About the artist: Peter Gabriel (1950) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched a very successful solo career, with so far 13 studio albums. Peter Gabriel currently has eight songs in my list of about 200 best pop/rock songs of all time (and one as a part of a duo).
About the song: Biko is a track from Peter Gabriels third solo album, nicknamed 'Melt' (1980). It is a moving tribute to activist Steven Biko who died in a South African jail in 1977. Set against the background of a very South African sound (both voices and drum rhythm), the lyrics are sheer genius, including an immortal line like "You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire". The song has been a long-time live favourite and indeed features also on his tremendous Peter Gabriel Plays live double album of the early eighties. In contrast to some other tracks from that set however, I prefer the studio recording of Biko. It has that bit extra over the live version, especially in the moving final chorus of South African women. Run time 7:29.
