Peter Gabriel, Van Morrison, and Don Henley :: Musicians Career Biographies Essays

Peter Gabriel, Van Morrison, and Don Henley Peter Gabriel has earned a worldwide reputation for his innovative work as a musician, writer and video maker. When at school, he CO-founded the band Genesis which he left in 1975. His albums, live performances and videos since then have won him a succession of awards. In 1980, he collected together a group of people to found WOMAD (World of Music, Arts & Dance). In a series of international festivals, each year WOMAD brings together traditional and modern music, arts and dance from every corner of the globe. Peter is currently an advisor on the board of WOMAD. Shortly afterwards, Peter established Real World Studios in Wiltshire, designed as an ideal environment for performance. It also became the base for Real World Records, a label which is dedicated to recording and promoting a wide range of artists from all over the world. Peter has released 10 solo albums and in 1986 he won his first Grammy with his seventh album, 'So.' The videos from this project established him as a leader in video production and included 'Sledgehammer' which has won the most music video awards ever, including a No. 1 position in Rolling Stone's top 100 videos of all time. Peter has been involved in a broad spectrum of human rights and environmental issues. His song, 'Biko,' was the first pop song which talked about the effects of apartheid, and in 1988 and 1990 he was involved in the Nelson Mandela concerts at Wembley. In 1988 he also worked with Amnesty International to set up the "Human Rights Now" tour, visiting many countries with Sting, Bruce Springsteen,Tracey Chapman and Youssou N'Dour. Following this, he initiated the "Witness" programme, which was launched in 1992 in conjunction with the Reebok Foundation in the USA. The organization aims to arm human rights activists from around the world with handheld video cameras and other tools of mass communication. To date, they have supplied hundreds of cameras to over fifty countries, and have also set up a biweekly Witness web broadcast via Macintosh's Quicktime Channel. In 1989, he visited the USSR to help launch Greenpeace and also contributed to the 'One World, One Voice' album -- a collaborative project which featured artists from all over the world. In 1989, Peter composed the soundtrack for Martin Scorcese's epic film "The Last Temptation of Christ" which was the basis for one of his most experimental and innovative albums,"Passion.