Peter Gabriel’s So released

So Peter Gabriel

Released: May 13, 1986 Peak: 2 US, 12 UK, 1 CN, 5 AU, 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 0.9 UK, 12.1 world (includes US + UK) Genre: rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. Red Rain Sledgehammer Don’t Give Up (with Kate Bush) That Voice Again Mercy Street Big Time We Do What We’re Told (Milgram’s 37) This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds) (with Laurie Anderson) In Your Eyes Total Running Time: 45:21

Rating: 4.354 out of 5.00 (average of 31 ratings) Quotable: A mix of both halves of Gabriel: the “more conventional pop-writing style and…[a] dark, brooding sense of experimentalism.” – Wikipedia Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album For Gabriel’s fifth studio effort, So, many of his songs reflected “a more conventional pop-writing style and became radio hits, others still retain Gabriel’s dark, brooding sense of experimentalism.” WK Producer Daniel Lanois, who’d previous worked with Gabriel for the Birdy soundtrack, was “known for his ambient collaborations with Brian Eno as well as producing U2 since 1984. As he had with the soundtrack to the film Birdy, Lanois brought many of his own ambient sensibilities to this recording.” WK “This was Gabriel’s first studio album to bear an official title from its inception. His previous regular albums were simply titled Peter Gabriel, including 1982’s Security, which was retitled by Gabriel’s U.S. label at the time, Geffen Records. It had been speculated that the album was named for the fifth note on the scale (do-re-mi-fa-SO), signifying that it was Gabriel’s fifth solo album. However, the fifth note of the scale is actually SOL, and according to Peter Gabriel himself, the title did not have any meaning. ‘It doesn’t mean anything’, he said in an interview with Smash Hits in 1986. ‘We just liked the form of the word and the two letters. That’s all.’” WK Also in the hit vein are “the urgent That Voice Again,” AM “Don’t Give Up, a moving duet with Kate Bush…and In Your Eyes.” AM “These all illustrated the strengths of the album: Gabriel’s increased melodicism and ability to blend African music, jangly pop, and soul into his moody art rock.” While on Security the singles “were part of the overall fabric; here, the singles are the fabric, which can make the album seem top-heavy (a fault of many blockbuster albums, particularly those of the mid-‘80s). Even so, those songs are so strong, finding Gabriel in a newfound confidence and accessibility, that it’s hard not to be won over by them, even if So doesn’t develop the unity of its two predecessors.” AM Notes: “When the album was remastered in 2002 with most of Gabriel’s catalogue, the song ‘In Your Eyes’ was moved from the fifth song to the ninth song. This was what Peter Gabriel originally intended, but because of the limitations of the vinyl release format it was moved up to be the first track on side two.” WK The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Red Rain Peter Gabriel

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel Released: 6/29/87 (single), So (1986), Shaking the Tree (compilation, 1990), Secret World (live, 1993), Hit (compilation, 2003), Growing Up (live, 2003), New Blood (re-recordings, 2011) First Charted: 6/14/1986 Peak: 3 AR, 46 UK, 6 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 17.33 streaming About the Song: Bridging the gap between the hits and the more experimental material is Red Rain, “a stately anthem popular on album rock radio.” AM “Inspired by a recurring dream which Gabriel had of swimming in a sea of red water, its lyrics vividly depict dream imagery that reflect a sense of vulnerability. The song is one of the works in the story of Mozo, a wandering stranger who appears in several Gabriel songs,” WK others being “On the Air” and “Exposure.” WK “Of all the tracks on the album, Gabriel considers ‘Red Rain’ one of his favourites.” WK

Sledgehammer Peter Gabriel

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel Released: 4/21/1986 (single), So (1986), Shaking the Tree (compilation, 1990), Hit (compilation, 2003), Growing Up (live, 2003), Flotsam and Jetsam (box set, 2019) Peak: 11 BB, 12 CB, 2 GR, 11 RR, 12 AR, 61 RB, 2 CO, 4 UK, 12 CN, 3 AU, 4 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.25 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 4.0 radio, 75.0 video, 189.73 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Peter Gabriel helmed the British progressive rock band Genesis from 1967 to 1975 and then launched a successful solo career. Genesis soldiered on as well with Phil Collins as their front man, becoming hugely successful. In 1986, the band landed its sole #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. It was knocked out of the top slot by none other than Peter Gabriel with “Sledgehammer,” the lead single from So, which became the most successful album of his career. The song took him “from art rock hero and college radio mainstay to full-on pop star.” AMG It was “an Otis Redding-inspired soul-pop raver that was easily his catchiest, happiest single to date.” AM Gabriel said it was “an attempt to recreate some of the spirit and style of the music that most excited me as a teenager – ‘60s soul.” FB To that end, the song featured a brass section led by the Memphis Horns’ Wayne Jackson, who had become “the most sought after ‘horn-for-hire’ of the last 30 years” with an impressive resume that included “experience in the house band for legendary record company Stax…with the likes of Otis Redding and Sam & Dave.” LW Lyrically, the song is full of sexual innuendo. The title itself is a reference to male anatomy as are the terms train, bumper cars, and the big dipper. SF Gabriel said it was “about the use of sex as a means of getting through a breakdown in communication.” FB The “wildly inventive video” AMG directed by Stephen R. Johnson was “possibly the coolest thing that had ever been done in the medium.” AMG It included groundbreaking work with Claymation, stop motion, and pixilation. Gabriel had to spend sixteen hours a day for eight days lying under glass to film it. FB It won a record nine awards at the 1987 Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year, and is the network’s most played video of all time. ME It also won Best British Video at the 1987 Brit Awards. WK Rolling Stone declared it the best-ever music video. LW Gabriel told Rolling Stone he didn’t think the song would have been a hit if it weren’t for the video. “I think it had a sense of both humor and fun, neither of which were particularly associated with me. I mean – wrongly in my way of looking at it – I think I was seen as a fairly intense, eccentric Englishman.” ME

Don’t Give Up Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel Released: 10/27/1986 (single), So (1986), Shaking the Tree (compilation, 1990), Secret World (live, 1993), Hit (compilation, 2003), New Blood (re-recordings, 2011) Peak: 72 BB, 69 CB, 7 CO, 9 UK, 40 CN, 5 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 79.58 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: In his years since leaving progressive rock band Genesis in 1975, Peter Gabriel established himself as a critically-acclaimed artist with four albums from 1977 to 1982. All reached the top-10 in his native UK, but none cracked the top-20 in the United States. His fifth, album, 1986’s So, was a blockbuster success. It reached #1 in the UK and #2 in the U.S., where it sold more than five million copies. The lead single, “Sledgehammer,” was a #1 hit in the U.S. propelled by what became the most watched video in the history of MTV. Other singles weren’t as successful, but “In Your Eyes” became an iconic song a few years later because of its use in the movie Say Anything and “Big Time” also reached the top 10. Those three songs, as well as “Red Rain,” all reached the top three on the Billboard album rock chart. Also from the album – the song “Don’t Give Up” was a minor hit in the United States, but a top-10 hit in the UK. Gabriel was inspired by Dorothea Lange’s 1973 book, In This Proud Land, which was a collection of her photograhs of down-and-out Americans during the Dust Bowl of the Depression era. He saw parallels between that time and the current economic conditions in England. WK Gabriel also said he’d seen a TV show about unemployment and his then-wife, Jill, said she’d given him a newspaper article about a woman who killed herself. SF Gabriel worked those ideas into a song about a man dealing with the stress of unemployment WK He also reflected on the support he received from his family after suffering a nervous breakdown in 1985. SF He said the song’s message was “that handling failure is one of the hardest things we have to learn to do.” SF It won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. Elton John attributed his sobriety to the song. WK Because Gabriel wrote “Don’t Give Up” using American roots music as a reference point, he approached country singer Dolly Parton to sing it with him. She said no, and he asked his friend Kate Bush to duet on the song instead. She sings the chorus, which offers “words of hope and encouragement” WK while the verses, sung by Gabriel, “describe the man’s feelings of isolation, loneliness, and despair.” WK

That Voice Again Peter Gabriel

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel, David Rhodes Released: So (1986) First Charted: 10/18/86 Peak: 14 AR, 26 CO, 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.72 streaming About the Song: “That Voice Again” was the perfect showcase for the depth of this album. It was overshadowed by the album’s five singles, but still eeked out a home at album rock radio, reaching that chart’s top 20.

Mercy Street Peter Gabriel

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel Released: So (1986), Shaking the Tree (compilation, 1990), Growing Up (live, 2003), New Blood (re-recordings, 2011), Flotsam and Jetsam (box set, 2019) Peak: 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 13.46 streaming About the Song: “The rest of the record is as quiet as the album tracks of Security.” AM “Mercy Street is dedicated to poet Anne Sexton and takes its title from her 1969 play, Mercy Street (Sexton also posthumously released a book of poetry, 45 Mercy Street).” WK

Big Time Peter Gabriel

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel Released: 11/29/1986 (single), So (1986), Shaking the Tree (compilation, 1990), Hit (compilation, 2003), Flotsam and Jetsam (box set, 2019) Peak: 8 BB, 8 CB, 3 RR, 4 BA, 3 AR, 2 CO, 13 UK, 15 CN, 37 AU, 5 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 19.38 streaming About the Song: “Sledgehammer,” the lead single from So, propelled the record toward blockbuster status, and Gabriel had enough songs with single potential to keep it there.” AM Big Time was “another colorful dance number” AM that was “a send-up of the narcissism of the 1980s and was also accompanied by a video in the same vein of ‘Sledgehammer.’” WK

We Do What We’re Told (Milgrim’s 37) Peter Gabriel

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel Released: So (1986) Peak: 30 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.19 streaming About the Song: We Do What We’re Told (Milgram’s 37) “refers to the 37 out of 40 compliant subjects of Milgram Experiment 18.” WK It was also “featured in an episode of the TV series Miami Vice.” WK

This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds) Peter Gabriel & Laurie Anderson

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel, Laurie Anderson Released: So (1986) Peak: 29 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.23 streaming About the Song: This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds) “features vocals with co-writer Laurie Anderson. This track is not included on the original vinyl release of the album, but was added to the audio cassette and CD editions. Anderson had previously recorded a different arrangement of the song entitled ‘Excellent Birds’ for her 1984 album, Mister Heartbreak, which also featured vocals by Gabriel. A video rendition of the song featuring Anderson and Gabriel was included in the 1 January 1984 TV satellite broadcast Good Morning, Mr. Orwell. Anderson also performs the song in her concert film Home of the Brave, released around the same time as So.” AM

In Your Eyes Peter Gabriel

Writer(s): Peter Gabriel (see lyrics here) Released: 9/2/86 (single), So (1986), Secret World (live, 1993), Hit (compilation, US edition, 2003), Growing Up (live, 2003), New Blood (re-recordings, 2011), Flotsam and Jetsam (box set, 2019), Rated PG (compilation, 2019) First Charted: 6/21/1986 Peak: 26 BB, 24 CB, 22 GR, 19 RR, 12 AR, 1 CO, 29 CN, 97 AU, 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.50 US, -- UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 6.0 radio, 72.60 video, 103.74 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Peter Gabriel’s So became a blockbuster not just because of the #1 success of “Sledgehammer” and its ground-breaking video, but because the album was deep with radio-friendly songs. “Big Time” was a top-10 hit in the US and “Don’t Give Up” achieved the same status in the UK. Surprisingly, though, it was “In Your Eyes” which gave Gabriel his first gold song in the United States. WK The song grew out of a trip to Barcelona, Spain. Gabriel wrote lyrics for a song called “Sagrada” which was scrapped, but elements such as the vocal melody and chord changes were used for “In Your Eyes.” WK Billboard called the song, which features West African musician Youssou N’Dour on backing vocals, “a dreamily textured mood piece.” WK Rosanna Arquette is believed to be the inspiration for the song. WK “In Your Eyes” was released as the second single in the U.S. and reached the top 30. However, “Gabriel’s greatest love song…achieved genuine classic status after being featured in Cameron Crowe’s classic, Say Anything,” AM a teen drama starring John Cusack and Ione Skye. The movie came out in 1989 and revived the song because of the movie’s iconic scene in which Cusack’s character holds up a boombox blaring the song outside Skye’s bedroom window. It thrust the song back onto the charts, hitting #41 the second time around.

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AMG AllMusic.com page for “Sledgehammer” FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 642. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Pages 157. ME Metro.co.uk (4/25/2016). “Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer is 30 yaears old: 19 facts you didn’t know about the groundbreaking video” by Cameron K. McEwan SF Songfacts page for “Sledgehammer” SF Songfacts page for “In Your Eyes” SF Songfacts page for “Don’t Give Up” WK Wikipedia page for So WK Wikipedia page for “Sledgehammer” WK Wikipedia page for “In Your Eyes” WK Wikipedia page for “Don’t Give Up” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/17/2008; last updated 5/13/2026.