Innovative pop artist Peter Gabriel, whose major hits include "Solsbury Hill," "Sledgehammer," and "Big Time," has been the subject of several concert and rock videos. The former lead singer for the '70s progressive rock group Genesis has also penned distinctive scores for such films as Birdy (1984) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).
Peter Gabriel
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- Formed Genesis while attending Charterhouse, a boarding school in England.
- Gained a reputation as a flamboyant stage performer, often donning elaborate costumes for live concerts.
- Left the band in 1975 to pursue a career as a solo artist.
- Wrote the song "Biko" about human-rights activist Stephen Biko; it was one of the first pop songs to broach the subject of apartheid.
- Released the album So in 1986 and reached the top of the charts with the singles "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time."
- Founded Real World Studios in the late '80s.
- Launched WITNESS, a humanitarian foundation that advocates the use of video and technology to document human-rights violations, in 1992.