I don't know what has happened in the years between then and now, but it surely appears that our world's popular musical artists have lost the ability to drive and inspire change as they once did....change my mind....

 jbuhl wrote:

Brilliant

 Finafek wrote:

I lived in Malawi in the 1990s and played this song loud and proud on my portable stereo. Yet, I also remember walking through sugar cane one day and hearing Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA coming across the fields. I followed the sound and found a car battery attached to a tape deck, surrounded by some local youths feeling loud and proud themselves....

At first I've heard this album (vinyl at 1982) in german ("Ein Deutsches Album"). 

I save my 10s for songs like this. Sort of PG's version of 'Strange Fruit', another 10 (duh).
Powerful.
c.

I've always wondered what this song's legacy in South Africa is. Is it remembered? Loved? Played? Forgotten? It's anthemic to many of us as outsiders, but how is it taken by those who live there?

This entire album is a Masterpiece. Everything on it comes together conceptually.

 jkamm14 wrote:
I was iiving in south Florida when i saw this on mtv and cranked up loud

Chilling, wonderful, simple.  The song brings feelings of emotion and sadness.  It speaks to the hopelessness of the time, yet is a message of hope. 

Though I do like this tune very much. It feels a bit too drawn out. Sometimes less is more.

 fuzzy_logic wrote: 
Giants Stadium, New Jersey. I was there! Yes, it was an amazing performance. 

How many more Bikos are in the world now in North Korea, Syria, Iraq, Iran, ISIS territory etc?

The Youtube for this song during the 1986 Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope Tour is possibly the single best song performance I've seen. It's powerful.

Years ago, I saw this amazing man in concert. He ended the show with this. So, it will forever be in a special place in my heart!

 On_The_Beach wrote: 
 raenvald wrote:
Given that a dirge, by definition, is "a lament for the dead", I guess it is appropriate.  This sounds like the original version from that album to me, at least it sounds like the version on the CD I bought back in 1980.

 h8rhater wrote: 
I flew to LA to see that tour at the LA Coliseum. Powerful performance!

 raenvald wrote: 
Again, is this truly the album version? Sounds great. Still moving.

I remember hearing this for the first time ever When PG performed it on the Conspiracy of Hope tour way back in 1986.  30 years ago!

My whole goal for that Sunday was just to watch the concert on MTV and make sure that I had enough cassette tapes to record all the music that I cared about.  I didn't even own a VCR to record the actual program, so I spent pretty much the whole day sitting in the living room with my girlfriend watching the concert and flipping cassette tapes to record the simulcast.

Man!  30 Years!  It's great to think about how much free time you have on your hands when you are young and don't have all those adult responsibilities.

 h8rhater wrote: 
Saw him in that era as well. Still the best concert I ever saw... and I've seen a lot.

Great song to get drunk to

 On_The_Beach wrote: 
Very appropriate.  Especially for a given time and place. 

If you were fortunate enough to see it performed during the Apartheid era, it had a special significance.  When I saw him perform it at the Amnesty International Human Rights Now concert in Philadelphia in 1988, Nelson Mandela was still serving time in a South African jail.  To hear nearly 100,000 people sing out the coda from this number into the Philadelphia night was spine tingling. 

You can blow out a candle
But you can't blow out a fire

More than appropriate. Impressive restraint, power and gravitas in this "plodding dirge".

What version is it tho? Not the one from the indicated album, Peter Gabriel 3/Melt. Seems longer and richer than I recall ...
 
On_The_Beach wrote: 

From a strictly musical standpoint, this never did much for me.
A slow, plodding dirge.
Given the somber (& important) subject of the song, I suppose it is appropriate.

big stud romeotuma wrote: 
Peter Gabriel sang in 1980,

"And the eyes of the world are watching now..."

this is an incredibly powerful song that helped change the world for the better... this song still possesses contemporary relevance as demonstrated by an article a few days ago—

The Secret Government Rulebook For Labeling You a Terrorist
By Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Devereaux
23 Jul 2014, 2:45 PM EDT

The Obama administration has quietly approved a substantial expansion of the terrorist watchlist system, authorizing a secret process that requires neither “concrete facts” nor “irrefutable evidence” to designate an American or foreigner as a terrorist, according to a key government document obtained by The Intercept...

I miss this Gabe.

I saw him on the tour for the 4th album. Wireless mic (one of the first) and jumping around for Shock the Monkey - until the very end.
He stood rock still and did this. His immobility, out of respect, made it all the more moving. 

A godlike song.  Made even better coming after Rebecca Zapen.  It could work the other way around, too.  You're making for a great Friday afternoon, Bill!

 richlister wrote: 
Yes, wait. Gabriel's album preceded his former drummer's album which contained that (god-awful) tune.

I can feel it... Callin' in the air... Oh, wait...

Not a Peter Gabriel fan.  But love this song.
 

 westslope wrote: 
   

Did your prediction pan out?   Don't tell me you are into facts now, Westslope.   That would be quite a personal evolution.

 

I would read my parents Newsweek back then, and remember South Africa as a volatile place, far away but much like the stirring violence on our city streets; and I read about Steve Biko being beaten to death in jail ... I was a kid getting shaken wide awake

Peter Gabriel's song is to this day a beautiful shout!

Thank you Peter for writing this song and making a generation know about this murder!

Going to see Peter in concert Sept. 30. Can't wait!!

Reminds me of this amazing day back in 1990.

Everybody in my mushrooming multitude of churches loves this song...  as good as it gets...
 

 Shesdifferent wrote: 
I presume you meant not playing?  or else you only like PG!

Great song, but should be played sparingly, and at the appropriate time (whatever that means, ha). 

 xkolibuul wrote: 

I think you may be right. I've not heard this for way too long. I really must find my PG albums and give them a listen or two!
Once again, RP reminds me of records I used to love.

PG has made a lot of wonderful music since Biko, but it is still his masterpiece.  

such a Powerful piece, also a lasting call for attention to the history of Apartheid; and yes, the lingering history of thickheaded racists

 Shesdifferent wrote: 
Then listen to a different station. It's a free world. And this song is fantastic :-)

 Biko will live for ever in our hearts!

This is a great song.  Great message.  It reminds me of bagepipes playing.   Not played enough.  

 imklammer wrote: 
Of this I have no doubt, I will have to check it out!

 imklammer wrote: 
Is there a link to it? I've never heard of it before... This version guts me enough, with the song of rejoicing at the beginning, and the dirge at the end. I cry every time, because every time, it brings home the point that humans are selfish, stupid, and greedy, and if they cared even one whit about their fellow man, they'd never take a life.

"Port Elizabeth
Weather Fine ..."
There are VERY few songs where the first words kind of burned themselves into my mind.

And although I do think that the possibility of really changing something through music is a thing that is very rare, i do think that "BIKO"  DID something: I remember a lot of people where so emotionally grabbed by the song and the video thar they simply could not treat apartheid the way they did before ...

and how godlike is THIS:

THE EYES OF THE WORLD  ARE WATCHING NOW !

indeed, they were. and it was way before twitter/facebook and all those internet devices which now make the world SEE.
prophetic!

 sbegf wrote: 
This, Salisbury Hill, Games Without Frontiers and In Your Eyes while great songs were and probably still are clear channel classic rock staples in regular rotation all over the corporate nation at the same level as Bohemian Rhapsody, Mississippi Queen, Radar Love and other run into the ground regulars.

This version is good but the version by Manu Dibango on "Waka Africa" just blows it away.

PG himself  is  musically and lyrically a 10, Thank God he went solo. Enjoy the Supremes Phil, that;s as far as your artistic taste can take you

tapatia1072 wrote:"This song always gives me chills. An outstanding homage indeed. Too bad that so many refused to confront the evils of apartheid and divest from South Africa - including the Reagan administration and a number of multinational corporations."
-
Was it all acceptable under Carter, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, etc.? Do you think they did not get Executive Briefings that gave them insight into what was going on in S.A.?

Anyway, great song.

 Shesdifferent wrote: 
Peter Gabriel is somewhat of an RP cross-over artist (as is Bowie), who's mainstream enough to appeal to moderates in the various RP tribes but is unlikely to do anything but annoy the tribe fanboys.  Or maybe he's just overplayed, I donno.

 sirdroseph wrote: 
I think you would be hard pressed to find regular FM listener's who have ever heard of the PG song Biko, they would probably give a dear in the headlights look.  Oversaturation is a stretch (only played here once every few months).

 Shesdifferent wrote: 

You are my hero!

 crockydile wrote: 

You are already at one of them.

Tears streaming as I'm sitting here. Can't help it. Grabs me by the throat ...

 tapatia1072 wrote: 
https://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959843,00.html

Yep, but better it happend later and not never at all by Reagan.

There isn't a moment when I turn on RP and Peter Gabriel is playing! Ugh! Bleech!

 sirdroseph wrote: 
Oversaturation Where? I want to find such a place.

 steeler wrote: 

Great anthemic song, though beaten down by oversaturation a bit. This song would even be better if they had a better lead singer! Just ribbin you Gabrielphiles out there! Seriously though I tolerate Gabriel for the sake of the kids.

This song always gives me chills. An outstanding homage indeed. Too bad that so many refused to confront the evils of apartheid and divest from South Africa - including the Reagan administration and a number of multinational corporations.

If you are not simultaneously chilled and inspired by this, well . . .

Powerfully evocative.

Saw him perform this as the show closer in the mid-80s in Toronto (Exhibition Stadium). The drum machine continued for several minutes after he and the band left the stage. I was completely captured by that moment. Fond memories.

 Anax wrote: 
That whole album is very good.

 calypsus_1 wrote: 
I wept through this video...  You can see Peter Gabriel's tears, too.  What a powerful statement.  If only we didn't need things like this to remind us to be HUMANE.

 romeotuma wrote: 

"Plays Live" version is better.

My favorite of all favorites of Peter Gabriel.
What a tribute.

NOW THIS IS COOL PETER GABRIEL

Good song, great politics and all that, but there are so many other good songs to play on his 3rd solo album.

Phil Collins took this drum sound with him to "In The Air Tonight".

A marvelous recollection of man's inhumanity to his fellow man.

One of the most amazing concerts ever- October 1978 Lyric Theater Baltimore.....he emerged from the crowd....the theater was only three quarters full and blew us all away!

 Stingray wrote: 

Other than Steve & Johnny both being SA'can... what the hell has PG and this song got to do with Mr. Clegg? Certainly not the music!!!

 kaybee wrote: 
or iran. or in darfur. or the congo. or afghanistan.

cannot stress it enough....

TEN TEN TEN!!

The movie Cry Freedom is a great biopic of Biko...it will make you cry...then get angry.

 Stingray wrote: 

not a fan of peter gabriel but this is a great song. as far as johnny clegg, thats mediocre more often than not.

quote:

Collins is a very talented drummer. I'm a percussion junkie and some of my favourite Gabriel and post-Gabriel Genesis tracks rely heavily on Collins behind the drum kit. However, Gabriel's musical talents, which lie elsewhere at multiple points, are more considerable.

My 'joke' about the difference between the two is using the example of their respective attraction to American R&B. Collins made some cheesy remakes of Motown hits - Motown tending to represent r&b that was commercialized for white/top40 audiences*, whereas Gabriel tapped into the soul of what I would argue is more 'authentic' r&b and transformed it into his own. perfect example: Lovetown.

You could also do a comparison using the kind of soundtrack work they have done, although I admit Buster was kinda fun. but seriously, Disney movies vs. Last Temptation of Christ? Only a major talent could have approached the later.

=====================================

what a ridiculous bullshit!

 kaybee wrote: 

Why not asking how many "Little Stevens" are in USA right now?
Or Afghanistan for that matter...

This song always moves me to tears.  I wonder how many Steven Biko's are in Gaza right now.

When I was a kid, this song was the first thing I ever heard about Apartheid. Somebody translated and explained the lyrics for me, and at the end of the song I was in tears. That was a long time ago, but every time I hear it, it brings me back to that evening. There's no way could I get any work done while Biko is running in the background...

 guiguy wrote: 
Agreed. I was a sophomore in high school when I heard this. A college friend told me the story behind the lyrics. Suddenly, in 1981, I knew about Apartheid.

Lots of memories associated with this one —-

 crockydile wrote: 

One of my all-time favorites.

 shawshank wrote: 

American Psycho.

 Koan wrote: 
I have one word... sussudio.

...and the eyes of the world are watching now

One of the best concerts I have ever seen!!!

Revolutionary-eye-opening song, think of the time—if you were living then—what UK artist took on such themes; Gabriel is a visionary artist......

Great Song.

uritsukidoji wrote: 

Maybe people like you should try the 24 hour Britney Spears channel. Would you like a stick of gum?
Too stinkin' funny!

I can remember the days when the evening news was replete with footage of the unbelievable violence committed by the White South African military. Some of those scenes will never leave my mind.

Some people saw no problem in what the White South African government was doing, and fought tooth and nail to keep the U.S. government from placing official sanctions against the government of South Africa. Some of us marched, wrote letters, and boycotted.

Sometimes the good guys win. God bless you, Steven Biko. Rest easy. You did not die in vain.

 tiggers wrote: 
Collins is a very talented drummer. I'm a percussion junkie and some of my favourite Gabriel and post-Gabriel Genesis tracks rely heavily on Collins behind the drum kit. However, Gabriel's musical talents, which lie elsewhere at multiple points, are more considerable.

My 'joke' about the difference between the two is using the example of their respective attraction to American R&B. Collins made some cheesy remakes of Motown hits — Motown tending to represent r&b that was commercialized for white/top40 audiences*, whereas Gabriel tapped into the soul of what I would argue is more 'authentic' r&b and transformed it into his own. perfect example: Lovetown.

You could also do a comparison using the kind of soundtrack work they have done, although I admit Buster was kinda fun. but seriously, Disney movies vs. Last Temptation of Christ? Only a major talent could have approached the later.

(* from wikipedia: "Complex arrangements and elaborate, melismatic vocal riffs were avoided; Motown producers believed steadfastly in the "KISS principle" ("keep it simple, stupid"). Berry Gordy used weekly quality control meetings, held every Friday morning, and veto power to ensure that only the very best material and performances the company came up with would be released. The test was that every new release needed to "fit" into a sequence of the top 5 selling pop singles of the week. As a result, several tracks which later became critical and commercial favorites were initially rejected by Gordy (...) In several cases, producers would re-work and re-re-work tracks in hopes of eventually getting them approved at a later Friday morning meeting.")

If I have too much time on my hands to argue my case, it's because I'm sick and homebound and have nothing better to do.

wow, a fellow can learn a lot hanging out and listening to music. Thanks for the history of Biko.

 garthwb wrote: 
Thank you. Thank you so much for helping us understand a complex, hideous situation.

Peace,

c.

 uritsukidoji wrote: 

Maybe people like you should try the 24 hour Britney Spears channel. Would you like a stick of gum?

 garthwb wrote: 
well said



this song has always moved me in a positive way

great song. My only complaint is that I am at work and can't turn this up louder.

 garthwb wrote:

 

some times you have to allow for the intelligence or lack of ,of some people (with the I.Q.equal to or below that of a freshly made Tick Turd)....hang in there, the majority understand the depth of this music!!!

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." -- Stephen Biko

NeilBlanchard wrote: Nice...

Hello, Here's Stephen Biko's Wikipedia bio: (click here) Beautiful song about the brutal torturous murder of an innocent person -- and you're complaining about the quality of the messenger's voice. Neil

Steve Biko IS a hero to the people of my beautiful, beleaguered land. It WAS a tragedy, and a brutal misuse of power, as well as a miscarriage of justice in the aftermath, but he WAS NOT a martyr, he did not give himself willingly up to die a martyr's death, he simply died after being brutalised and clubbed, in what was otherwise meant to be a routine arrest/questioning. Thus it was tragic, and he is still a hero to all people fighting to end civil rights injustices, but there is always a tendency to factually enlarge upon an ACTUAL situation. His life was, and still is, infinitely more important than his death, what he fought for, along with millions of others, was the great legacy he left us.

xc_para_puravida wrote: Maybe the people who like this have smoked too much of the rubbish they have at home...

Mewsique wrote: Perhaps you should stay away from commenting about PG - you obviously know nothing about him if you can make a comment like that.

Perhaps he should stay away from politics...? Just a thought, use it don't use it!

bronorb wrote:

Paul_Skybreakers wrote: Too much time spent in one of your hometown's famed "coffee" shops, I suspect?