Peter Gabriel “Biko” released

Biko Peter Gabriel

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel (see lyrics here) Released: August 18, 1980 First Charted: August 23, 1980 Peak: 18 CL, 5 CO, 38 UK (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 8.6 video, -- streaming

Awards (Peter Gabriel): Click on award for more details. Awards (Simple Minds): Awards (Playing for Change):

About the Song: “Biko” was written as “an anti-apartheid protest song” WK inspired by Bantu Stephen Biko, a black South African anti-apartheid activist. Biko founded the South African Students’ Organization in 1968 and the Black People’s Convention in 1972. In 1973, the South African government banned him from “leaving his hometown, meeting with more than one person, publishing his writing, and speaking in public.” WK He was arrested in August 1977 for breaking that order. He died during police custody on September 12, 1977. All Music Guide’s Stewart Mason called the song Gabriel’s “first masterpiece” AMG and “a stunning achievement for its time.” AMG Gabriel wrote it after hearing about Biko’s death via the BBC WK and reading three biographies about Biko. SF The lyrics described Biko’s death and the violence perpetrated by the apartheid government. Gabriel said, “It seemed impossible to me that the South Africans had let him be killed when there had been so much international publicity about his imprisonment.” SF Mason said it was “one of the few rock songs to treat a political martyr with dignity but not mawkishness.” AMG After the release of the song as a single, Gabriel donated the proceeds to the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa. The song has been credited with evoking “resistance to apartheid part of western popular culture.” WK Scholar Ingrid Byerly said it was the “right song written at the right time by the right person.” WK The South African government banned the song because they viewed it as a security threat. WK Musically, Gabriel incorporated his growing interest in African musical styles by using “a sparse two-tone beat played on Brazilian drum and vocal percussion, in addition to a distorted guitar, and a synthesized bagpipe sound.” WK “Biko” also used excerpts of recordings of songs, including “Ngomhia sibuyaho” and “Senzeni Na?,” which were sung at Biko’s funeral. WK Personal favorite cover versions of the song include one by Simple Minds in 1989 and the collaborative project known as Playing for Change which recorded the song in 2010. Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Simple Minds DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Playing for Change AMG All Music Guide SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 6/9/2022; last updated 12/23/2022.