Do you remember the time when the "Sledgehammer" video came out and everyone thought it was SOOOOOOOOOO groundbreaking because, well, claymation and stop-motion?
And it was. It won NINE MTV Video Music Awards, the most any video has ever won. It won the Brit Award for Best Video of the Year. It was NOMINATED for a Soul Train Music award in 1987..... the only non-R&B artist nominated in the category and the only non-jazz white artist nominated in ANY category that year. He lost that one to Janet Jackson....
The video is great and Gabriel suffered for it - by having clouds repeatedly painted on his face and having to stay very still a LOT.
But this isn't a blog about videos. It's about music. And this was a pop-rock song in the British soul style, written by Gabriel, that would become his biggest hit in North America (and tie for his biggest hit in the UK). Gabriel leans into the soul influence on this song and on the whole So album, merging an 80's synth sound with 70's-style horns.
OK, but the video is undeniably great.
Gabriel embarked on a long tour in support of So, and it ended in October 1987 in Athens, Greece.
His performance is absolutely a whole-body performance.
Today is the 40th anniversary of the release of So.
So, why not celebrate with a lively performance from.... 2023.
Gabriel still gives a whole-body performance but with less hair.
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