Name	Gabriel
Feast day	September 29 with Saints Michael and Raphael
Venerated in	Islam, Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Lutheranism
Titles	Archangel, Angel of Revelation, Spirit of Truth
Issues	}}

In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (; Arabic: جبرÙ?Ù„, ''JibrÄ«l'' or جبرائÙ?Ù„ ''JibrÄ?ʾīl'') is an angel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.

He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretold the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus. Christians of the Catholic traditions refer to him as Gabriel the Archangel.

Gabriel is referred to as "he" in the Bible, and in he is explicitly called "The man Gabriel". Some moderns, especially New Age exponents, portray Gabriel as female or androgynous.

In Latter-day Saint theology, Gabriel is believed to have lived a mortal life as the prophet Noah. The two are regarded as the same individual; Noah being his mortal name and Gabriel being his heavenly name.

Judaism

Gabriel is mentioned in the Book of Daniel, in the Hebrew Bible where he is sent as a messenger of YHWH (see God in Judaism) to Daniel during the Jewish captivity in Babylon. He is later mentioned in the Talmud.

Christianity

New Testament

First, concerning John the Baptist, an angel appeared to his father Zacharias, a priest of the course of Abia, whose "barren" wife Elisabeth was of the daughters of Aaron, while he ministered in the temple:

Luke 1:10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw ''him'', he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. 20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. KJV (other versions: )

After completing his week of ministry, Zacharias returned to his house (in Hebron) and his wife Elizabeth conceived. After she completed "five months" () of her pregnancy, Gabriel is mentioned again:

Luke 1:26 ¶ And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name ''was'' Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, ''thou that art'' highly favoured, the Lord ''is'' with thee: blessed ''art'' thou among women. 29 And when she saw ''him'', she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. KJV (other versions: )

Gabriel only appears by name in those two passages in Luke. In the first passage the angel identified himself as Gabriel, but in the second it is Luke who identified him as Gabriel. The only other named angel in the New Testament is "Michael the archangel" in . Gabriel is not called an archangel in the Bible. Believers are expressly warned not to venerate or worship angels in and .

Pseudepigrapha

According to the non-canonical 1 Enoch 9:1–2, Gabriel, along with Michael, Raphael, Uriel and Suriel, hears the cries of humanity under the strain of the Nephilim. It was their beseeching of "the Ancient of Days" - interpreted to be Yahweh - that prompted God to call Enoch to the prophetical office.

After Enoch informed the Watchers (or "Grigori") of their fall from grace, the Ancient of Days sent the archangels to earth to complete various tasks. In Enoch 10:13, Gabriel was to "Go to the biters, to the reprobates, to the children of fornication, the offspring of the Watchers, from among men; bring them forth and excite them against one another. Let them perish under mutual slaughter; for length of days shall not be theirs." And so, Gabriel instigated wars among the Nephilim (the sons of the Watchers).

Enoch 20:7 says that Gabriel presides over "Ikisat" (the fiery serpents) or Seraphim, Cherubim, and paradise, while Enoch 40:9 states that Gabriel presides over "all that is powerful." Gabriel sits on the left hand of God with Metatron

In the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, the archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel are considered saints.

Gabriel's Horn

In English-speaking culture, a familiar trope is the image of Gabriel blowing a trumpet blast, signifying the end of time and the general resurrection at the Last Judgment, though the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament do not indicate a particular angel for this task. It may be taken from Norse Heimdall who according to legends, will sound the Gjallarhorn, alerting the Æsir to the onset of Ragnarök where the world ends and is reborn. It may also be taken from Mother Shipton's Prophecies "For storms will rage and oceans roar, when Gabriel stands on sea and shore, and as he blows his wondrous horn, old worlds die and new be born." It ranges from its first appearance in English in John Milton's ''Paradise Lost'' (1667) to African-American spirituals: in Marc Connelly's play based on spirituals, ''The Green Pastures'' (1930), Gabriel has his beloved trumpet constantly with him, and the Lord has to warn him not to blow it too soon. Four years later "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" was introduced by Ethel Merman in Cole Porter's ''Anything Goes'' (1934). The mathematical figure given the modern name "Gabriel's Horn", was invented by Evangelista Torricelli (1608–1647); it is a paradoxical solid of revolution that has infinite surface area, but finite volume.

In Islamic tradition, though not specified in the Qur'an, the trumpeter sounding the ''trump of doom'' is not Gabriel, but Israfel.

The earliest identification of Gabriel as the trumpeter that S. Vernon McCasland was able to trace was in an Armenian illuminated manuscript dated 1455, at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

Feast days

The feast of Saint Gabriel was included for the first time in the General Roman Calendar in 1921, for celebration on March 24. In 1969 it was transferred to 29 September for celebration together with St. Michael and St. Raphael. The Church of England has also adopted the 29 September date, known as Michaelmas.

The Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite celebrate his feast day on 8 November (for those churches that follow the traditional Julian Calendar, 8 November currently falls on 21 November of the modern Gregorian Calendar, a difference of 13 days). Eastern Orthodox commemorate him, not only on his November feast, but also on two other days: 26 March is the "Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel" and celebrates his role in the Annunciation. 13 July is also known as the "Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel", and celebrates all the appearances and miracles attributed to Gabriel throughout history. The feast was first established on Mount Athos when, in the ninth century, during the reign of Emperor Basil II and the Empress Constantina Porphyrogenitus and while Nicholas Chrysoverges was Patriarch of Constantinople, the Archangel appeared in a cell near Karyes, where he wrote with his finger on a stone tablet the hymn to the Theotokos, "It is truly meet...".

The Ethiopian Church celebrates his feast on 28 December, with a sizeable number of its believers making a pilgrimage to a church dedicated to "Saint Gabriel" in Kulubi on that day.

Additionally Gabriel is the patron saint of messengers, those who work for broadcasting and telecommunications such as radio and television, remote sensing, and postal workers.

==Gabriel in Islam==

Gabriel (''Jibra'il'') is believed by Muslims to have been the angel who revealed the Qur'an to the prophet Muhammad, and sent a message to most prophets, if not all, revealing their obligations. Gabriel is named numerous times in the Qur'an (II: 97, 98; LXVI: 4); and, in II: 97, the Qur'an expressly narrates:

"Who is an enemy to Gabriel! For he it is who hath revealed (this scripture) to thy heart by God's leave, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, and a guidance and glad tidings to believers."

He is called the chief of the four favoured angels and the spirit of truth. He is called the created Holy Spirit (Islam), which is not to be confused with the Holy Spirit of God in Christianity who is revered as God Himself. Gabriel is also mentioned in Bahá'í Faith texts, specifically in Bahá'u'lláh's mystical work ''Seven Valleys''.

Gabriel makes a famous appearance in the Hadith of Gabriel, where he quizzes the Prophet Muhammad on the core tenets of Islam.

In Muslim tradition, Gabriel occupies the role of one of the primary archangels and all historical commentaries build upon Gabriel's role as the transmitter of the Qur'an. Exegesis narrates that Muhammad saw Gabriel in his full angelic splendor only twice, the first being when he received his first revelation. Muslims also revere Gabriel for a number of historical events predating the first revelation. Muslims believe that Gabriel was the angel who informed Zachariah of John's birth as well as Mary of the future birth of Jesus and that Gabriel was one of three angels who had earlier informed Abraham of the birth of Isaac. These events of Zachariah and Mary can be found also in the Quran, mentioned in surah Maryam.

Mary 19:2 [This is] a mention of the mercy of your Lord to His servant Zechariah 19:3 When he called to his Lord a private supplication. 19:4 He said, "My Lord, indeed my bones have weakened, and my head has filled with white, and never have I been in my supplication to You, my Lord, unhappy. 19:5 And indeed, I fear the successors after me, and my wife has been barren, so give me from Yourself an heir 19:6 Who will inherit me and inherit from the family of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, pleasing [to You]." 19:7 [He was told], "O Zechariah, indeed We give you good tidings of a boy whose name will be John. We have not assigned to any before [this] name." 19:8 He said, "My Lord, how will I have a boy when my wife has been barren and I have reached extreme old age?" 19:9 [An angel] said, "Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, for I created you before, while you were nothing.' " 19:10 [Zechariah] said, "My Lord, make for me a sign." He said, "Your sign is that you will not speak to the people for three nights, [being] sound."

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary: 19:16 And mention, [O Muhammad], in the Book [the story of] Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place toward the east. 19:17 And she took, in seclusion from them, a screen. Then We sent to her Our Angel, and he represented himself to her as a well-proportioned man. 19:18 She said, "Indeed, I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, [so leave me], if you should be fearing of Allah ." 19:19 He said, "I am only the messenger of your Lord to give you [news of] a pure boy." 19:20 She said, "How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste?" 19:21 He said, "Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter [already] decreed.' "

Arts and media

Visual art

In chronological order (to see each item, follow the link in the footnote):

''Archangel Gabriel'' (Triptych), early 10th century, Benaki Museum

''The Archangel Gabriel'', Pisan, c. 1325/1350, National Gallery of Art

''The Archangel Gabriel'', Masolino da Panicale, c. 1420/30, National Gallery of Art

''Justice between the Archangels Michael and Gabriel'', Jacobello del Fiore, 1421

''Merode Altarpiece'' (Triptych), Robert Campin, c. 1425, Metropolitan Museum of Art

''The Angel Gabriel'', Agostino di Duccio, c. 1450

''Annunciation'', Leonardo Da Vinci, c. 1475

''The Angel Gabriel'', Neroccio d'Landi, c. 1490

''The Angel Gabriel'', late 15th–early 16th century, Flemish, National Gallery of Art

''The Angel Gabriel'', Ferrari Gaudenzio, 1511, National Gallery, London

''Gabriel delivering the Annunciation'' El Greco, 1575 (pictured above)

''Go Down Death'', Aaron Douglas, 1934

''The Prophecy series, Christopher Walken, 1990s

''Constantine'', Francis Lawrence, 2005

''Gabriel'', Andy Whitfield, 2007

Music

The eccentric English hagiographer and antiquarian, Sabine Baring-Gould (1834–1924), wrote the English lyrics to ''Gabriel's Message'', which he translated from the Basque Christmas carol ''Birjina gaztetto bat zegoen'', which was probably related to the 13th or 14th century Latin chant ''Angelus Ad Virginem'' which itself is based on the Biblical account of the Annunciation in the New Testament Gospel of Luke.

Literature

In his epic poem ''Paradise Lost'', John Milton made Gabriel chief of the angelic guards placed over Paradise.

The Hebrew poem "Elifelet" (×?ליפלט) by Nathan Alterman, put to music and often heard on the Israeli Radio, tells of a heroic, self-sacrificing Israeli soldier being killed in battle. Upon the protagonist's death, the angel Gabriel descends to Earth, in order to comfort the spirit of the fallen hero and take him up to Heaven.

Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses has his main character be the modern incarnation of Gabriel.

The Angelfire (novel series) by Courtney Allison Moulton portrays the protagonist Gabriel as being bound in the mortal body of a teenage girl named Ellie and ordered to battle Hell for the salvation of humankind's souls. Gabriel/Ellie faces an internal conflict between her human soul and archangel power.

Galleries of Gabriel in art

Roman Catholic Marian art paintings

Statues or Icons of Gabriel

See also

Angels in Islam

Angelus

Fleur de lys

Annunciation

List of names referring to El

Seraph

Notes

References

Bamberger, Bernard Jacob, (15 March 2006). ''Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm.'' Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0-8276-0797-0

Briggs, Constance Victoria, 1997. ''The Encyclopedia of Angels: An A-to-Z Guide with Nearly 4,000 Entries.'' Plume. ISBN 0-452-27921-6.

Bunson, Matthew, (1996). ''Angels A to Z: A Who's Who of the Heavenly Host.'' Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-517-88537-9.

Cruz, Joan C. 1999. ''Angels and Devils.'' Tan Books & Publishers. ISBN 0-89555-638-3.

Davidson, Gustav. ''A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels''. Free Press. ISBN 0-02-907052-X

Dennis, Geoffrey. 2007. ''The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism''. Llewellyn LTD.

Graham, Billy, 1994. ''Angels: God's Secret Agents.'' W Pub Group; Minibook edition. ISBN 0-8499-5074-0

Guiley, Rosemary, 1996. ''Encyclopedia of Angels.'' ISBN 0-8160-2988-1

Kreeft, Peter J. 1995. ''Angels and Demons: What Do We Really Know About Them?'' Ignatius Press. ISBN 0-89870-550-9

Lewis, James R. (1995). ''Angels A to Z.'' Visible Ink Press. ISBN 0-7876-0652-9

Melville, Francis, 2001. ''The Book of Angels: Turn to Your Angels for Guidance, Comfort, and Inspiration.'' Barron's Educational Series; 1st edition. ISBN 0-7641-5403-6

Ronner, John, 1993. ''Know Your Angels: The Angel Almanac With Biographies of 100 Prominent Angels in Legend & Folklore-And Much More!'' Mamre Press. ISBN 0-932945-40-6.

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia

Jewish Encyclopedia

Icons of Archangel Gabriel

Category:Angels in Christianity Category:Angels in Islam Category:Angels in Judaism Category:Anglican saints Category:Archangels Category:Christian mythology Category:Eastern Orthodox saints Category:Hebrew Bible Category:Individual angels Category:Old Testament saints Category:Oriental Orthodox saints Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:Roman Catholic saints *

am:ገብርá?¤áˆ? (መáˆ?á‹?á?­) ar:جبرائÙ?Ù„ arc:ܓܒܪÜ?Ü?Ü  (Ü¡Ü Ü?ÜŸÜ?) az:CÉ™brayıl (mÉ™lÉ™k) be:ГаÑ?рыіл, арханёл bg:Гавриил (архангел) bo:གེབ་རི་ཨེལà¼? bs:Džibril ca:Gabriel cs:ArchandÄ›l Gabriel cy:Gabriel da:Gabriel de:Gabriel (Erzengel) et:Gabriel el:ΑÏ?χάγγελος ΓαβÏ?ιήλ es:Arcángel Gabriel eo:Sankta Gabrielo eu:Gabriel goiangerua fa:جبرئیل fr:Gabriel (archange) ga:Naomh Gaibriéil (Ardaingeal) ko:가브리엘 hi:गबà¥?रीà¤?ल hr:Gabriel id:Jibril it:Arcangelo Gabriele he:גברי×?ל ka:გáƒ?ბრიეáƒ? მთáƒ?ვáƒ?რáƒ?ნგეáƒ?áƒ?ზი kk:Жәбірейіл ku:Cibrayîl lv:Erceņģelis Gabriels lt:Arkangelas Gabrielius hu:Gábor fÅ‘angyal mk:Ð?рхангел Гаврил ml:à´—à´¬àµ?രിയേൽ mt:ArkanÄ¡lu Gabrijel mr:जिबà¥?राइल ms:Jibrail nl:Gabriël (aartsengel) ja:ガブリエル no:Gabriel nn:Engelen Gabriel pl:ArchanioÅ‚ Gabriel pt:Gabriel (arcanjo) ro:Arhanghelul Gabriel ru:Ð?рхангел Гавриил simple:Gabriel sk:Gabriel (anjel) sr:Гаврило fi:Gabriel sv:Gabriel tl:Arkanghel Gabriel ta:கபிரியேலà¯? தேவதூதரà¯? te:జిబà±?రయీలà±? th:à¸?าเà¸?รียล tr:Cebrâîl uk:Гавриїл ur:جبریل zh:å? ç™¾åˆ—

Roy Davis Jr. is an American musician, specializing in house music on Ubiquity Records.

Career

Davis grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and was turned on to house music at an early age by Lil' Louis. Davis began his own production company named Phuture in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, Davis teamed with Chicago vocalist Peven Everett and recorded the hit single, "Gabriel" (Large/XL). The track garnered airplay, and was played in nightclubs around the world. It peaked at #22 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1997. The single sold over 200,000 copies, and has appeared on thousands of compilation albums including ''Desert Island Mix'' from Gilles Peterson.

In 2004, his track, "About Love" reached #70 in the UK Singles Chart.

References

External links

Roy Davis Jr. at Ubiquity Records

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American dance musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American house musicians Category:Club DJs Category:Remixers Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:Ubiquity Records artists

Name	Peter Gabriel
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Peter Brian Gabriel
Birth date	February 13, 1950
Birth place	Chobham, Surrey, England, United Kingdom
Instrument	Vocals, keyboards, flute, drums, piano, guitar, bass, harmonica, oboe
genre	Progressive rock, art rock, experimental rock, pop rock, world music
occupation	MusicianProducerHumanitarian
Years active	1967–present
Label	Geffen (US & Canada), Real World, Virgin, Charisma, Atlantic (US & Canada), EMI (Brazil)
associated acts	Genesis, Laurie Anderson, Kate Bush
website	}}

Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English 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. His 1986 album, ''So'', is his most commercially successful, and the album's biggest hit, "Sledgehammer", won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards, and the song is the most played music video in the history of the station.

More recently, Gabriel has focused on producing and promoting world music and pioneering digital distribution methods for music. He has also been involved in various humanitarian efforts. Gabriel has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1987, six Grammy Awards, thirteen MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2007 he 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 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.

Early life

Peter 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. He played drums in his first rock bands, and Mike Rutherford commented in 1985 that "Pete was - and still is, I think - a frustrated drummer."

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

Early Genesis concerts were hampered by a bad PA system which made it difficult for audiences to understand what Gabriel was singing. According to Mike Rutherford, this drove Gabriel to find other ways to impress his personality on the audience, leading to his performing in various 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''.

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 left Genesis to pursue a film project with Friedkin, only to rejoin a week later. The decision to quit the band was made before the tour supporting ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'', but Gabriel did not inform the band until the conclusion of that tour. Nonetheless, bassist Mike Rutherford recalled that they all "could see it coming." Although tensions were high, both Gabriel and the remaining members of Genesis have stated publicly that Gabriel left the band on good terms.

The breaking point came with the difficult pregnancy of Gabriel's wife, Jill, and the subsequent birth of their first child, Anna-Marie. 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 debut 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); in all of these designs, Gabriel's face is wholly or partially obscured in some way. The albums 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.), and "Biko".

Arduous and occasionally damp recording sessions at his rural English estate in 1981 and 1982 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 album ''So''. The album charted at number 1 in the UK Album Chart, and number 2 on the Billboard 200 in the US. It is certified triple platinum in the UK, and five times platinum in the US. The album 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". "Sledgehammer", peaked at #1 in the U.S., knocking Genesis' "Invisible Touch" off the top spot, and #4 in the UK. 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. In 1990, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked ''So'' number #14 on its list of "Top 100 Albums of the Eighties".

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 set a new standard for art in the music video industry, and won nine MTV Video Music Awards in 1987, a record which still stands as of 2011. "Sledgehammer" is the most played music video in the history of MTV, and in 1998 it was named the station's number one animated video of all time. 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". Gabriel was also nominated for three Grammy Awards: Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year.

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'', ''Scratch My Back'' and ''New Blood'' (1995–present)

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 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.

On 11 October 2011, Gabriel released ''New Blood'', a collection of his earlier songs recorded with an orchestra. A special edition of the album features solely instrumental versions of some of the songs.

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, Gabriel and Cape Verdean human rights activist Vera Duarte were awarded 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

At the 1997 general election, Gabriel declared his support for the Labour Party, which 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 Labour. 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...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".

In 2012, Gabriel condemned the use of his music by American talk radio personality Rush Limbaugh during a controversial segment in which Limbaugh vilified Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke. A statement on behalf of Gabriel read: "Peter was appalled to learn that his music was linked to Rush Limbaugh's extraordinary attack on Sandra Fluke. It is obvious from anyone that knows Peter's work that he would never approve such a use. He has asked his representatives to make sure his music is withdrawn and especially from these unfair, aggressive and ignorant comments."

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; however, the show was cancelled in January 2006 by FIFA.

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 Turin, Italy, Gabriel performed John Lennon's "Imagine" during the opening of the festivities on 10 February 2006.

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 Angélique 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.

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 then-forthcoming ''Scratch My Back'': Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble" and The Magnetic Fields' "The Book of Love".

On 5 October 2011 at the Royal Festival Hall, London Gabriel appeared at the end of an interview of President Carter by Channel 4 News presenter, Jon Snow, to lead the 2,500-strong audience in a rendition of happy birthday to mark the President turning 87.

On 9 November 2011 he appeared and performed on CBS's ''Late Show with David Letterman''.

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'' (1985)

''So'' (1986)

''Passion'' (1989)

''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

Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:Charisma Records artists Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Brit Award winners Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees 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, Surrey Category:Real World artists Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music

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Name	Gabriel Iglesias
Birth place	San Diego, California, U.S.
Birth date	July 15, 1976
Medium	Stand-up, television
Active	1997–present
Genre	Comedy
Subject	Mexican American culture, race relations, satire
Website	Official website
Footnotes	}}

Gabriel J. Iglecias (born July 15, 1976), known professionally as Gabriel Iglesias, is an American standup comedian and actor, known for his shows ''I'm Not Fat… I’m Fluffy'' and ''Hot & Fluffy''. He employs storytelling, effected voices and sound effects in his act, whose other trademarks include references to his weight and his use of Hawaiian shirts. He has been called a "comedy genius" by Hector Saldaña of the ''San Antonio Express-News''.

Early life

Gabriel Iglesias was born Gabriel J. Iglecias in San Diego, California. He is of Mexican-American heritage. His mother placed a letter "c" in his surname in retaliation for his father's absence during his birth, though he does not use this spelling in his every day life, preferring to use the one with the "s". He and his mother lived in Riverside, Corona, Santa Ana, Baldwin Park and Compton before settling in Long Beach, where Iglesias spent most of his life growing up.

Career

Before going into comedy, Iglesias worked for a cell phone company in Los Angeles. Although his family urged him to remain in that job for its financial security, he insisted on trying his hand at comedy. When maintaining both occupations proved too difficult to handle, he decided to take the risk of doing comedy full time, against the advice of his mother, who cautioned him against such a move. Iglesias nonetheless left the phone company, which eventually resulted in his being evicted from his home and losing his car. Despite this, he persisted with comedy.

Iglesias often references his weight in his comedy, often saying, "Oh, I’m not fat, I’m fluffy", a term he says was popular among overweight people in the 1940s, which he decided to use in his act. He also references different "Levels of Fatness" in his act, having once described "Five Levels of Fatness", and eventually adding a sixth, called "Oh, Hell no!" in 2009. He also employs voices, sound effects and storytelling in his act, and his other trademark signatures include his Hawaiian shirts and a "nice-guy veneer".

In 2000, after Iglesias had turned 20, he appeared in season 6 of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' in 2000, co-starring with Amanda Bynes and Nick Cannon.

Iglesias appeared on the Galavision TV show ''Que Locos!''. He subsequently was guest-starred on the ABC sitcom ''My Wife and Kids''. His stand-up has been featured on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', ''The Late Late Show'', ''Good Morning America'', ''Showtime at the Apollo'' and BET'S ''Comic View''. On the big screen, he has appeared in the independent films ''El Matador'' and ''The Surfer King'', in which he played the role of Aokee, a water park concession manager.

In 2007 Iglesias voiced an entire Mexican family in "Padre de Familia", a sixth season episode of the Fox TV animated comedy ''Family Guy''. That same year, he began voicing a recurring set of identical twin characters on ''The Emperor's New School'', a Disney animated series that he describes as his favorite voice work.

Iglesias was a contestant on the fourth season of reality TV series ''Last Comic Standing'' in 2006, surviving elimination to become one of the final eight comics. He was disqualified at that point for having used a smuggled BlackBerry to communicate with family and friends, which violated the rules of the show.

In November 2009 Comedy Central released the DVD of the show ''Gabriel Iglesias: I'm Not Fat... I'm Fluffy''.

In 2011 Comedy Central debuted ''Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution'', a standup showcase series with Iglesias produces and hosts. Hector Saldaña of the ''San Antonio Express-News'' praised Iglesias and the other comedian he assembled for the show, calling it "one of the all-time funniest comedy package tours" and Iglesias a "comedy genius".

Awards and honors

On February 10, 2012, Iglesias was presented with several awards by the city of El Paso, Texas, including the key to the city, a resolution from the El Paso County Commissioners, Congressional Recognition from Congressman Silvestre Reyes, and the Beacon of H.O.P.E Award from the nonprofit organization Operation H.O.P.E, during a luncheon fundraiser that raised an estimated $5,000.

Personal life

Iglesias lives in Whittier, California. He lives with his girlfriend and his stepson.

Credits

2011: ''Conan''

2009: ''Just for Laughs''

2009: ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien''

2008: ''Kickin' It''

2007: ''Gabriel Iglesias''

2007: ''Live at Gotham''

2006: ''The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson''

2003: ''Comedy Central Presents: Gabriel Iglesias''

2002: ''Tonight Show with Jay Leno''

2002: ''My Wife and Kids'', Nabu

2000: ''Premium Blend'' Season 3, Episode 8

2000: ''All That''

2011: ''Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand-Up Revolution''

Discography

''We Luv Fluffy'' (2009)

Filmography

''El Matador'' (2003)

''The Surfer King'' (2006)

''Hot and Fluffy'' (2007)

''Comedy Central's Stand Up Picks - Part 3'' (2008)

''I'm Not Fat... I'm Fluffy'' (2009)

References

External links

Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:People from San Diego, California Category:American television actors Category:American film actors Category:American comedians Category:American people of Mexican descent

nl:Gabriel Iglesias sv:Gabriel Iglesias

Gabriel Ríos (b. San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1978) is a Puerto Rican musician currently residing in Brooklyn.

Biography

As a child Ríos was member of his church choir, and in addition to this early exposure to music his father also taught him to play the guitar. After finishing his studies at the Academia del Perpetuo Socorro high school in 1996, he moved to Ghent, Belgium. For a short time he also lived in Los Angeles. In Ghent he joined the art academy, eventually deciding on becoming a professional singer/songwriter although still being interested in painting.

Rios started off in Puerto Rico with the band he created called "Los Mimes" (Jose Santana on rhythm guitar, Ramon Nieves aka Mango Chupao on bass and Leugim Bustello on drums). He later founded the band ''The Nothing Bastards'', and a few years later the more Latin inspired ''L. Santo''. His debut solo album, titled ''Ghostboy'', was released in 2004 (produced by Jo Bogaert), followed by his live album ''En vivo'' one year later. He has garnered considerable solo success in Belgium, even being chosen "Best Belgian Singer" by readers of the Flemish weekly ''Humo'' in 2006. Early 2007, he released his latest album "Angelhead" (named after the 1980s British band).

In 2010, Rios released 'The Dangerous Return', with Belgian jazz pianist Jeff Neve and percussionist Kobe Prossmans.

Rios regularly moves between New York and Belgium to perform.

His music is a mix of different styles: rock, punk, hip hop, and salsa.

Of note

His song ''Broad Daylight'' was used by the late Dutch film director Theo van Gogh in the film ''06/05'' (concerning the assassination of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn). After the assassination of van Gogh, Ríos and his band performed at a last party held in his honor, because they were his favorite band.

In 2006, Ríos and Michael Franti contributed their voices to a project by Flip Kowlier, which involved a cover of the song ''What's This?'' from the stop-motion movie ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' by Tim Burton. This single was released as a fund raiser for a benefit action called 'Music for Life', against landmines, organized by the popular Belgian radio station ''Studio Brussel''.

In 2010 he contributed with Flemish singer Natalia for the single 'Hallelujah' to raise money for the same benefit action, this time for the people in Haiti. The Leonard Cohen cover was a number one hit for a couple weeks in Belgium.

Discography

Albums

2004 - ''Ghostboy''

2005 - ''En Vivo''

2007 - ''Angelhead''

2007 - ''Morehead - A Couple Of Covers And Some Alternative Versions'' (Minialbum)

2010 - ''The Dangerous Return''

Singles

2006 - Broad Daylight

2007 - Angelhead

2010 - Hallelujah

External links

Official site

Official myspace page

News Article

Interview (2008)

Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:Puerto Rican musicians

fr:Gabriel Ríos nl:Gabriel Ríos