Today marks Peter Gabriel’s 71st birthday. The legendary singer-songwriter and master of visual artistry was born on February 13, 1950 in Chobham, Surrey, England. Gabriel grew up at Coxhill, a Victorian manor located on Deep Pool Farm. Peter’s place of origin sounds almost fairy tale-like and Gabriel certainly tapped into Britain’s mystical past when crafting the early aesthetic for the band he is famous for co-founding, Genesis.
But Gabriel would exhibit his flair for the theatric even before helping to create Genesis. In 1965, Gabriel — along with future Genisis co-founders keyboardist Tony Banks and drummer Chris Stewart — formed the band Garden Wall, the name itself suggesting a liminal space dividing the mundane and the fantastic. Like its ethereal undertones, Garden Wall was not long for the world. But Gabriel would give the band a dramatic send-off, dressing in a kaftan and beads. He showered the audience with flower petals he collected from neighboring gardens.
Gabriel, Banks and Stewart along with guitarists Mike Rutherford (who also played bass) and Anthony Phillips went on to form Genesis, another name signifying mythical origins. Like many innovative groups searching for their sound, Genesis’ beginning was a bit rocky commercially and at one point Gabriel locked down a spot at London School of Film Technique. But buoyed by Peter’s vocals and multi-instrumentalism — he played flute, oboe and other woodwinds — Genesis began to build something of a cult following.
Also distinguishing the band was Gabriel’s showmanship, which he began to ramp up with the 1972 album, Foxtrot, the Paul Whitehead cover art for which featured an anthropomorphic figure wearing a red dress with a fox head. Unbeknownst to the band — which at this point also featured drummer Phil Collins and guitarist Steve Hackett — Gabriel left the stage at a Dublin concert and returned dressed as the figure from the Foxtrot cover. Gabriel’s theatrics would up the band’s profile, with fans beginning to expect a show from the frontman.
In 1973, Genesis performed at the historic Shepperton Studios — around Halloween no less — located in Peter’s native Surrey. Like much of Peter Gabriel era-Genesis, the performance and its documentation are also shrouded in legend. Reportedly, the 16mm film of the performance went into obscurity not long after it was captured and didn’t resurface for another 30 years when a group of Genesis fans led by a party going by the online handle of Kind Lerch purchased the film and made it available for fans.
Adding to the mystique is Gabriel’s performance. The set kicks off with Foxtrot’s “Watcher Of The Skies,” which saw Peter in a long cape, a batwing headdress and painted face, reminiscent of druidic representations. The music itself, widely regarded as on the vanguard of progressive rock, is just as psychedelic, with Rutherford swelling the sound shimmering with a double-necked bass/guitar and Banks adding swirling Hammond organ over shifting time signatures led by Collins and punctuated by Hackett’s lead guitar. The set continues with early Genesis classics like “Dancing With The Moonlit Knight,” “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” and “The Musical Box,” with Peter donning various costumes throughout. The stunning performance comes to a close with the epic suite, “Supper’s Ready.”
To celebrate Peter Gabriel’s birthday, watch Genesis perform at Shepperton Studios in 1973 below via the JamBase Live Video Archive:
Setlist
Set: Watcher Of The Skies, Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe), The Musical Box, Supper’s Ready
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