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Taken from Examiner (May 26, 2015)
Rock Hall Anniversary: Peter Gabriel’s 1980 Eponymous Album
by Ryan Davis, Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame Examiner
BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 09: Peter Gabriel performs in front of the Brandenburg Gate during celebrations on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. The city of Berlin is commemorating the 25th annivers
Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images |
By 1980, Peter Gabriel was already five years well into his solo career. During that time he had already released two albums, both of which were eponymous with other references to determine which album was which. In that same year, Gabriel will once again repeat that same pattern.
Gabriel released his third eponymous album in May 1980. The album was also referred to as Melt, owing to the album’s front cover designed by Hipgnosis, a British design group also known for designing album covers for other artists including Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Gabriel’s former band Genesis, and Gabriel’s 1978 album (referred to as Scratch).
Gabriel produced his Melt album, with Steve Lillywhite. Guest collaborations included those from ex-Genesis bandmate Phil Collins, singer Kate Bush, and the Police producer Hugh Padgham. The two breakout singles from the album was “Games Without Frontiers” (which hit the top ten in the UK, and top fifty in the US), and “Biko” (the closing track which was also an ode to the late South African activist).
Though signed with Atlantic Records, the Melt album was distributed in the US by Mercury Records, as Atlantic deemed the album non-commercial and dropped Gabriel from their roster. A move that would later be recanted, as it was later re-issued three years later by Atlantic’s sister label Geffen, whom Gabriel would also be signed to. In addition to being a critical success, it also thrived commercially, as it peaked at number one and twenty-two on the UK and US charts respectively. The album went gold on both sides of the Atlantic, marking the beginning of bigger successes Gabriel would see in the 1980s.
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