Heart of a Punk Soul of a Rasta

Who would have guessed all those years ago when the Careers Officer advised young Peter's parents that the boy should pursue a career in market gardening, that one day Peter would become a PUNK! He "Raeled" against PUNK for a long time though, choosing instead to literally became a flower. Perhaps that was taking his career advice a bit too far, perhaps not.

During those early Genesis days when he frolicked gayly in Epping Forest; and lay down with lambs all over Broadway; and had his windscreen wiper adjusted by Dr Diaper; who would have guessed that one day Peter would become a PUNK - not me and that's for sure matey.

When Peter left "that other lot" and went forth with Gabriel I, there were still no obvious signs of his approaching punk conversion. The Flood was first heralded, and then waved off, amid the mighty strains of the London Symphony Orchestra, and it seemed impossible on this evidence, that Peter would oneday become a PUNK.

But then shit started to happen. The FLOOD was gone and it was time for a sea change. When Gabriel II came along, gone was the full orchestrated overblown stuff produced in foreign mucho money recording studio. Things were certainly getting a tad more DIY.

And so to the Gabriel "D Day", or should it be "B Day" B for Battersea (no a B Day is something they have in France to wash their feet in, isn't it?).

Anyway the Gabriel D Day came on the 16th of September 1978 at BATTERSEA PARK; it was day one for Peter the PUNK.

God! Wasn't journo (spit) Harry Doherty a miserable old sod? A Punk version of "Whiter Shade of Pale" who could ask for anything more! And so Peter had finally become one of us, one of us, one of us, one of us………..But there was still a bit more gestating to do, we were going to have to wait until May 1980 until we got a recorded slice of "post punk Peter" which came in the shape of Gabriel 3.

Yes good people thirty years ago today Gabriel 3 hit the shops, an album with all of Peter's new wave, post punk pretensions on show. And listening to it now I've got to admit Peter had got it all pretty well covered. He managed to cram all of Punk's pet topics into P3: alienation, nihilism, introspection, protest, obsession and murder - there all there!

The LP opens with the dark obsessive pursuit of the "Intruder" (like Blondie's "One Way or Another" with the psychosis levels turned up to 11). "No Self Control" follows as uneasy, and as malaise ridden as anything on the Gof4's uneasy and malaise ridden "Entertainment!" There's the murderous intent of "Family Snapshot" which inspired by the book "An Assassin's Diary". "Family Snapshot" and Magazine's "Motorcade" perfect bedfellows me thinks - but what do I know. Snapshot is musically the least post punk track on the album. Gabriel dusted off "Family Snapshot" a few years back at WOMAD (I think it was part of a fan requested set list) and it had been a long day since I'd heard it live, not punk maybe but it was still deeply unnerving.

The new wavers were represented on P3 by Dave Gregory of XTC and Paul Weller of The Jam. Dave Gregory did something typically XTC and so anonymous, whilst the Mod father Weller provided a stonking big chord progression; more Who than Jam to underscore "And Through the Wire". The outsider alienation remit was covered by "Not One of Us" and "Lead a Normal Life" and the finally political protest came in the form of the seminal "BIKO".

And that leaves us ladies and gentlemen with what is lyrically Peter's Punk Zenith - "Games Without Frontiers". Does anyone remember "Jeux Sans Frontières"? Well if you don't, it was basically the fore runner of the EU Parliament, each Euro country endeavoured to obstruct the other in the pursuit of very little. And what about "It's a Knockout", does anyone remember "It's a Knockout"? Does Arthur Ellis's dipstick mean nothing to you? I guess its time for my favourite quote "The past is a foreign country they do things differently there" - Hartley. I think I'll leave it, somethings are beyond explaination, but why no one has ever done a Punky Reggae version of "Games Without Frontiers" is beyond me. Is someone going to cover it on the new "Scratch my Back" album? Who knows?

In conclusion; yes it does seem unbelievable today watching Peter Gabriel singing solo at the O2 backed by a full orchestra that once things were so different.

So like a US minority pressure group trying to broaden its profile, we a Heart of a Punk - Soul of a Rasta claim Peter as one of our own. For us Peter will always be a PUNK!

Go buy GABRIEL 3 on vinyl now from a record shop or lobby Mr Gabriel for a remastered double vinyl re-release - either way GABRIEL 3 is a great post punk album believe!

But this isn't the end of our story because in one of the quirkiest allegiances in UK musical history, PETER flirted with PUNK again in 1980. The PUNK or PUNKS in question this time were Jimmy Pursey (Sham 69) and John Ellis (The Vibrators). They made a record together "Animals Have More Fun" / "SUS".

Shock the bleedin monkey batman that can't of happened!

The pips are going now so I must ring off, but if you don't belive me - Go here.