- Writer: Peter Gabriel
- Producer: Bob Ezrin
- Recorded: Late 1976, The Soundstage, Toronto, Ontario
- Released: February 10, 1977
- Players:
Peter Gabriel — vocals, keyboard. flute, recorder
Robert Fripp — guitar
Tony Levin — bass
Dick Wagner — backing vocals
Jim Maelen — percussion
Steve Hunter — guitar
Larry Fast — synthesizers
Allan Schwartzberg — drums - Album: Peter Gabriel (Atco, 1977)
- Also On:
Plays Live (Geffen, 1982)
Shaking The Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats (Geffen, 1990)
Revisited (Atlantic, 1992)
Secret World Live (Geffen, 1994)
Hit (Geffen, 2003) - Peter Gabriel‘s self-titled debut was the first of three eponymous albums. (His fourth album would have remained Peter Gabriel if it was up to him as well, but his new U.S. label, Geffen, stuck the name Security on the sleeve to avoid further confusion. In the UK, his fourth album was still untitled.)
- “Solsbury Hill,” Gabriel’s single from his debut, was a spare number in comparison to the art-rock he had been making with his former band, Genesis. Gabriel left Genesis after their tour supporting The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway ended in May 1975.
- The acoustic-based “Solsbury Hill” chronicled the singer’s break from the band in an allegorical fashion.
- Although the song became a classic rock radio staple, it had relatively minor chart success, peaking in the U.S. at Number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100. It did better in the U.K., where it placed at Number 13.
FAST FORWARD:
- Gabriel has become active in human rights benefits, championing world music, and recording soundtracks, alongside his sporadic solo albums.
- Gabriel began financing, at great cost to himself, the World Of Music, Arts, And Dance Festival (WOMAD) in 1982. The concert became an annual event, bringing global music to the western world.
- In 1986, Gabriel began touring in support of Amnesty International, which has drawn in other socially conscious artists such as Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, U2, Lou Reed, and Bryan Adams.