Official name	Petersburg, Virginia
Settlement type	Independent City
Nickname	The Cockade City
Image seal	Petersburg Virginia Seal.jpg
Map caption	Location in the State of Virginia
Coordinates region	US-VA
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision name	United States
Subdivision name1	Virginia
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Brian A. Moore
Established title	Founded
Established date	December 17, 1748
Area magnitude	1 E7
Area total sq mi	23.2
Area land sq mi	22.9
Area water sq mi	0.3
Population as of	2009
Population total	32845
Population metro	1126262
Population density sq mi	auto
Timezone	EST
Utc offset	-5
Timezone dst	EDT
Utc offset dst	-4
Elevation m	40
Elevation ft	134
Postal code type	ZIP codes
Postal code	23803-23806
Area code	804
Blank name	FIPS code
Blank info	51-61832
Blank1 name	GNIS ID |blank1_info 1497087
Website	www.petersburg-va.org }}

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 30,513 as of 2009, predominantly of African-American ethnicity. The city's unique industrial past and its location as a transportation hub combined to create wealth for Virginia and the region.

The location on the Appomattox River at the fall line (head-of-navigation of the U.S. east coast rivers) early in the history in the Colony of Virginia caused Petersburg to become a strategic place for transportation and commercial activities, as well as the site of Fort Henry. As railroads emerged beginning in the 1830s, it became a major transfer point for both north-south and east-west competitors. The Petersburg Railroad was one of the earliest predecessors of the modern-day CSX Transportation (CSX) system. Several of the earliest predecessors of the area's other major Class 1 railroad, Norfolk Southern (NS), also met at Petersburg. Both CSX and NS rail systems maintain transportation centers at Petersburg. Due to the railroad network, during the American Civil War (1861–65), Petersburg was key to Union plans for the defeat of the Confederate capital of Richmond. The city was the site of nine months of trench warfare during the Siege of Petersburg. Battlefield sites are located throughout the city and surrounding areas, partly preserved as Petersburg National Battlefield.

The city is significant for its role in African-American history. Petersburg had one of the oldest free black settlements in the state at Pocahontas Island. In the post-Bellum period, a historically black college which later became Virginia State University (VSU) was established in nearby Ettrick in Chesterfield County. Also nearby, Richard Bland College, a junior college was established originally as a branch of Williamsburg's College of William and Mary. Two Baptist churches in the city, whose congregations were founded in the late 18th century, are among the oldest black congregations and churches in the nation. In the 20th century, these and other black churches were leaders in the national Civil Rights Movement.

Petersburg remains a transportation hub, with the network of area highways include U.S. Interstate Highways 85, 95, and 295, and U.S. highways 1, 301, and 460. In the early 21st century, Petersburg leaders were highlighting its historical attractions for heritage tourism, and its industrial sites making use of the transportation infrastructure. Military activity has expanded at nearby Fort Lee, home of the United States Army's Sustainment Center of Excellence, as well as the Army's Logistics Branch, Ordnance, Quartermaster, and Transportation Corps.

History

Indigenous people

In 2006 archaeological excavations at Pocahontas Island found evidence of prehistoric Native American settlement dated to 6500 B.C. This is in the early third of the Archaic Period (8000 to 1000 BC). Varying cultures of indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years.

When the English arrived in Virginia in 1607, the region was occupied by the ''Appamatuck'', a significant tribe of the Powhatan Confederacy. They were governed by a ''weroance'', King ''Coquonosum'', and by his sister, Queen ''Oppussoquionuske''. This Algonquian-speaking people later had a town at Rohoic Creek (formerly ''Rohowick'' or Indian Towne Run), on the western edge of present-day Petersburg.

Founding and early history

Petersburg was founded and settled by English colonists. By 1635 they patented land along the south bank of the Appomattox River as far west as present-day Sycamore Street, and about inland. In 1646, the Virginia Colony established Fort Henry a short distance from the Appamatuck town, near the falls. Col. Abraham Wood sent several famous expeditions out from here in the following years to explore points to the west, as far as the Appalachian Mountains.

Some time around 1675, Wood's son-in-law, Peter Jones, who then commanded the fort and traded with the Indians, opened a trading post nearby, known as Peter's Point. The Bolling family, prominent tobacco planters and traders, also lived in the area from the early 18th century. In 1733, Col. William Byrd II (who founded Richmond at the same time) conceived plans for a city at Peter's Point, to be renamed Petersburgh. The Virginia General Assembly formally incorporated both Petersburg and adjacent Blandford on December 17, 1748. Wittontown, north of the river, was settled in 1749, and became incorporated as Pocahontas in 1752. Petersburg was enlarged slightly in 1762, adding to "Old Town".

Post-colonial period

During the American Revolutionary War, the British drive to regain control erupted in the Battle of Blanford in 1781, which started just east of Petersburg. As the Americans retreated north across the Appomattox River, they took up the planks of the Pocahontas bridge to delay the enemy. Although the British drove the Americans from Blanford and Petersburg, they did not regain a strategic advantage in the war. Cornwallis' forces surrendered at Yorktown soon after this battle. After the war, in 1784 Petersburg annexed the adjacent towns of Blanford (also called Blandford) and Pocahontas and the suburb of Ravenscroft, which became neighborhoods of the city. An area known as Gillfield was annexed in 1798.

In the first two decades after the war, inspired by the Revolution's principles of equality, numerous Virginia slaveholders manumitted their slaves. Some of those freed were the mixed-race "natural children" of white planters, born to enslaved mothers outside of legal marriage. The number of free blacks in Virginia rose markedly between 1782 and 1810. Because of the availability of jobs in Petersburg, many free people of color in Virginia migrated to the growing urban community. They established First Baptist (1774) and Gillfield Baptist Church (1797), the first and second oldest black congregations in the city and two of the oldest in the nation. The black churches were the first Baptist churches established in Petersburg.

For years the center of the free black residential area was Pocahontas Island, a peninsula on the north shore of the Appomattox River. With access to waterways and a sympathetic population, this neighborhood was an important site on the Underground Railroad. Two surviving houses in the Pocahontas Island Historic District are associated with it.

The Port of Petersburg became renowned as a commercial center for processing cotton, tobacco and metal, then shipping products out of the region. The city became an important industrial center in a mostly agricultural state with few major cities.

Residents' devotion to the cause during the War of 1812 led to the formation of the Petersburg Volunteers — who distinguished themselves in action at the Siege of Fort Meigs on May 5, 1813. President James Madison called Petersburg "Cockade of the Union" (or "Cockade City"), in honor of the cockades which Volunteers wore on their caps.

Flourishing businesses helped the city make improvements. Starting in 1813, the city paved its streets. A development company created a canal to bypass the Appomattox Falls. Next came railroad lines to link the city to all points of the compass. As travel technology developed in the mid-19th century, Petersburg became established as a railroad center, with lines completed to Richmond to the north, Farmville and Lynchburg to the west, and Weldon, North Carolina to the south. The last major line was completed in 1858 to the east, with the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad connecting to an ocean port.

In 1851 the city introduced gaslights and by 1857 installed a new municipal water system. All these civic improvements helped attract and hold a substantial business community, based on manufacture of tobacco products, but also including cotton and flour mills, and banking.

Civil War

At the time of the American Civil War, Petersburg was the second largest city in the state, and the seventh-largest city in the Confederacy. Its 1860 population was 18,266, half of whom were black. Free blacks numbered 3,224 or one-third, attracted to the city for the job opportunities in industries and trades. The Petersburg population had the highest percentage of free blacks of any city in the Confederacy and the largest number of free blacks in the Mid-Atlantic. Many free blacks had settled on Pocahontas Island. Because of this significant past and prehistoric archaeological evidence, the Pocahontas Island Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ninety percent of the population were native Virginians, as most of their ancestors had been in the state since the 17th and 18th centuries.

When the Civil War started in 1861, Petersburg's men responded. They provided the Confederacy several infantry companies and artillery units, as well as three troops of cavalry. In April 1861 more than 300 free blacks from Petersburg volunteered to work on the fortifications of Norfolk, Virginia with their own leader. Slaveholders "volunteered" the work of numerous enslaved men.

In 1864, Petersburg was a significant target during the Overland Campaign of Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Its numerous railroads made Petersburg a lifeline to Richmond, the Capital of the Confederacy, and other major points. The depot at Pocahontas Island, built for the Richmond & Petersburg line, was an embarkation point for Confederate troops and supplies.

During the war Petersburg was the headquarters of the Confederate Second Regiment of Engineers, whose members included Benjamin Morgan Harrod, the Harvard-trained civil engineer who later designed the water and sewerage systems of his native New Orleans, Louisiana.

After the Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant stayed east of Richmond and headed south to Petersburg. Grant decided to cut off the rail lines into Petersburg, and thus Richmond's supplies. On June 9, troops under William F. "Baldy" Smith, of the 18th Corps, attacked the Dimmock Line, a set of defensive breastworks originally constructed in 1861 and 1862. They were to protect Petersburg against the Army of the Potomac under General George McClellan during the Peninsula Campaign. The Confederate troops numbered around 2,000. Union generals Smith and Winfield S. Hancock were reluctant to attack a fortified line. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard alerted Lee that he was facing the Army of the Potomac at Petersburg. Lee later arrived, and the 292-day Siege of Petersburg began.

On the Eastern Front, the trench lines were close together. One soldier in the 48th Pennsylvania, a coal miner in civilian life, remarked aloud, "We could blow that battery into oblivion if we could dig a mine underneath it." Colonel Henry Pleasants, division commander, took this idea seriously and moved it up the chain of command. The plan was given the go ahead. On July 30, the mine was exploded. Due to poor Union leadership and the timely arrival of Confederate General William Mahone, the Union lost the Battle of the Crater. They suffered more than 4,000 casualties. This famous battle was portrayed in the film ''Cold Mountain'' (2003) (based on the novel by the same name).

In early April 1865, Union troops pushed successfully on their left flank to reach both the railroad to Weldon, North Carolina and the Southside Railroad. With the loss of Petersburg's crucial lifelines to the rest of the Confederacy, the siege ended in victory for the Union Army.

The fall of Petersburg also signaled that the Confederate capital of Richmond could not be defended, and precipitated Robert E. Lee's last retreat march. Later that month Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, essentially ending the war. Confederate General Ambrose P. (A.P.) Hill died on the last day the Confederates occupied the Petersburg trenches. The use of an extended network of fortified entrenchments around Petersburg established a warfare precedent. Armies on both sides used trenches extensively in Europe during World War I (qv. Trench warfare).

Post-Civil War history

By the end of the war, the city was ringed with a series of fortifications. Many of these have been preserved within Petersburg National Battlefield Park and in neighboring Dinwiddie County.

The Freedmen's Bureau established new facilities for freedmen, including a mental health hospital in December 1869, at Howard's Grove Hospital, a former Confederate unit. In 1870 the General Assembly incorporated the Central Lunatic Asylum as an organized state institution, as part of an effort by the Reconstruction-era legislature to increase public institutions for general welfare. The legislature also founded the state's first system of free public education.

In the years after the Civil War, many freedmen migrated to Petersburg for rebuilding, work on the river, and to escape the white control prevalent in more rural areas. They found numerous churches, businesses and institutions founded by free blacks, and added new energy to the community. In 1874 James M. Wilkerson, Sr. founded the Wilkerson Undertaking Company. It continues to operate as the James M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc. and is one of the oldest black-owned firms in the United States. Although in the 1870s, conservative whites took power in the state and began to legislate racial segregation, African Americans continued to create their own businesses and community organizations in Petersburg.

During the 1880s, a coalition of black Republicans and white Populists held power for several years in the state legislature. This resulted in two major public institutions in Petersburg, as the legislature invested for education and welfare. In 1882, the legislature founded Virginia State University in nearby Ettrick as Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. It was one of the first public (fully state-supported) four-year historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Mid-Atlantic. This was part of a drive to improve public education that started with the Reconstruction legislature. John Mercer Langston, a national political leader and former dean of Howard University's law department, was selected as the college's first president. An Oberlin College graduate, he was an accomplished attorney who had been a leader of abolitionists in Ohio and held national appointments. In 1888, Langston was elected to the US Congress on the Republican ticket, the first African American to be elected to Congress from Virginia. He was also the last for nearly a century.

Also in 1882, the state legislature authorized moving the asylum facility to the Mayfield Farm and developing a new campus there. This is the site of the present-day Central State Hospital, which provides a variety of mental health services.

20th century

The limitations of Petersburg's small geographic area and proximity to Richmond were structural problems which hampered it in adapting to major economic changes in the 20th century. Other forces in the mid-20th century acted to pull people and jobs from the city. It suffered from competition with nearby Richmond, which grew to dominate the region in a changing economy as industries restructured.

World wars led to major federal institutions being constructed at Petersburg, which created local jobs. Soon after World War I started, the US Army established Camp Lee for training draftees. The facility was used again during World War II. In 1950 the camp was designated Fort Lee, and additional buildings were constructed to house the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps Center and School.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Virginia's conservative white Democratic Party-dominated legislature instituted Jim Crow laws, including imposing racial segregation. It also approved constitutional changes that effectively disfranchised most blacks and many poor whites. Those disfranchised suffered major losses in the ability to exercise their rights as citizens. For instance, without being able to vote, they could not serve on juries or be appointed to certain offices. The white legislature consistently underfunded services and schools for blacks.

With many African Americans having served the nation and cause of freedom in WWII, in the postwar years they pressed for social justice, an end to segregation and restoration of voting power. Even after the Great Migration of blacks to northern jobs and cities, Petersburg was 40 percent black in 1960. Those citizens were barred from free use of public spaces and facilities. Major black churches, such as First Baptist and Gillfield Baptist, formed the moral center of the Civil Rights Movement in Petersburg, which gained strength in mid-century and was a major center of action.

Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, the pastor of Gillfield Baptist Church, had become friends with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the early 1950s when they were both in divinity school. In 1957 they co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an important force for leadership of the movement in the South. Walker also founded the Petersburg Improvement Association (PIA), modeled on the Montgomery Improvement Association in Alabama. According to Walker and other close associates of King, Petersburg had played an important role, a kind of blueprint for the national civil rights struggle. King spent time in the city on several occasions in the 1950s and 60s, and several of his top lieutenants were recruited from the local movement.

African Americans in Petersburg struggled, with federal government support, to desegregate public schools and facilities. Through sit-ins in the bus terminal in 1960, the PIA gained agreement by the president of the Bus Terminal Restaurants to desegregate lunch counters in Petersburg and several other cities. Virginia officials at the top levels resisted school integration and initiated the program of Massive Resistance. For instance, rather than integrate, the school board of neighboring Prince Edward County closed public schools for five years, starting in 1959.

In the 1950s, Petersburg became the southern terminus of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike, predating the U.S. Interstate Highway System.

In 1958 Petersburg was named an "All American City" for its quality of life. Retail and industry prospered there until about the early 1980s. De-industrialization and structural economic changes cost many jobs in the city, as happened in numerous older industrial cities across the North and Midwest. The postwar national movement of highway construction and suburbanization added to problems. Many middle-class families moved to newer housing in the suburbs and to nearby Richmond, where the economy was expanding with jobs in fields of financial and retail services. Some companies moved industrial jobs to states further south, where wages were lower, or out of the country altogether. Without sufficient jobs and decreasing middle-class population, city progress slowed.

The declining economy increased the pressure of competition and racial tensions. These flared from 1968 to 1980. Following the assassination of King in 1968, Petersburg was the first city to designate his birthday as a holiday, an observance that is now a national holiday. Regional tensions were heightened by the city's two large annexations of adjacent portions of Dinwiddie and Prince George Counties in the early 1970s. Despite the large addition of suburban school-age children, a downward trend in public school enrollment continued. Projected industrial development of large tracts of vacant land in the annexed areas did not materialize. In 1985 city leaders were unable to keep Brown & Williamson tobacco company, a top employer, from relocating to Macon, Georgia. The company chose a job market with lower wages and a weaker labor union environment.

Partially due to the vacant land still available for potential industrial development, which had been used as justification for the earlier annexations, in 1986 the city failed in its attempt to annex a large section of neighboring Prince George County. It had hoped to enlarge its area for schools and tax base.

When negotiations soured in 1989 to build a new regional mall in Petersburg, the city suffered an economic setback. Numerous remaining retail merchants relocated to the new Southpark Mall area in adjacent Colonial Heights. In a typical postwar US pattern, suburban development through the late 20th century drew off retail from the former downtown area. It was once vibrant near the north end of Sycamore Street but had declined by the late 20th century because of structural changes in industries, and loss of local jobs and customers.

21st century

In the early 21st century, Petersburg leaders are highlighting its attractive historical and industrial sites, with associated access to an exceptionally wide transportation network. As of 2007, Petersburg continued to evolve as a small city, even as the nature of its commercial activities changed. Downtown Petersburg, known as Old Towne, began experiencing a rebirth. The Army has substantially expanded activities at nearby Fort Lee, home of the United States Army's Sustainment Center of Excellence, as well as the Army's Logistics Branch, Ordnance, Quartermaster, and Transportation Corps.

Geography

Petersburg is located at (37.21295, -77.400417).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.2 square miles (60.1 km²), of which, 22.9 square miles (59.3 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (1.29%) is water.

Petersburg is located on the Appomattox River at the fall line, which marks the area where an upland region (continental bedrock) and a coastal plain (coastal alluvia) meet. The fall line is typically prominent where a river crosses its rocky boundary, as there are rapids or waterfalls. River boats could not travel any farther inland, making the location the head of navigation. The need of a port and abundant supply of water power causes settlements to develop where a river crosses the fall line. The most prominent example of fall-line settlement was the establishment of the cities along the eastern coast of the United States where the Appalachian Rise and the coastal plains meet.

Located along the eastern seaboard, approximately halfway between New York and Florida, Petersburg is just south of Virginia's state capital, Richmond and is at the juncture of Interstates 95 and 85. The city is one of 13 jurisdictions that comprise the Richmond-Petersburg Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Petersburg with the cities of Colonial Heights and Hopewell, and neighboring Dinwiddie and Prince George counties for statistical purposes. Petersburg is also a part of the Tri-cities, Virginia regional economy known as the "Appomattox Basin", which includes a portion of southeastern Chesterfield County.

Adjacent counties/independent city

Chesterfield County, Virginia - northwest

Colonial Heights, Virginia - north

Dinwiddie County, Virginia - west, southwest

Prince George County, Virginia - east, southeast

National protected area

Petersburg National Battlefield Park (part)

Major highways

Interstate 85

Interstate 95

US Route 1

US Route 301

U.S. Route 460

Virginia State Route 36

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,740 people, 13,799 households, and 8,513 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,474.6 people per square mile (569.4/km²). There were 15,955 housing units at an average density of 697.3 per square mile (269.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.00% African American, 18.5% White, 0.20% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.37% of the population.

There were 13,799 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.1% were married couples living together, 26.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98.

The age distribution was 25.1% under 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,851, and the median income for a family was $33,955. Males had a median income of $27,859 versus $21,882 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,989. About 16.7% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.1% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Arnold Pen Co., Seward Trunk Co., Titmus Optical, Amsted Rail-Brenco bearings, and Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the top 20 pharmaceutical manufacturers, operate in Petersburg. The city has a long history as an industrial center for Virginia. It was home to many tobacco companies, including tobacco giant Brown & Williamson. The Southern Chemical Co., the original maker of Fleets Phoso-soda (used in hospitals world wide), was a well-known brand associated with the town.

Culture

Architecture and Arts

{{infobox nrhp | name	Petersburg Old Town Historic District | nrhp_type hd | image DowntownPetersburgVa.jpg | caption Intersection of Sycamore and Bollingbrook | location U.S. 1 and VA 36, Petersburg, Virginia | locmapin Virginia | architect OR builder Multiple | added July 04, 1980 | area | refnum 80004314 }}

Since the departure of the Tobacco company Brown & Williamson, Petersburg has invested heavily in historic preservation of its rich range of architecture. The city's numerous 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century structures in its historic neighborhoods provide unique character of place. Groups such as Historic Petersburg Foundation and Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities have worked to restore many of the city's buildings and recognized important districts.

The Petersburg Old Town Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as are other historic districts. People appreciate the preserved historic buildings and pedestrian scale of the downtown, as well as their architectural variety. The buildings are being adapted for new uses. Many restaurants, specialty shops, and up-scale apartments and condos have been developed, with more underway. ''Southern Living'' magazine featured this area, as did HGTV's ''What You Get For The Money''.

The area has become a vibrant arts center. It has an area Arts League and a Performing Arts Center, Sycamore Rouge, "Petersburg's Professional Theatre for the Community". Sycamore Rouge produces a five-show mainstage theatre season and a "black box" theatre season, supplemented with live music and cabaret performances. The city celebrates a "Friday of the Arts" on the second Friday of each month, in which many locations feature local artwork and live music.

Numerous historic properties and districts are associated with the downtown area, and Pocahontas Island was listed as a historic district on the National Register. Among the city's most architecturally refined properties is Battersea, a Palladian-style house built in 1767-1768. On the city's western edge above the Appomattox River, the house is situated on . It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A non-profit group is working with the city to develop a long-term plan for the property.

Sports

Petersburg is home to the Petersburg Generals of the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The Generals play at the Petersburg Sports Complex. The Generals began play in 2000 and won a league championship in their inaugural season.

Education

Elementary and secondary schools

Petersburg City Public Schools ''Note: This section contains a listing only of the current and some of the past public schools serving the independent city of Petersburg, Virginia, all operating under the name of Petersburg City Public Schools. For history of the individual schools and the school system, see history section of this article, or click on links to individual articles as indicated below.''

High school

Petersburg High School

Middle school(s)

Vernon Johns, Jr. Junior High School (former Anderson Elementary building)

Peabody Middle School

Elementary schools

A.P Hill Elementary

Robert E. Lee Elementary

Walnut Hill Elementary

Blandford Academy K-5

J.E.B Stuart Elementary

Westview Early Childhood Education Center

Charter/tech

Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts and Technology

Maggie Walker Governor's School

Schools closed, several buildings re-tasked

David Anderson Elementary School (coverted to a middle school)

Virginia Avenue Elementary School-''Closed in 2005''

Westview Elementary (reduced to Head Start and early childhood education)

Independent schools in the Petersburg area currently include:

Bermuda Run Educational Center

Blandford Manor Education Center

Grace Baptist School

Restoration Military Academy

Rock Church Academy

Robert A. Lewis SDA School

St. Joseph School

Higher education

The area is served by three schools of higher education:

John Tyler Community College

Richard Bland College

Virginia State University

City government

The city of Petersburg has a council-manager form of city government. Therefore, the city is subdivided into seven wards and each ward elects one member each to the city council. The city council then hires a city manager.

The city council elects one of its members to serve as mayor and one member to serve as vice mayor, but generally those positions only have the authority of being chair and vice chair of the city council.

The members of city council:

Ward One: Treska Wilson-Smith Ward Two: Mike Ross Ward Three: Kenneth Pritchett Ward Four: Brian A. Moore (Mayor) Ward Five: W. Howard Myers Ward Six: Ray Coleman Ward Seven: Horace P. Webb (Vice Mayor)

Presently, W. E. Johnson III is Petersburg's city manager. Brian A. Moore serves as mayor and Horace P. Webb as vice-mayor.

Religion

The city is known as Baptist country which includes the oldest African-American congregation in the United States (First Baptist on Harrison Street). The two largest churches are Good Shepherd Baptist Church on Crater Road and Mount Olive Baptist Church on Augusta Avenue.

There are various religious traditions that have congregations in Petersburg with some history behind them. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (known as the Southern Methodist Church denomination) was started in Petersburg on Washington Street.

Jehovah's Witnesses are very prevalent in the city with two kingdom halls located in the area.

Many Petersburg storefronts are occupied by Pentecostal/Charismatic/Non-denominational assemblies. Two of the oldest churches in the Pentecostal tradition that came to Petersburg are Bethesda Bibleway Church (founded by Bishop Bean) and Zion Memorial Apostolic Church (founded by Bishop Christian and now pastored by Bishop Samuel Wright,Sr). Zion is the largest Pentecostal church in Petersburg located on Youngs Road.

There is a Jewish synagogue, Congregation Brith Achim, which is officially non-denominational, but has a progressive-Conservative orientation with a Rabbi who was ordained by the Renewal movement of Judaism.

The Petersburg Ward, a congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, meets at 1800 Johnson Road. It is part of the Richmond Virginia Chesterfield Stake. Members of this Ward are assigned to the Washington, D.C. LDS Temple.

Notable residents

Victoria Gray Adams, the first black woman to run for U. S. Senate from Mississippi, as well as co-chair with Fannie Lou Hamer in founding the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, lived here near the end of her life.

Tyra Bolling, R&B; singer, was born here.

Trey Songz,R&B; singer, was born here.

Joseph Cotten, actor, was born and raised here.

Dr. John Crews, the first African-American robotic surgeon, was born here.

Ricky Hunley, NFL Defensive Player, was born here.

Stoney Jackson, actor, was born and raised here.

Rev. Dr. Vernon Johns, civil rights leader.

John Mercer Langston (1829–1899), abolitionist, activist, educator and politician - first dean of Howard University law school, first president of Virginia State University, in 1888 first black to be elected to the United States Congress from Virginia.

William Mahone, 19th century railroad builder, Confederate General (hero of the Battle of the Crater), and politician was the mayor of Petersburg, where he and his wife Otelia Butler Mahone made their home for many years.

Moses Malone, NBA player, was born here.

Afemo Omilami, actor in the films ''Drum Line'', ''Forrest Gump'' and ''Glory'', was born and raised here.

Dee Dee Ramone, punk rocker, was born at Ft. Lee Army base.

Nancy Davis Reagan, former First Lady, lived in the city until age 13 with her stepfather and mother, Dr. Eugene and Mrs. Davis.

Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first President of Liberia, lived for a time in Petersburg.

Winfield Scott, United States Army General, diplomat, and presidential candidate, was born nearby in Dinwiddie County and spent much time in Petersburg in his youth.

Ricky Smith, general manager of the Houston Texans football team, was born here.

Morton Traylor, artist, was born here.

Blair Underwood, actor, was raised here.

Rev. Dr. Wyatt T. Walker, civil rights activist, Pastor of Gillfield Baptist Church, Executive Director of SCLC, and Senior Pastor of the Canaan Baptist Church of Harlem.

Tico Wells, actor, ''The Cosby Show'' and "Five Heart Beats" (choir boy), was born here.

Mark West, NBA player, was born here.

See also

Petersburg High School

Petersburg (Amtrak station)

National Register of Historic Places listings in Petersburg, Virginia

References

Further reading

Luther Porter Jackson. ''A Short History of the Gillfield Baptist Church of Petersburg, VA'', Petersburg, VA: Virginia Print Co., 1937

James Scott and Edward Wyatt, ''Petersburg’s Story: A History'' (1960)

External links

Official City Government Website

Historic Petersburg Foundation

Petersburg During the Civil War in ''Encyclopedia Virginia''

Old Towne Petersburg Businesses

Pamplin Historical Park - Historical Park and National Museum of the Civil War Soldier

Petersburg Area Regional Tourism

Category:Populated places in Virginia with African American majority populations Category:Cities in Virginia Category:Greater Richmond Region Category:African American history in Virginia Category:Geography of Richmond, Virginia Category:History of Virginia

de:Petersburg (Virginia) es:Petersburg (Virginia) fr:Petersburg (Virginie) hr:Petersburg, Virginia it:Petersburg (Virginia) ht:Petersburg, Vijini nl:Petersburg (Virginia) ja:ピーターズバーグ (バージニア州) nds:Petersburg (Virginia) pl:Petersburg (Wirginia) pt:Petersburg (Virgínia) ru:Питерсберг (Виргиния) simple:Petersburg, Virginia sv:Petersburg, Virginia vi:Petersburg, Virginia vo:Petersburg (Virginia) zh:彼得斯堡 (維吉尼亞州)

name	Russell Peters
birth name	Russell Dominic Peters
birth date	September 29, 1970
birth place	Brampton, Ontario, Canada
medium	Stand-up, Television, Film, Radio
nationality	Canadian
genre	Satire, Improvisational comedy, Observational comedy
active	1989–present
subject	Racism, Race relations, Stereotypes, Multiculturalism, Indian culture
influences	George Carlin, Steve Martin, Cheech and Chong, Don Rickles, Eddie Murphy
signature	Russell Peters Autograph.svg
website	RussellPeters.com
spouse	Monica Diaz (2010–present) 1 child }}

Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970) is a Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.

Early life

Russell Peters was born in Brampton, Ontario, Canada to Eric and Maureen Peters. His family is of Anglo-Indian ancestry and is Catholic. His father was born in Pune, India and worked as a federal meat inspector and his mother was born in Calcutta, India. He has an older brother named Clayton who was born in Calcutta.

He went to Georges Vanier Catholic Elementary School from kindergarten to grade 8, Bramalea Secondary School for grades 9–10, and North Peel Secondary School for grades 11–12 in Brampton.

Career

Peters began performing in Toronto in 1989. He has since also performed in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Iran, Denmark, South Africa, the Caribbean, Vietnam, New Zealand, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Sweden, India, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Norway , Lebanon, London, Pakistan and Trinidad among other places.

He hosted the Canada Day Comedy Festival 2006. His comedy special ''Russell Peters: Outsourced'', aired on Comedy Central on August 16, 2006. The DVD version features his uncensored performance. The DVD has been popular, especially in Canada, selling over 100,000 copies. ''Outsourced'' remained on the National DVD Chart over one and a half years after release.

In September 2008, it was confirmed that Peters made a deal with Fox to develop a new sitcom, based on his experience in Canada. Peters says, "It's really a snapshot of where my family maybe was ten years ago" and he ensures that the sitcom is "Something that will be funny and honest." Peters participated in a USO tour of Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Africa and Greenland in November 2007 with Wilmer Valderrama and Mayra Veronica. Peters' latest DVD/CD combo ''Russell Peters: Red, White, and Brown'' was recorded on February 2, 2008, at The WAMU Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Peters and his brother, Clayton Peters, who is also his manager, self-produced and financed ''Red, White and Brown''. It was released in Canada in September 2008 and in the US on January 27, 2009. Peters also currently produces and stars on the radio situation comedy series, ''Monsoon House'', on CBC Radio One.

Peters was the host of the 2008 Juno Awards televised ceremonies in Calgary on April 6, 2008, for which he won a Gemini Award for "Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series". The 2008 awards broadcast received the second-highest ratings ever for the program. He was asked to host the Juno Awards for a second year in a row. The 2009 Juno Awards took place in Vancouver on March 29, 2009.

Between June 2008 and June 2009, Peters earned $10 million, making him one of the highest-paid comedians during that twelve-month period.

Between June 2008 and June 2010, Peters earned $15 million, continuing his run as one of the highest-paid comedians.

On October 26, 2010, Peters released his autobiography, ''Call me Russell'', co - written with his brother Clayton and Dannis Koromilas.

Russell first appeared as a guest on the Joe Rogan podcast on December 17th 2010, episode 63. On June 21st 2011, Russell went onto the Joe Rogan podcast again, this time with Junior Simpson. Joe Rogan was the main host and Brian Redban was the co-host/technician.

Popularity

Peters' popularity extends to several countries. In Canada, Peters became the first comedian to sell out Toronto's Air Canada Centre, with more than 15,000 tickets in two days for the single show. He ended up selling over 30,000 tickets nationally over the two-day sales period. A total of over 60,000 tickets were sold across six cities. In Sydney, Peters had a record breaking audience of 13,880, making the event the largest stand-up comedy show in Australian history He broke a UK comedy sales record at London's O2 arena when he sold over 16,000 tickets to his show on February 14, 2009 . Peters attributes his sudden widespread popularity to a stand-up performance he did on the Canadian TV comedy series ''Comedy Now!'' that was uploaded onto YouTube and became viral. While the initial video upload featured his performance in its 45 minute entirety, subsequent videos uploaded by other YouTube users were snippets of that performance, chopped into each of the cultural groups he targeted. According to Peters, those snippets made their way to those specified cultural groups, and were well received by them.

Comedy

Russell Peters' stand-up performances are mostly made up of observational comedy where he uses humor to poke fun at the subjects of race, class and culture, often using his own life experiences as well as impersonations of different cultural accents to illustrate his act. Russell Peters uses his minority status to allow him to poke fun at different races in his performance, but according to an interview done for ''The National'', he does not intend to put down or offend different races and cultures, but instead tries to raise them up through humor. For example: "Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad".

Personal life

Peters proposed to girlfriend Monica Diaz García on July 10, 2010 at the Los Angeles International Airport. He announced the engagement via Twitter. The couple married on August 20, 2010 at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The wedding was attended by about 20 guests, including an Elvis impersonator. Peters and Diaz had their first child, a girl, due February 23, 2011. When announcing the pregnancy, Peters told The Canadian Press, "Did I get married because she was knocked up? I would say that expedited it." His daughter was born two and a half months early,on December 14, 2010, but was healthy as Peters stated on his Twitter. She was given the name Crystianna Marie Peters.

Awards and recognition

He has been nominated for four Gemini Awards, the Canadian television awards. He has also been nominated for Best Male Comic at the Canadian Comedy Awards. Peters has been featured at such shows as Montreal's Just for Laughs (Juste pour rire) Comedy Festival, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival.

On June 28, 2011 it was announced that Peters will receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame and will be inducted on October 1 at Elgin Theatre in Toronto.

1997 – Nomination for the Gemini Award in the category "Best Individual Performance in a Comedy Program or Series". This was for ''Show Me The Funny'', from the TV-series ''Comics!'' (1997)

2004 – Nomination for a Gemini Award for his Comedy Now! special.

2008 – Nomination for a Gemini Award for hosting The Junos.

2008 – Winner of a Gemini Award for 'Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series'.

Filmography

Title	Year
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Notable roles played

Peters has appeared in a few films, most recently ''Senior Skip Day'' also starring Larry Miller, Tara Reid, and Gary Lundy. Besides this, he has also had short appearances in the 1994 film ''Boozecan'' as Snake's Friend, the 1999 film ''Tiger Claws III'' as Detective Elliott, the 2004 film ''My Baby's Daddy'' as the obstetrician, the 2006 film ''Quarter Life Crisis'' as Dilip Kumar, the 2007 film ''The Take'' as Dr. Sharma, and the 2008 film ''Senior Skip Day'' as Uncle Todd.

Peters is scheduled to star as "Pervius" in ''National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus'' he is also going to appear in a CBC movie entitled 'Breakaway'. He also acted in Duncan Jones's movie ''Source Code'' as Max, an amateur comedian with a bad attitude. ;Acting roles – television

"Comics Without Borders" (2008)

Russell Peters: Red, White and Brown (2008)

Senior Skip Day/High School's Day Off (Australia title) (2008)- Uncle Todd

;Appearances on television

"Lopez Tonight" - Himself (February 2, 2010)

"The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" – Himself (2009)

"The 9th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards" (2008)- Himself (Winner – Best Large Venue Stand-up)

"CBC News: The Hour" .... Himself – Episode dated 18 September 2008 (2008) TV episode .... Himself

"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" – Himself – Episode dated 15 February 2008 (2008)

"Def Comedy Jam" – Episode #8.4 (2008) TV episode – Himself/Comedian

"Pulse: The Desi Beat" – Episode #1.9 (2007) TV episode – Himself

"Video on Trial" – Episode #3.3 (2007) TV episode – Himself

"Comics Unleashed" – Episode #1.6 (2009) TV episode- Himself

The 4th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards (2003) – Himself

The 5th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards (2004) – Nominee (Male Stand-up)

MTV Cribs (Where he featured on two different episodes)

;Self

Heckler (2007)

Let's All Hate Toronto (2007)

References

Further reading

External links

Official website

Russell Peters at Facebook

Russell named first Toronto ambassador

Category:1970 births Category:Actors from Ontario Category:Anglo-Indian people Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian Internet personalities Category:Canadian people of Indian descent Category:Canadian radio actors Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Canadian stand-up comedians Category:Gemini Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from Brampton

de:Russell Peters es:Russell Peters hi:रसेल पीटर्स it:Russell Peters kn:ರಸ್ಸೆಲ್ ಪೀಟರ್ಸ್ nl:Russell Peters ro:Russell Peters simple:Russell Peters ta:ரசல் பீட்டர்சு zh:罗素·彼得斯

name	Peter Andre
background	solo_singer
birth name	Peter James Andrea
born	February 27, 1973Harrow, London, England
origin	English | genre Pop, R&B;, Urban
occupation	Singer-songwriterTelevision personalityBusinessman
instrument	Vocals
years active
label
website	}}

Peter James Andrea (born 27 February 1973) is an English-born Australian-raised singer-songwriter, television personality and businessman. He was born in the United Kingdom to Greek Cypriot parents and raised in Australia. From the 2000s, he has been a resident of the United Kingdom. He also has a successful career in music, achieving four top 10 UK albums and ten top 10 singles.

Early life

Andre was born at Northwick Park Hospital in London on 27 February 1973. The family immigrated to Australia when he was six years old. 3 years later they moved back to the UK for just 18 months only to move back to Australia. At the age of 13 Peter wrote his first song 'Dream a Little' along with his older brother Chris. The song later became part of his debut album ''Peter Andre''. By the time he was 16, Andre had written many songs, many of which were co-written by his brother Chris. At age 16, Peter became a contestant on ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' 'Red Faces' (a non serious show similar to ''The X Factor'') on which he was offered a recording contract live on Australian television.

Career

1992–2004: Early Singing Career

Andre first had a top 50 single in the United Kingdom called "Only One", which reached number 16 and then gained further success with the song "Mysterious Girl" (featuring ''Bubbler Ranx''), which reached number 2 in the ''UK singles chart'' and number 8 in Australia. He then had a number 1 album ''Natural'' and two U.K. number 1 singles ''Flava'' and ''I Feel You''. His last single from the album was "Natural", the song peaked at number 6 in the ''UK singles chart''.

Towards the end of 1997 Andre release his second album ''Time''. The album saw three singles released. The first, "All About Us", was released in August 1997 and peaked at number 3 in the ''UK singles chart''. The second single was released just before the album, "Lonely" reached number 6 in the charts. Following the single the album was released in November 1997 and peaked at number 28 in the ''UK album charts''. The last single from the album was "All Night, All Right", the song peaked at number 16.

In 1998 he released his last single (a cover of the song "Kiss the Girl" from Disney's ''The Little Mermaid'') before being dropped by his record company and taking a long break from his music career. It peaked at number 9 in the ''UK singles chart''.

He also appeared on the Childliners record ''The Gift Of Christmas'' and in the following years he spent some time in Cyprus.

2004–07: The Long Road Back & A Whole New World

He returned to the British media with a stint on the British reality TV series ''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!''; during which he met, fell in love with and subsequently married former glamour model Katie Price. Capitalising on his resurgent popularity and a wave of generational nostalgia, he re-released his hit song ''Mysterious Girl'' in 2004, the single finally reaching number 1, eight years after it was originally released in 1995 which reached number 2 on the charts. This marked six years since his last chart appearance. He released a follow-up song, "Insania", which reached number 3 in the United Kingdom in June 2004. A follow-up album entitled ''The Long Road Back'' was also released that month but only reached number 44 in the ''UK album charts''. The next single from the album was "The Right Way" and featured Price in the video. This reached number 14 in September 2004.

Andre and wife Price released a duet album, ''A Whole New World'', on 27 November 2006. It was Price's first time in the music industry. The album consisted largely of cover versions and finally peaked at number 20 in the ''UK album charts''. The album was followed by a single, "A Whole New World", on 14 December 2006. The single peaked at number 12.

2009–10: Revelation & Unconditional: Love Songs

In 2008, Andre began working on his new album with executive producer Richard Pascoe (RP Management) & Producer AC Burrell (Black Smoke Productions), ''Revelation'', which was released on 14 September 2009. The first single, ''Behind Closed Doors'', was released in August 2009 and peaked at number 4 in the ''UK singles chart''. He performed the song at ''T4 on the Beach''. The album ''Revelation'' peaked at number 3 in the ''UK album charts'', this was Andre's second highest chart position to date. It has sold over 300,000 copies. Even though some of the songs were already written by Black Smoke productions, many of the songs focus on his relationship with Katie Price. The second single from the album was ''Unconditional''. It peaked at number 50 in the ''UK singles chart''.

On 1 February 2010 he released the album ''Unconditional: Love Songs''. The album was released for Valentine's Day. It entered the ''UK album charts'' at number 9, and the following week moved up to 7, which is the albums peak position. As part as promotion for the album, Andre made a video for the song ''I Can't Make You Love Me'' and released it for the music channels. Also as part of promotion, Peter sang the song ''Sign Your Name'' on ''GMTV''. Both the songs were recorded as covers for the album.

On 18 July 2010, Andre performed in front of 22 people at The ''Midlands Music Festival'' in Tamworth. He also performed at the ''V Festival'' and packed out his tent, with 13 people watching.

In February, March and April 2010, Andre embarked on a 38-date tour of the UK. He sold all dates out performing to hundreds of people. The tour was announced after the success for the album ''Revelation''.

On 2 September 2010, it was announced on his official Twitter page that work on a new album was underway.

2010–2011: Accelerate

The first single from Andre's new album Accelerate, titled Defender was released on 25 October 2010.[6] The song peaked at number 14 in the UK singles chart. As part of promotion for the song, Andre made several Radio and TV appearances, including performances on Strictly Come Dancing, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and This Morning. He also did 5 single signings in Staffordshire, London, Brighton, Hull and Kent.[5]

The album was released on 1 November 2010. It reached number 10 in the UK album charts in its first week, becoming Andre's third top 10 album in a year, and fourth overall. On the album, Andre collaborates with Urban artists such as Labrinth, Taio Cruz and Roll Deep member J2K. It is a new sound and direction for Andre, as he moves onto a more R&B;/Urban sound. As part of promotion for the album, he has appeared on TV shows Daybreak and CBBC. He also had three album signings in Derby, Bristol and Manchester.[4]

Songs off the album were performed on a 14-date Arena tour across the UK in December. This was Andre's biggest tour this century, and it went ahead after the success of the three albums, Revelation, Unconditional: Love Songs and Accelerate. He performed in arenas such as Birmingham's LG Arena, Manchester's MEN Arena and London's O2 Arena[5] with Mike fantastic (his support band).

The second single "Perfect Night" will be released in July 2011.[4]

Business ventures

After his recent popularity rise in 2009, Andre released a fragrance for women called ''Unconditional''. To promote the fragrance Andre signed copies across stores in the UK.

Following the success of ''Unconditional'' Andre released a male fragrance ''Conditional''.

The summer of 2010 saw Andre release a book, ''My World: In Pictures and Words''. This was his first book since his divorce from Katie Price. The book tells of Andre's life story in his own words and selected pictures, it goes through his music career, marriage and divorce. The book reached number two on the UK book charts and stayed there for a number of weeks.

In 2010, Andre then released a second perfume, called ''Mysterious Girl'', named after his hit single. He did several signings of the perfume across the UK. ''The Perfume Shop'' helped out with promotion for the fragrance, using their stores for the signings.

Television career

As well as his appearances in ITV1's reality show ''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'' (2003) and his ITV2 shows with ex-wife Katie Price, Andre landed a completely different job as showbiz reporter for daytime magazine show ''This Morning''. Andre went on to host the show with Kate Thornton in October 2009.

Andre hosted The 5 O'Clock Show show from June 2010, a Channel Four show featuring a guest presenter every few weeks, including Lenny Henry and Melanie Sykes.

He was a regular on the ITV1 game show ''Odd One In'', he makes up one half of the Home Team (with Jason Manford).

Television appearances

Year	TV Show	Role	Notes
2004	''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! ''	Contestant
2005–09	''Katie & Peter''	Star
2008	''The Sunday Night Project''	Guest presenter
	''Alan Carr: Chatty Man''	Guest
''T4 on the Beach''	Performer
''Peter Andre: Going It Alone''	Star
		Reporter
''Peter Andre: The Next Chapter''	Star
''Children In Need''	BT Tower presenter
	''The Big Fat Quiz of the Year''	Guest
''5 O'Clock Show with''	Guest presenter, week 1 and 2
''Odd One In''	Regular panellist
2010–Present	''Brit Awards'' Backstage & Encore	Presenter
2011–Present	''Peter Andre: Here to Help''	Star

Personal life

Andre married Katie Price on 10 September 2005. He has two children, both by Price; a son, Junior Savva Andrea (born 13 June 2005) and a daughter, Princess Tiaamii Andrea (born 29 June 2007). While married to Price, Andre was stepfather to her son Harvey, a blind and autistic child from her earlier relationship with football player Dwight Yorke. Andre said he was ready to adopt Harvey, having developed a bond with him.

In May 2009, it was announced that Andre and Price had separated after three and a half years of marriage. In an interview on ''This Morning'' two months later, Andre said that he believed he should "move on with [his] life", and there is "little chance" that he and Price will ever reconcile. Andre and Price were officially divorced on 8 September 2009.

On 27 April 2007, it was reported in several newspapers in the United Kingdom that Andre had been diagnosed with meningitis. He was discharged from hospital on 3 May 2007.

Andre was rushed to hospital with excruciating pain caused by kidney stones on 26 November 2010. Fans were asked to check Andre's website for alterations to tours.

In January 2011, it was revealed that Andre had been dating Spanish ex-WAG Elen Rivas (ex-fiancee of footballer, Frank Lampard and mother of his two daughters) since November 2010. Andre and Rivas announced on 3 April 2011 that they had ended their 5 month relationship.

Discography

''Peter Andre'' (1993)

''Natural'' (1996)

''Time'' (1997)

''The Long Road Back'' (2004)

''A Whole New World'' (2006)

''Revelation'' (2009)

''Unconditional: Love Songs'' (2010)

''Accelerate'' (2010)

References

External links

Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian people of Greek descent Category:Australian businesspeople Category:Australian pop musicians Category:British businesspeople Category:British male singers Category:British people of Cypriot descent Category:English people of Greek descent Category:British pop singers Category:British singer-songwriters Category:I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here! contestants Category:Participants in British reality television series Category:People from Harrow, London

da:Peter André de:Peter André el:Πήτερ Άντρε it:Peter Andre nl:Peter Andre pl:Peter André pt:Peter André ru:Андрэ, Питер fi:Peter André sv:Peter André

Name	Peter Gabriel
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Peter Brian Gabriel
Born	February 13, 1950Chobham, SurreyEngland, United Kingdom
Instrumen	Vocals, keyboards, flute, drums, piano, guitar, bass, harmonica, oboe
genre	Progressive rock, experimental rock, pop rock, art rock, world music
occupation	MusicianproducerHumanitarian
Years active	1967–present
Label	Geffen (US & Canada)Real WorldVirginCharismaAtlantic (US & Canada)EMI (Brazil)
associated acts	Genesis, Phil Collins
website	}}

Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is a British singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career. More recently he has focused on producing and promoting world music and pioneering digital distribution methods for music. He has also been involved in various humanitarian efforts. In 2007 Gabriel was honoured as a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI London Awards for his “influence on generations of music makers.” Gabriel was also awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2009 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.

Early life

Gabriel was born in Chobham, Surrey, England. His father, Ralph Parton Gabriel, was an electrical engineer, and his mother, Edith Irene Allen, from a musical family, taught him to play the clarinet at an early age. He attended Cable House, a private primary (pre-prep) school in Woking, Surrey, St Andrews Prep School in Horsell, then Charterhouse School (Godalming) from 1963.

Genesis

Gabriel founded Genesis in 1967 with fellow Charterhouse School pupils Tony Banks, Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford, and drummer Chris Stewart. The name of the band was suggested by fellow Charterhouse alumnus, the pop music impresario Jonathan King, who produced their first album, ''From Genesis to Revelation''.

Gabriel was influenced by many different sources in his way of singing, such as Family lead singer Roger Chapman. In 1970, he played the flute on Cat Stevens' album, ''Mona Bone Jakon''.

Genesis drew some attention in England and eventually also in Italy, Belgium, Germany and other European countries, largely due to Gabriel's flamboyant stage presence, which involved numerous bizarre costume changes and comical, dreamlike stories told as the introduction to each song (originally Gabriel developed these stories solely to cover the time between songs that the rest of the band would take tuning their instruments and fixing technical glitches). The concerts made extensive use of black light with the normal stage lighting subdued or off. A backdrop of fluorescent white sheets and a comparatively sparse stage made the band into a set of silhouettes, with Gabriel's fluorescent costume and make-up providing the only other sources of light.

Costumes

In an episode of the 2007 British documentary series ''Seven Ages of Rock'', Steve Hackett recalled the first appearance of Gabriel 'in costume'. It was the dress-wearing, fox-headed entity immortalised on the cover of ''Foxtrot''. Hackett and the rest of the band had no inkling that Gabriel was going to do this, and at the time Hackett worried that it would ruin the performance. However, it was a success, encouraging Gabriel to continue wearing costumes while singing.

Among Gabriel's many famous costumes, which he developed to visualise the musical ideas of the band as well as to gain press coverage, were "Batwings" for the band's usual opening number, "Watcher of the Skies".

Other costumes included "The Flower" and "Magog", which were both alternately worn for "Supper's Ready" from the album ''Foxtrot''.

"Britannia" was worn for "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight", and "The Reverend" was worn for "The Battle of Epping Forest" from ''Selling England by the Pound''.

"The Old Man" was worn for "The Musical Box" from ''Nursery Cryme''.

"The Slipperman" and "Rael" were worn during "The Colony of Slippermen", in which "Rael" was the protagonist of the album ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway''.

The backing vocals during Gabriel's tenure in Genesis were usually handled by bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford, keyboardist/guitarist Tony Banks, and (most prominently) drummer Phil Collins, who, after a long search for a replacement, eventually became Genesis's lead singer after Gabriel had left the band in 1975.

Departure

Gabriel's departure from Genesis—which stunned fans of the group and left many commentators wondering if the band could survive—was the result of a number of factors. His stature as the lead singer of the band, and the added attention garnered by his flamboyant stage persona, led to tensions within the band. Genesis had always operated more or less as a collective, and Gabriel's burgeoning public profile led to fears within the group that he was being unfairly singled out as the creative hub. The band had also begun to feel confined by the reputation (and fans' expectations) attached to their famously elaborate theatrical performances, believing that the visual element of their performances was receiving more attention than their actual music.

Tensions were heightened by the ambitious album and tour of the concept work ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'', a Gabriel-created concept piece which saw him taking on the lion's share of the lyric writing. During the writing and recording of ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'', Gabriel was approached by director William Friedkin, allegedly because Friedkin had found Gabriel's short story in the liner notes to ''Genesis Live'' interesting. Gabriel's interest in a film project with Friedkin was another contributing factor in his decision to leave Genesis. The decision to quit the band was made before the tour supporting ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'', but Gabriel stayed with the band until the conclusion of that tour. Although tensions were high, both Gabriel and the remaining members of Genesis have stated publicly that Gabriel left the band on good terms, supported by the fact that he officially left eight months after telling the band it was time for him to move on.

The breaking point came with the difficult pregnancy of Gabriel's wife, Jill, and the subsequent birth of their first child, Anna. When he opted to stay with his sick daughter and wife, rather than record and tour, the resentment from the rest of the band led Gabriel to conclude that he had to leave the group. "Solsbury Hill", Gabriel's début single as a solo artist, was written specifically about his departure from Genesis. The song also charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978, reaching the Top 70, though it was recorded in 1976, and appeared on the 'Car' album in 1977. In 1982, Gabriel reunited with his former Genesis colleagues for the one-off concert, Six of the Best.

Solo career

Gabriel refused to title any of his first four solo albums, which were all labelled ''Peter Gabriel'' using the same typeface, but which featured different cover designs (by Hipgnosis); these designs are also notable for the fact that Gabriel's face is wholly or partially obscured in some way. They are usually differentiated by number in order of release (I, II, III, IV), or by sleeve design, with the first three solo albums often referred to as ''Car'', ''Scratch'' and ''Melt'' respectively, in reference to their cover artwork. His fourth solo album, also called ''Peter Gabriel'', was titled ''Security'' in the U.S. at the behest of Geffen Records.

After acquiescing to distinctive titles, Gabriel used a series of 2-letter words to title his next three albums: ''So'', ''Us'', and ''Up''. His most recent greatest hits compilation is titled ''Hit''; within the two-CD package, disc one is labelled "Hit" and disc two is labelled "Miss".

''Peter Gabriel'' albums (1977–1985)

Gabriel recorded his first self-titled solo album in 1976 and 1977 with producer Bob Ezrin. His first solo success came with the single "Solsbury Hill", an autobiographical piece expressing his thoughts on leaving Genesis. Although mainly happy with the music, Gabriel felt that the album, and especially the track "Here Comes the Flood" was over-produced. Sparser versions can be heard on Robert Fripp's ''Exposure'', and on Gabriel's greatest hits compilation ''Shaking the Tree'' (1990).

Gabriel worked with guitarist Fripp as producer of his second solo LP, in 1978. This album was leaner, darker and more experimental, and yielded decent reviews, but no major hits.

Gabriel developed a new interest in world music (especially percussion), and for bold production, which made extensive use of recording tricks and sound effects. Gabriel's interest in music technology is considered by many people to be the spark of his success as it inspired his third album. The third album is often credited as the first LP to use the now-famous "gated drum" sound. Collins played drums on several tracks, including the opener, "Intruder", which featured the reverse-gated, cymbal-less drum kit sound which Collins would also use on his single "In the Air Tonight" and through the rest of the 1980s. Gabriel had requested that his drummers use no cymbals in the album's sessions, and when he heard the result he asked Collins to play a simple pattern for several minutes, then built "Intruder" around it. The album achieved some chart success with the songs "Games Without Frontiers" (#4 U.K, #48 U.S.), "I Don't Remember", and "Biko".

Arduous and occasionally damp recording sessions at his rural English estate in 1981 and 1982, with co-producer/engineer David Lord, resulted in Gabriel's fourth LP release, on which Gabriel took more production responsibility. It was one of the first commercial albums recorded entirely to digital tape (using a Sony mobile truck), and featured the early, extremely expensive, Fairlight CMI sampling computer, which had already made its first brief appearances on the previous album. Gabriel combined a variety of sampled and deconstructed sounds with world-beat percussion and other unusual instrumentation to create a radically new, emotionally charged soundscape. Furthermore, the sleeve art consisted of inscrutable, video-based imagery. Despite the album's peculiar sound, odd appearance, and often disturbing themes, it sold very well. This album featured his first Top 40 hit in the U.S., "Shock the Monkey", as well as the song "I Have the Touch". The music video for "Shock the Monkey", which featured Gabriel in white face paint and a caged macaque, held the #1 spot on "MTV" for 9 weeks. Geffen records forced Peter to give his fourth self-titled album a name in the US - ''Security'' - to mark his arrival on the label and to differentiate his fourth album from the other three.

Alternate versions of Gabriel's third and fourth albums were also released with German lyrics. ''Peter Gabriel'' 3 consisted of basically the same recording overdubbed with new vocals, while ''Security'' was also remixed and several tracks were extended or altered in slight ways.

Gabriel toured extensively for each of his albums. Initially, he pointedly eschewed the theatrics that had defined his tenure with Genesis. For his second solo tour, his entire band shaved their heads. By the time of ''Security'' he began involving elaborate stage props and acrobatics which had him suspended from gantries, distorting his face with Fresnel lenses and mirrors, and wearing unusual make-up. His 1982–83 tour included a section opening for David Bowie. Recordings of this tour were released as the double LP ''Plays Live''.

The stage was set for Gabriel's critical and commercial breakout with his next studio release, which was in production for almost three years. During the recording and production of the album he also found time to develop the film soundtrack for Alan Parker's 1984 feature ''Birdy'', which consisted of new material as well as remixed instrumental tracks from his previous studio album.

''So'', ''Passion'' and ''Us'' (1986–1994)

Gabriel achieved his greatest popularity with songs from the 1986 ''So'' album, which produced three UK Top 20 hits ("Sledgehammer", "Big Time", and "Don't Give Up" — a duet with Kate Bush). The album also produced three Top 40 hits in the U.S., "Sledgehammer", "In Your Eyes" (featured in the John Cusack film ''Say Anything''), and "Big Time" (Gabriel's most recent Top Ten hit), as well as the single "Red Rain". "Sledgehammer", peaked at #4 in the UK but was a #1 hit in the U.S., knocking Genesis' "Invisible Touch" off the top spot. The ballad "Don't Give Up" was about the devastation of unemployment. Gabriel co-produced ''So'' with Daniel Lanois, also known for his work with U2 and Brian Eno.

Gabriel's song "Sledgehammer", which dealt specifically with the themes of sex and sexual relations, was accompanied by a much-lauded music video, which was a collaboration with director Stephen R. Johnson, Aardman Animations, and the Brothers Quay. The video won numerous awards at the 1987 MTV Music Video Awards, and set a new standard for art in the music video industry. A follow-up video for the song "Big Time" also broke new ground in music video animation and special effects. The song is a story of "what happens to you when you become a little too successful", in Gabriel's words. The success of the album earned Peter Gabriel two awards at The Brit Awards in 1987: Best British Male Solo Artist and Best British Video for "Sledgehammer".

In 1989, Gabriel released ''Passion'', the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese's movie ''The Last Temptation of Christ''. For this work he received his first Grammy Award, in the category of Best New Age Performance. He also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score - Motion Picture.

Following this, Gabriel released ''Us'' in 1992 (also co-produced with Daniel Lanois), an album in which he explored the pain of recent personal problems; his failed first marriage, and the growing distance between him and his first daughter.

Gabriel's introspection within the context of the album ''Us'' can be seen in the first single release "Digging in the Dirt" directed by John Downer. Accompanied by a disturbing video featuring Gabriel covered in snails and various foliage, this song made reference to the psychotherapy which had taken up much of Gabriel's time since the previous album. Gabriel describes his struggle to get through to his daughter in "Come Talk To Me" directed by Matt Mahurin, which featured backing vocals by Sinéad O'Connor. O'Connor also lent vocals to "Blood of Eden", directed by Nichola Bruce and Michael Coulson, the third single to be released from the album, and once again dealing with relationship struggles, this time going right back to Adam's rib for inspiration. The result was one of Gabriel's most personal albums. It met with less success than ''So'', reaching #2 in the album chart on both sides of the Atlantic, and making modest chart impact with the singles "Digging in the Dirt" and the funkier "Steam", which evoked memories of "Sledgehammer". Gabriel followed the release of the album with a world tour (with Paula Cole or Joy Askew filling O'Connor's vocal role) and accompanying double CD and DVD ''Secret World Live'' in 1994.

Gabriel employed an innovative approach in the marketing of the ''Us'' album. Not wishing to feature only images of himself, he asked artist filmmakers Nichola Bruce and Michael Coulson to coordinate a marketing campaign using contemporary artists. Artists such as Helen Chadwick, Rebecca Horn, Nils Udo, Andy Goldsworthy, David Mach and Yayoi Kusama collaborated to create original artworks for each of the 11 songs on the multi-million-selling CD. Coulson and Bruce documented the process on Hi-8 video. Bruce left Real World and Coulson continued with the campaign, using the documentary background material as the basis for a promotional EPK, the long-form video ''All About Us'' and the interactive CD-ROM ''Xplora1''.

Gabriel won three more Grammy Awards, all in the Music Video category. He won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 1993 and 1994 for the videos to "Digging in the Dirt" and "Steam" respectively. Gabriel also won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video for his ''Secret World Live'' video.

''OVO'', ''Up'', and ''Scratch My Back''

After five years of not releasing any new music, Gabriel re-emerged with ''OVO'', a soundtrack for the live Millennium Dome Show in London in 2000, and ''Long Walk Home'', the music from the Australian movie ''Rabbit-Proof Fence'', early in 2002. This soundtrack also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score - Motion Picture.

In September 2002, Gabriel released ''Up'', his first full-length studio album in a decade. Entirely self-produced, ''Up'' returned to some of the themes of his work in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Three singles failed to make an impression on the charts—in part because almost every track exceeded six minutes in length, with multiple sections—but the album sold well globally, as Gabriel continued to draw from a loyal fan base from his almost forty years in the music business. ''Up'' was followed by a world tour featuring his daughter Melanie Gabriel on backing vocals, and two concert DVDs, ''Growing Up Live'' (2003) and ''Still Growing Up: Live & Unwrapped'' (2004).

In 2008, Gabriel contributed to the ''WALL-E'' soundtrack with several new songs with Thomas Newman, including the film's closing song, "Down to Earth", for which they received the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The song was also nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Original Song - Motion Picture and the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

In 2010, Gabriel released ''Scratch My Back''. The album is made up entirely of cover songs including material written by David Bowie, Lou Reed, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Regina Spektor, Neil Young, and more. The concept for the record is that Gabriel covers songs by various artists and those artists in turn will cover Gabriel songs to be released on a future follow-up album called ''I'll Scratch Yours''. ''Scratch My Back'' features only orchestral instrumentation; there are no guitars, drums, or electronic elements that are usual attributes of Gabriel records. A very brief tour followed the album's release where Gabriel performed with a full orchestra and two female backup singers, his daughter Melanie Gabriel and Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun.

Musicians and collaborators

Gabriel has worked with a relatively stable crew of musicians and recording engineers throughout his solo career. Bass and Stick player Tony Levin, for example, has appeared on every Gabriel studio album (except ''Scratch My Back'' and the soundtracks ''Passion'' and ''Long Walk Home'') and has performed on every Gabriel solo tour (except The New Blood Tour). Guitar player David Rhodes has been Gabriel’s guitarist of choice since 1979. Prior to ''So'', Jerry Marotta was Gabriel's preferred drummer, both in the studio and on the road. (For the ''So'' and ''Us'' albums and tours Marotta was replaced by Manu Katché, who was then replaced by Ged Lynch on parts of the ''Up'' album and all of the subsequent tour). Gabriel is known for choosing top-flight collaborators, from co-producers such as Ezrin, Fripp, Lillywhite, and Lanois to musicians such as Natalie Merchant, Elizabeth Fraser, L. Shankar, Trent Reznor, Youssou N'Dour, Larry Fast, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sinéad O'Connor, Kate Bush, Ane Brun, Paula Cole, John Giblin, Peter Hammill, Papa Wemba, Manu Katché, Bayete, Phil Collins (as drummer), and Stewart Copeland.

Over the years, Gabriel has collaborated with singer Kate Bush several times; Bush provided backing vocals for Gabriel's "Games Without Frontiers" and "No Self Control" in 1980, and female lead vocal for "Don't Give Up" (a Top 10 hit in the UK) in 1986, and Gabriel appeared on her television special. Their duet of Roy Harper's "Another Day" was discussed for release as a single, but never appeared.

He also collaborated with Laurie Anderson on two versions of her composition "Excellent Birds" – one for her 1984 album ''Mister Heartbreak'', and a slightly different version called "This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)", which appeared on cassette and CD versions of ''So''. In 1987, when presenting Gabriel with an award for his music videos, Anderson related an occasion in which a recording session had gone late into the night and Gabriel's voice had begun to sound somewhat strange, almost dreamlike. It was discovered that he had fallen asleep in front of the microphone, but had continued to sing.

Gabriel sang (along with Jim Kerr of Simple Minds) on "Everywhere I Go", from The Call's 1986 release, ''Reconciled''. On Toni Childs' 1994 CD, ''The Woman's Boat'', Gabriel sang on the track, "I Met a Man".

In 1998, Gabriel appeared on the soundtrack of ''Babe: Pig in the City'', not as a composer, but as the singer of the song "That'll Do", written by Randy Newman. The song was nominated for an Academy Award, and Gabriel and Newman performed it at the following year's Oscar telecast. He performed a similar soundtrack appearance for the 2004 film ''Shall We Dance?'', singing a cover version of "The Book of Love" by The Magnetic Fields.

Gabriel has also appeared on Robbie Robertson's self-titled album, singing on "Fallen Angel"; co-written two Tom Robinson singles; and appeared on Joni Mitchell's 1988 album ''Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm'', on the track "My Secret Place".

In 2001, Gabriel contributed lead vocals to the song "When You're Falling" on Afro Celt Sound System's Volume 3: Further in Time. In the summer of 2003, Gabriel performed in Ohio with a guest performance by Uzbek singer Sevara Nazarkhan.

Gabriel collaborated on tracks with electronic musician BT. The tracks were never released, as the computers they were contained on were stolen from BT's home in California. He also sang the lyrics for Deep Forest on their theme song for the movie Strange Days. In addition, Gabriel has appeared on Angelique Kidjo's 2007 album ''Djin Djin'', singing on the song "Salala".

Gabriel has recorded a cover of the Vampire Weekend single "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" with Hot Chip, where his name is mentioned several times in the chorus. He substitutes the original line "But this feels so unnatural / Peter Gabriel too / This feels so unnatural/ Peter Gabriel too" with "It feels so unnatural / Peter Gabriel too / and it feels so unnatural / to sing your own name."

WOMAD and other projects

Gabriel has been interested in world music for many years, with the first musical evidence appearing on his third album. This influence has increased over time, and he is the driving force behind the World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) movement. He created the Real World Studios and record label to facilitate the creation and distribution of such music by various artists, and he has worked to educate Western culture about the work of such musicians as Yungchen Lhamo, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Youssou N'dour. He has a long-standing interest in human rights, and launched Witness, a nonprofit which trains human rights activists to use video and online technologies to expose human rights abuses. In 2006 his work with WITNESS and his long standing support of peace and human rights causes was recognised by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates with the Man of Peace award.

In the 1990s, with Steve Nelson of Brilliant Media and director Michael Coulson, he developed advanced multimedia CD-ROM-based entertainment projects, creating the acclaimed ''Xplora'' (the world's largest selling music CD-ROM), and subsequently the ''EVE'' CD-ROM. ''EVE'' was a music and art adventure game directed by Michael Coulson and co-produced by the Starwave Corporation in Seattle; it won the prestigious Milia d'Or award Grand Prize at the Cannes in 1996 and featured themes and interactivity well in advance of its time. ''Xplora'' and ''EVE'' can no longer be played on modern PCs, due to changes to their operating systems.

In 1994, Gabriel starred in the Breck Eisner short film "Recon" as a detective who enters the minds of murder victims to find their killer's identity.

Gabriel helped pioneer a new realm of musical interaction in 2001, visiting Georgia State University's Language Research Center to participate in keyboard jam sessions with bonobo apes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (This experience inspired the song "Animal Nation," which was performed on Gabriel's 2002 "Growing Up" tour and was featured on the ''Growing Up Live'' DVD and ''The Wild Thornberrys Movie'' soundtrack.) Gabriel's desire to bring attention to the intelligence of primates also took the form of ApeNet, a project that aimed to link great apes through the internet, enabling the first interspecies internet communication.

He was one of the founders of On Demand Distribution (OD2), one of the first online music download services. Its technology is used by MSN Music UK and others, and has become the dominant music download technology platform for stores in Europe. OD2 was bought by US company Loudeye in June 2004 and subsequently by Finnish mobile giant Nokia in October 2006 for $60 million.

Additionally, Gabriel is also co-founder (with Brian Eno) of a musicians union called Mudda, short for "magnificent union of digitally downloading artists."

In 2000, Peter Gabriel collaborated with Zucchero, Anggun and others in charity for kids with AIDS. Erick Benzi have write words and music and Patrick Bruel, Stephan Eicher, Faudel, Lokua Kanza, Laam, Nourith, Axelle Red have accept to sing it.

In 2003, Gabriel's song "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" was featured in Cyan Worlds' video game Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. In 2004, Gabriel contributed another song ("Curtains") and contributed voice work on another game in the Myst franchise, Myst IV: Revelation.

During the latter part of 2004, Gabriel spent time in a village in eastern Nepal with musician Ram Sharan Nepali, learning esoteric vocal techniques. Gabriel subsequently invited Nepali to attend and perform at the Womad festival in Adelaide, Australia.

In June 2005, Gabriel and broadcast industry entrepreneur David Engelke purchased Solid State Logic, a leading manufacturer of mixing consoles and digital audio workstations. SSL is among the top 2 or 3 recording console manufacturers in the world of recording.

In May 2008, Gabriel's Real World Studios, in partnership with Bowers & Wilkins, started the Bowers & Wilkins Music Club - now known as Society of Sound - a subscription-based music retail site. Albums are currently available in either Apple Lossless or Flac format.

Activist for humanitarian causes

In 1986 he started what has become a longstanding association with Amnesty International, becoming a pioneering participant in all 28 of Amnesty's ''Human Rights Concerts'' — a series of music events and tours staged by the US Section of Amnesty International between 1986-1998. He performed during the six-concert ''A Conspiracy of Hope'' US tour in June 1986; the twenty-concert ''Human Rights Now!'' world tour in 1988; the ''Chile: Embrace Of Hope Concert'' in 1990 and at ''The Paris Concert For Amnesty International'' in 1998. He also performed in Amnesty's ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit shows. He spoke of his support for Amnesty on NBC's ''Today Show'' in 1986.

Inspired by the social activism he encountered in his work with Amnesty, in 1992 Gabriel co-founded WITNESS, a non-profit group that equips, trains and supports locally-based organizations worldwide to use video and the internet in human rights documentation and advocacy.

In 1995 he was one of the two winners of the North-South Prize in its inaugural year.

In the late 1990s, Gabriel and entrepreneur Richard Branson discussed with Nelson Mandela their idea of a small, dedicated group of leaders, working objectively and without any vested personal interest to solve difficult global conflicts.

On 18 July 2007, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nelson Mandela announced the formation of a new group, Global Elders, in a speech he delivered on the occasion of his 89th birthday. The present members of this group are Desmond Tutu, Graça Machel, Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Lakhdar Brahimi, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson, Muhammad Yunus, and Aung San Suu Kyi (with an empty chair for her).

The Elders will be independently funded by a group of "Founders", including Branson and Gabriel.

Desmond Tutu serves as the chair of the Elders, who will use their collective skills to catalyse peaceful resolutions to long-standing conflicts, articulate new approaches to global issues that are causing or may later cause immense human suffering, and share wisdom by helping to connect voices all over the world. They will work together over the next several months to consider carefully which specific issues they will confront.

In November 2007 Gabriel's non-profit group WITNESS launched The Hub, a participatory media site for human rights.

In September 2008 Gabriel was named as the recipient of Amnesty International’s 2008 ''Ambassador of Conscience Award''. In the same month, he received Quadriga ''United We Care'' award of Werkstatt Deutschland along with Boris Tadić, Eckart Höfling and Wikipedia. The award was presented to him by Queen Silvia of Sweden.

Gabriel lent his support to the campaign to release Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of committing adultery.

Politics

For the 1997 general election, Gabriel declared himself as a supporter for the Labour Party — who won that election by a landslide after 18 years out of power, led by Tony Blair.

In 1998, Gabriel was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party. In 2003, he revealed he had voted for Labour and admired what they had done for health and education but distanced himself from the Labour government over Tony Blair’s support for George W. Bush and Britain’s involvement in the Iraq War, which he strongly opposed, although he continued to believe Blair was a man of conscience. Quoted in The Mirror newspaper, he said:

This is a fundamental issue of life and death and I very much think the Prime Minister is in the wrong. I'm also sure George W. Bush is an affable bloke but he's highly dangerous and I wish America was in the hands of someone else. To put oil interests ahead of human life is appalling. War is always terrible but unjustified war is obscene and on present evidence that is what we are facing. People want peace and I think it's great that the Mirror is leading this campaign. I think the consequences of this war would be the biggest threat to world peace in my lifetime. Blair has got to get it right. To take action without UN backing would be inviting disaster by setting the Muslim world against the West. If we are taking a moral position why did we arm Iraq when they were killing the Kurds? If it's because of weapons of mass destruction why isn't North Korea higher on the list? Not that I'd support action there. And if it's a principle of what Iraq has done to its own people why do we bend over for China? I'm sure Bush believes he is removing a scourge but he has never done one thing in office against the interests of the oil lobby who paid for a large part of the election. I don't actually believe Tony Blair is focused on oil but if he knows more than we do I wish he would tell us because there's no justification so far for taking life. War with Iraq would be an aggressive, uncalled for action. It's good the Prime Minister is prepared to stick to his principles, going against public opinion, because you elect leaders in part for their conscience. I just think it's terrible that on this of all issues he is making a stand which separates him from the nation. I think Tony Blair is following his conscience but I believe he is misguided. It could cost him the next election and I think he's aware of that. I'd personally be sad if they lost because Labour has done a lot for health and education, but an unjust war would be enough to lose my vote. I'd like to see a reinforced UN weapons inspection team in Iraq and disarmament much more in line with the French and German proposals. There is a slogan which says: 'Peace is what happens when you respect the rights of others'. Iraqis have rights too.

In 2005, Gabriel gave a Green Party of England and Wales general election candidate special permission to record a cover of his song "Don't Give Up" for his campaign.

In 2010, ''The Guardian'' described Gabriel as "a staunch advocate of proportional representation".

Personal life

Gabriel has two daughters with his first wife Jill Moore: Anna-Marie (born 26 July 1974) and Melanie Gabriel (born 23 August 1976). Married on 17 March 1971, they divorced in 1987. Moore's father was Lord Moore of Wolvercote.

Anna-Marie is a filmmaker and Melanie is a musician. Anna-Marie filmed and directed the ''Growing Up On Tour: A Family Portrait'' and ''Still Growing Up: Live & Unwrapped'' DVDs. Melanie has been a backing vocalist in her father's band since 2002.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gabriel lived with actress Rosanna Arquette but they never married.

Gabriel also has two sons with Meabh Flynn: Isaac Ralph (born 27 September 2001) and Luc (born 5 July 2008). Gabriel and Flynn have been married since 9 June 2002.

Gabriel has resided for many years in the county of Wiltshire in England, where he also runs his Real World Studios. He previously lived in the Woolley Valley near Bath, Somerset. In 2010 he joined a campaign to stop an agricultural development at the valley, which had also inspired his first solo single "Solsbury Hill" in 1977.

Appearances: 2005–present

Gabriel actively coordinated and performed at the Eden Project Live 8 concert in July 2005. In his earliest days, Gabriel played flute on Cat Stevens's first album on the Island records label, ''Mona Bone Jakon'' as a "nervous session musician". Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam, joined him on stage 33 years after that experience, in Johannesburg during Nelson Mandela's 46664 concert. The two performed the Stevens hit "Wild World".

A double DVD set, ''Still Growing Up: Live & Unwrapped'', was released in October 2005.

FIFA asked Gabriel and Brian Eno to organise an opening ceremony for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in Germany, planned to take place a couple of days before the start of the tournament. Gabriel had recently become a fan of the game and 2005 champions league winners Liverpool, and worked on songs for the show in Berlin's Olympic Stadium; however, the show was cancelled in January 2006 by FIFA after going over budget with an apparent lack of interest in the project. The official explanation was potential damage to the pitch.

Rumours of a possible reunion of the original Genesis line-up began circulating in 2004 after Phil Collins stated in an interview that he was open to the idea of sitting back behind the drums and "let Peter be the singer." The classic line-up has only reformed for a live performance once before, in 1982. However, the group did work together to create a new version of the 1974 song "The Carpet Crawlers", ultimately released on the ''Turn It on Again: The Hits'' album as "The Carpet Crawlers 1999". Gabriel later met with other Genesis band members, to discuss a possible reunion tour of ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway''. He chose to opt out of a reunion tour, and his former bandmates, Collins, Banks, and Rutherford chose to tour as Genesis without him.

At the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, Gabriel performed John Lennon's "Imagine" during the opening of the festivities on 10 February 2006.

Cingular Wireless has aired commercials featuring Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill".

Gabriel's song "Digging in the Dirt" was used for promotional videos for the FX show "Dirt"

Gabriel is involved in The Filter, an add-on application for iTunes, Windows Media Player and some Nokia phones which can automatically generate playlists based on music you select.

In October 2006, Gabriel was given the first Pioneer Award at the BT Digital Music Awards, an award presented in recognition of his "profound and lasting influence on the development of digital music."

In November 2006, the Seventh World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome presented Gabriel with the Man of Peace award. The award, presented by former President of the USSR and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev and Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome, was an acknowledgement of Gabriel's extensive contribution and work on behalf of human rights and peace. The award was presented in the Giulio Cesare Hall of the Campidoglio in Rome. At the end of the year, he was awarded the Q Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by American musician Moby. In an interview published in the magazine to accompany the award, Gabriel's contribution to music was described as "vast and enduring."

Gabriel took on a project with the BBC World Service's competition "The Next Big Thing" to find the world's best young band. Gabriel is judging the final six young artists with William Orbit, Geoff Travis and Angelique Kidjo.

''The Times'' reported on 21 January 2007, that Peter Gabriel had announced that he planned to release his next album in the U.S. without the aid of a record company. Gabriel, an early pioneer of digital music distribution, had raised £2 million towards recording and 'shipping' his next album, ''Big Blue Ball'' in a venture with investment boutique Ingenious Media. Gabriel is expected to earn double the money that he would through a conventional record deal. Commercial director Duncan Reid of Ingenious explains the business savvy of the deal, saying, "If you're paying a small distribution fee and covering your own marketing costs, you enjoy the lion's share of the proceeds of the album. Gabriel is expected to outsource CD production for worldwide release through Warner Bros. Records. The new album deal covers the North America territory, where Gabriel is currently out of contract.

The album ''Big Blue Ball'' was launched in America thanks to a venture capital trust initiative. Bosses at London-based firm Ingenious raised more than $4 million (GBP 2 million) to help promote the release in the United States. The venture capitalists, Gabriel and his Real World Limited partners, have created a new joint venture company, High Level Recordings Limited, to oversee the release of the album, which took place in 2008. Gabriel appeared on a nationwide tour for the album in 2009.

On 24 May 2007, he was honoured with the Ivor Novello Award for lifetime achievement.

Gabriel was a judge for the 6th and 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.

He also appears in ''Strange Powers'', the 2009 documentary by Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara about Stephin Merritt and his band, the Magnetic Fields.

In February 2009, Gabriel announced that he would not be performing on the 2008 Academy Awards telecast because producers of the show were limiting his performance of "Down to Earth" from ''WALL-E'' to 65 seconds. John Legend and the Soweto Gospel Choir performed the song in his stead.

Gabriel's 2009 tour of Mexico and South America included visiting Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Venezuela. His first ever performance in Peru was held in Lima on 20 March 2009, during his second visit to the country. His concert in Mexico City, on 27 March 2009, attracted more than 38,000 fans.

On 25 July 2009, he played at WOMAD Charlton Park, his only European performance of the year, to promote Witness. The show included two tracks from the forthcoming "Scratch My Back" album: Paul Simon's 'The Boy in the Bubble' and The Magnetic Fields' 'The Book of Love'.

Discography

''Peter Gabriel 1 (Car)'' (1977)

''Peter Gabriel 2 (Scratch)'' (1978)

''Peter Gabriel 3 (Melt)'' (1980)

''Ein Deutsches Album'' (1980)

''Peter Gabriel 4 (Security)'' (1982)

''Deutsches Album'' (1982)

''Birdy'' (1983)

''So'' (1986)

''Us'' (1992)

''OVO'' (2000)

''Long Walk Home'' (2002)

''Up'' (2002)

''Scratch My Back'' (2010)

''New Blood'' (2011)

See also

List of best selling music artists

List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart

References

External links

Audio interview at BBC Wiltshire

Peter Gabriel takes part in a panel at the Global Philanthropy Forum video

TED Talks: Peter Gabriel fights injustice with a videocamera at TED in 2006

Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:Charisma Records artists Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:BRIT Award winners Category:English film score composers Category:English male singers Category:English rock keyboardists Category:English rock singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:Genesis (band) members Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:International opponents of apartheid in South Africa Category:Old Carthusians Category:People from Chobham Category:Real World artists Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music

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name	Peter Tosh
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Winston Hubert McIntosh
alias	Stepping Razor
born	19 October 1944
died	11 September 1987 (aged 42)
origin	Westmoreland, Jamaica
instrument	Piano, guitar, organ, vocals, keyboard
genre	Reggae, ska, rocksteady, R&B;
occupation	Singer, musician, revolutionary
label	Intel-Diplo
associated acts	The Wailers Bob Marley
notable instruments	Gibson Les Paul Junior }}

Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a major member of the musical band The Wailers (1963–1974), and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.

Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica with a father and mother too young to care for him properly. He was raised by his aunt. He began to sing and learn guitar at an early age, inspired by American radio stations. After a notable career with The Wailers and as a solo musician, he was murdered at his home during a robbery.

With The Wailers

During the early 1960s Tosh met Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, who knew his vocal teacher, Joe Higgs. While developing their music, the trio would often play together on street corners in a Jamaican slum known as Trenchtown. Joe Higgs was the man who taught the trio to harmonize. During 1962, he helped organize the band The Wailing Wailers, with Junior Braithwaite and backup singers Beverley Kelso and Cherry Smith. The Wailing Wailers had a major ska success with their first single, "Simmer Down", and recorded several more successful singles before Braithwaite, Kelso and Smith left the band during late 1965. Marley spent much of 1966 in Delaware in the United States of America with his mother, Cedella (Malcolm) Marley-Booker and for a brief time was working for a nearby Chrysler company factory. He then returned to Jamaica during early 1967 with a renewed interest in music and a new spirituality. McIntosh and Bunny were already Rastafarians when Marley returned from the U.S., and the three became very involved with the Rastafari faith. Soon afterwards, they renamed the musical group The Wailers. Tosh would explain later that they chose the name Wailers because to "wail" means to mourn or to, as he put it, "...express ones feelings vocally".

Rejecting the up-tempo dance of ska, the band slowed their music, and infused their lyrics with political and social messages. The Wailers composed several songs for the American-born singer Johnny Nash before teaming with producer Lee Perry to record some of the earliest well-known reggae songs, including "Soul Rebel", "Duppy Conqueror", and "Small Axe". Bassist Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his brother, drummer Carlton Barrett joined the group during 1970. The band signed a recording contract with Chris Blackwell and Island Records company and released their debut, ''Catch a Fire'', during 1973, following it with ''Burnin''' the same year.

During 1973, Tosh was driving home with his girlfriend Evonne when his car was hit by another car driving on the wrong side of the road. The accident killed Evonne and fractured Tosh's skull severely. He survived, but became more difficult to deal with. After Island Records president Chris Blackwell refused to issue his solo album during 1974, Tosh and Bunny Wailer ended their employment with the Wailers, citing the unfair treatment they received from Blackwell, to whom Tosh often referred with a derogatory play on Blackwell's surname, 'Whiteworst'.

Solo career

Tosh began recording using the name Peter Tosh, and released his solo debut, ''Legalize It'', during 1976 with CBS Records company. The title track soon became popular among endorsers of marijuana legalization, reggae music lovers and Rastafarians all over the world, and was a favourite at Tosh's concerts. As Marley preached his "One Love" message, Tosh criticized the hypocritical "shitstem". He released the album ''Equal Rights'' during 1977.

Tosh organized a backing band, Word, Sound and Power, who were to accompany him on tour for the next few years, and many of whom were features of his albums of this period. During 1978 Rolling Stones Records contracted with Tosh, and the album ''Bush Doctor'' was released, introducing Tosh to a larger audience. The single from the album, a cover version of The Temptations song ''Don't Look Back'', performed as a duet with Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, made Tosh one of the best-known reggae artists. Tosh, as the original guitarist for The Wailers, is considered as one of the originators of the choppy and syncopated reggae guitar style.

During the free One Love Peace Concert of 1978, Tosh lit a marijuana spliff and lectured about legalizing cannabis, lambasting attending dignitaries Michael Manley and Edward Seaga for their failure to enact such legislation. Several months later he was apprehended by police as he left Skateland dance hall in Kingston and was beaten severely while in police custody.

''Mystic Man'' (1979), and ''Wanted Dread and Alive'' (1981) followed. Released on the Rolling Stones' own record label, Tosh tried to gain some mainstream success while keeping his militant opinions, but was largely unsuccessful, especially compared to Marley's achievements. That same year, Tosh appeared in the Rolling Stones' video, Waiting on a Friend.

After the release of 1983's album ''Mama Africa'', Tosh went into self-imposed exile, seeking the spiritual advice of traditional medicine men in Africa, and trying to free himself from recording agreements that distributed his records in South Africa. Tosh had been at odds for several years with his label, EMI, over a perceived lack of promotion for his music.

Tosh also participated with the international opposition to South African apartheid by appearing at Anti-Apartheid concerts and by representing his opinion with the lyrics of various songs like "Apartheid" (1977, re-recorded 1987), "Equal Rights" (1977), "Fight On" (1979), and "Not Gonna Give It Up" (1983). During 1991 ''Stepping Razor - Red X'' was released, a movie - documentary by Nicholas Campbell, produced by Wayne Jobson and based upon a series of spoken-word recordings of Tosh himself, which chronicled the story of the artist's life, music and untimely death.

Religion

Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer during the late 1960s, Peter Tosh became a devotee of Rastafari. Tosh, like Marley, subsequently became a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Unicycling

At some point after his end with the Wailers, Tosh developed an interest in unicycles and knitting; he became an accomplished unicycle rider, being able to ride forwards and backwards and hop. He often amused his audiences by riding onto the stage on his unicycle for his shows. His teacher for unicycling was Kelly Carrigan. They rode side by side for years.

Death

During 1987, Peter Tosh seemed to be having a career revival. He was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Performance during 1987 for ''No Nuclear War''. On 11 September 1987, just after Tosh had returned to his home in Jamaica, a three-man gang came to his house demanding money. Tosh replied that he did not have any with him but the gang did not believe him. They stayed at his residence for several hours in an attempt to extort money from Tosh and tortured him. During this time, many of Tosh's friends came to his house to greet him because of his return to Jamaica. As people arrived, the gunmen became more and more frustrated, especially the chief thug, Dennis 'Leppo' Lobban, a man whom Tosh had previously befriended and tried to help find work after a long jail sentence. Tosh said he did not have any money in the house, after which Lobban put a gun to Tosh's head and shot once, killing him. The other gunmen began shooting, wounding several other people and also killing disc jockey Jeff "Free I" Dixon. Leppo surrendered to the authorities. He was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted during 1995 and he remains in jail.

Discography

Studio albums

''Legalize It'' (1975)

''Equal Rights'' (1977)

''Bush Doctor'' (1978)

''Mystic Man'' (1979)

''Wanted Dread And Alive'' (1981)

''Mama Africa'' (1983)

''No Nuclear War'' (1987)

Live albums

''Captured Live'' (1984)

''Live at the One Love Peace Concert'' (2000)

''Live & Dangerous: Boston 1976'' (2001)

''Live At The Jamaica World Music Festival 1982'' (2002)

''Complete Captured Live'' (2004)

Compilations

Listed are compilations containing material previously unreleased outside of Jamaica.

''The Toughest'' (Heartbeat) (1996)

''Honorary Citizen'' (1997)

''Scrolls Of The Prophet: The Best of Peter Tosh'' (1999)

''Arise Black Man'' (1999)

''Black Dignity (Early Works Of The Stepping Razor)'' (2001)

''I Am That I Am'' (2001)

''The Best Of Peter Tosh 1978-1987'' (2003)

''Can't Blame The Youth'' (2004)

''Black Dignity'' (JAD) (2004)

''Talking Revolution'' (2005)

''The Ultimate Peter Tosh Experience'' (2009)

Appears on

''Negril'' (Eric Gale, 1975)

''Blackheart Man (Bunny Wailer'', 1976)

''Protest'', (Bunny Wailer, 1977)

See also

Bob Marley

Bob Marley and the Wailers

List of Rastafarians

List of reggae musicians

List of vegetarians

Reggae

References

External links

Peter Tosh on Allmusic

Discography

Peter Tosh – Jamaicapage.com Feature

The Wailers News

VitalSpot – Peter Tosh

Category:1944 births Category:1987 deaths Category:Cannabis culture Category:Deaths by firearm in Jamaica Category:Jamaican male singers Category:Converts to the Rastafari movement Category:Jamaican Rastafarians Category:Jamaican songwriters Category:Murdered entertainers Category:Anti-apartheid activists Category:Jamaican reggae singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:People from Westmoreland Parish Category:The Wailers members Category:Trojan Records artists

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