and misinterpreted its lyrical themes of mental decay as the product of a CreatorBreakdown, specifically singling out "Lead a Normal Life", ultimately dropping Gabriel at the recommendation of A&R executive John Kalodner. Incensed, Gabriel quickly signed onto Creator/MercuryRecords to distribute the album in America, and let the album do the rest: it shot up to the top of the UK Albums Charts, peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the BPI just ''three days'' after its release (later being certified gold in France as well), overall acting as Gabriel's BreakthroughHit as a solo artist in the UK. Additionally, lead single "Games Without Frontiers" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles chart and became the 54th best-selling single of the year in Britain. The song reached a respectable No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was popular on American rock radio; because Billboard wouldn't develop a chart to measure airplay on AOR stations until the following year. Egg on his face, Kalodner, now working for the fledgling Creator/GeffenRecords, quickly rushed to make amends with Gabriel by signing him on in the US and Canada for 1982's ''Security'' and reissuing the album once Mercury's ownership rights lapsed in 1983; Gabriel would remain on Geffen west of the Atlantic all the way until 2008.

While Gabriel's UK label Charisma didn't raise much of a fuss, the resultant album was the subject of heavy skepticism from Gabriel's US label, Creator/AtlanticRecords, who were turned off by its heavily experimental sound and misinterpreted its lyrical themes of mental decay as the product of a CreatorBreakdown, specifically singling out "Lead a Normal Life", ultimately dropping Gabriel at the recommendation of A&R executive John Kalodner. Incensed, Gabriel quickly signed onto Creator/MercuryRecords to distribute the album in America, and let the album do the rest: it shot up to the top of the UK Albums Charts, peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the BPI just ''three days'' after its release (later being certified gold in France as well). Additionally, lead single "Games Without Frontiers" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles chart and became the 54th best-selling single of the year in Britain. The song reached a respectable No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was popular on American rock radio, but Billboard would only develop a chart to measure airplay on AOR stations the following year. Egg on his face, Kalodner, now working for the fledgling Creator/GeffenRecords, quickly rushed to make amends with Gabriel by signing him on in the US and Canada for 1982's ''Security'' and reissuing the album once Mercury's ownership rights lapsed in 1983; Gabriel would remain on Geffen west of the Atlantic all the way until 2008.

* EpicRocking: The 7:32 "Biko".

* LastNoteNightmare: "I Don't Remember" ends with a low synthesizer drone, while "Biko"-- and by extent, the album-- ends with two echoing drumbeats that invoke the sound of gunfire.

In addition to its commercial success, ''Peter Gabriel'' was rapturously received by critics as well, who praised its adept blend of widely disparate sounds and styles and considered it the definitive sign of Gabriel having finally come into his own as an artist, proving he could make innovative and compelling music both distinct from and outside of Genesis. To this day, it ranks among ''Security'' and ''Music/{{So}}'' as one of Gabriel's best albums by fans and critics alike, with some going as far as calling it his absolute greatest. Alongside Music/TalkingHeads' ''Music/RemainInLight'' later in 1980, this album would instigate a major series of shifts in popular music, making it far more open to influences from non-western music and sparking the worldbeat boom that would reach its peak with ''So'' and Music/PaulSimon's ''Music/{{Graceland}}'' in 1986. Furthermore, the opening track "Intruder" is also generally cited as the song that first birthed the gated reverb drum sound that would become omnipresent in popular music for the next 11 years; tellingly, the drummer on that song was Phil Collins, who would bring gated reverb directly into the mainstream with his own [[Music/FaceValue "In The Air Tonight"]] in 1981.

''Peter Gabriel'' was supported by four singles: "Games Without Frontiers", "No Self Control", "Biko", and "I Don't Remember."

** Robert Fripp leader Music/KingCrimson plays guitar on "No Self Control", "I Don't Remember", and "Not One of Us".
** Fellow Music/KingCrimson member Tony Levin provides Chapman stick parts on "I Don't Remember". Fripp and Levin have an association with Gabriel going back to his debut album.

** "Biko" was famously inspired by the death of Steve Biko, a black anti-apartheid activist who was beaten to death in white police officers while in their custody.

* FreudianExcuse: "Family Snapshot" ends with a flashback to Arthur Brenner's troubled childhood, specifically the acrimonious separation of his parents, signalling it as a direct factor in Brenner's later decision to shoot George Wallace for clout.

** "Family Snapshot" was directly inspired by ''An Assassin's Diary'', a memoir by Arthur Brenner that detailed his motives for shooting infamous pro-segregation Alabama governor George Wallace, an attack that both permanently rendered the politician paraplegic and led to him renouncing his white supremacist views.
** "Biko" was famously inspired by the death of Steve Biko, a black anti-aprtheid activist who was beaten to death in white police officers while in their custody.

* TragicVillain: "Family Snapshot", narrated from the perspective of assassin Arthur Brenner, ends with a flashback to his unhappy childhood.

** Fellow Music/KingCrimson member Tony Levin provides Chapman stick parts on "I Don't Remember".

** [[Music/KingCrimson Robert Fripp]] plays guitar on "No Self Control", "I Don't Remember", and "Not One of Us".
** [[Music/KingCrimson Tony Levin]] provides Chapman stick parts on "I Don't Remember".
** [[Music/{{XTC}} David Gregory]] plays guitar on "I Don't Remember" and "Family Snapshot".

While Gabriel's UK label Charisma didn't raise much of a fuss, the resultant album was the subject of heavy skepticism from Gabriel's US label, Creator/AtlanticRecords, who were turned off by its heavily experimental sound and misinterpreted its lyrical themes of mental decay as the product of a CreatorBreakdown, specifically singling out "Lead a Normal Life", ultimately dropping Gabriel at the recommendation of A&R executive John Kalodner. Incensed, Gabriel quickly signed onto Creator/MercuryRecords to distribute the album in America, and let the album do the rest: it shot up to the top of the UK Albums Charts, peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the BPI just ''three days'' after its release (later being certified gold in France as well). Additionally, lead single "Games Without Frontiers" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles chart and became the 54th best-selling single of the year in Britain. The song reached a respectable No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was popular on American rock radio, but Billboard would only develop a chart to measure airplay on AOR stations the following year. Egg on his face, Kalodner, now working for the fledgling Creator/GeffenRecords, quickly rushed to make amends with Gabriel by signing him on in the US and Canada once Mercury's ownership rights lapsed in 1983; Gabriel would remain on Geffen west of the Atlantic all the way until 2008.

* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The album cover is a collaboration between Gabriel and Creator/{{Hipgnosis}}, in which the they used styluses to move the dyes around in various Polaroids while they developed as a way of altering the image. The ones that Gabriel liked the best were then re-photographed with black and white film and used as the album art.

* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The album cover is a collaboration between Gabriel and Creator/{{Hipgnosis}}, in which the theyo used styluses to move the dyes around in various Polaroids while they developed as a way of altering the image. The ones that Gabriel liked the best were then re-photographed with black and white film and used as the album art.

Most significantly, the album's closing track and third single "Biko" would be credited with sparking western interest in the anti-apartheid movement, raising awareness of the killing of black activist Steve Biko by white police officers while in custody, and consequently bringing to the mainstream forefront the true face of apartheid brutality. The song would be cited as a direct source of inspiration by countless anti-apartheid activists in the west, Gabriel himself would become a prominent figurehead of the movement, and while apartheid law wouldn't be abolished until 1994, the fact that UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra ended at all can be traced in part to the exponentially increasing foreign pressure that started with Gabriel's song. Thus, this is an album that not only ended up changing popular music, but also directly affected the course of broader human history as a whole in the decades after its release.

** Paul Weller of the Jam plays guitar on "And Through the Wire".

* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The album cover is a collaboration between Gabriel and Creator/{{Hipgnosis}}, in which the two used styluses to move the dyes around in various Polaroids while they developed as a way of altering the image. The ones that Gabriel liked the best were then re-photographed with black and white film and used as the album art.

* FacialHorror: The cover art depicts half of Gabriel's face melted into an indistinct waterfall of ooze, the other half already starting to melt.

While Gabriel's UK label Charisma didn't raise much of a fuss, the resultant album was the subject of heavy skepticism from Gabriel's US label, Creator/AtlanticRecords, who were turned off by its heavily experimental sound and misinterpreted its lyrical themes of mental decay as the product of a CreatorBreakdown, specifically singling out "Lead a Normal Life", ultimately dropping Gabriel at the recommendation of A&R executive John Kalodner. Incensed, Gabriel quickly signed onto Creator/MercuryRecords to distribute the album in America, and let the album do the rest: it shot up to the top of the UK Albums Charts, peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the BPI just ''three days'' after its release (later being certified gold in France as well). Additionally, lead single "Games Without Frontiers" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles chart and became the 54th best-selling single of the year in Britain. The song reached a respectable No. 48 on the Billboard Top 100, but was popular on American rock radio, but Billboard would only develop a chart to measure airplay on AOR stations the following year. Egg on his face, Kalodner, now working for the fledgling Creator/GeffenRecords, quickly rushed to make amends with Gabriel by signing him on in the US and Canada once Mercury's ownership rights lapsed in 1983; Gabriel would remain on Geffen west of the Atlantic all the way until 2008.

While Gabriel's UK label Charisma didn't raise much of a fuss, the resultant album was the subject of heavy skepticism from Gabriel's US label, Creator/AtlanticRecords, who were turned off by its heavily experimental sound and misinterpreted its lyrical themes of mental decay as the product of a CreatorBreakdown, specifically singling out "Lead a Normal Life", ultimately dropping Gabriel at the recommendation of A&R executive John Kalodner. Incensed, Gabriel quickly signed onto Creator/MercuryRecords to distribute the album in America, and let the album do the rest: it shot up to the top of the UK Albums Charts, peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the BPI just ''three days'' after its release (later being certified gold in France as well). Additionally, lead single "Games Without Frontiers" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles chart and became the 54th best-selling single of the year in Britain. Egg on his face, Kalodner, now working for the fledgling Creator/GeffenRecords, quickly rushed to make amends with Gabriel by signing him on in the US and Canada once Mercury's ownership rights lapsed in 1983; Gabriel would remain on Geffen west of the Atlantic all the way until 2008.

While Gabriel's UK label Charisma didn't raise much of a fuss, the resultant album was the subject of heavy skepticism from Gabriel's US label, Creator/AtlanticRecords, who were turned off by its heavily experimental sound and misinterpreted its lyrical themes of mental decay as the product of a CreatorBreakdown, specifically singling out "Lead a Normal Life", ultimately dropping Gabriel at the recommendation of A&R executive John Kalodner. Incensed, Gabriel quickly signed onto Creator/MercuryRecords to distribute the album in America, and let the album do the rest: it shot up to the top of the UK Albums Charts, peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the BPI just ''three days'' after its release (later being certified gold in France as well). Additionally, lead single "Games Without Frontiers" peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles chart and became the 54th best-selling single of the year in Britain. Egg on his face, Kalonder, now working for the fledgling Creator/GeffenRecords, quickly rushed to make amends with Gabriel by signing him on in the US and Canada once Mercury's ownership rights lapsed in 1983; Gabriel would remain on Geffen west of the Atlantic all the way until 2008.

* FacialHorror: The cover art depicts half of Gabriel's face melted into an indistinct waterfall of ooze.

* OneWordTitle: "Intruder", "Biko"; played with in regards to "The Start", which is known as just "Start" on some releases.

* MetalScream: "I Don't Remember" opens with a fairly impressive one that rapidly approaches BeCarefulWithThatAxe territory.