PETER GABRIEL : LIVE AT WOMAD 1982

PETER GABRIEL : LIVE AT WOMAD 1982

San Jacinto
The Family and the Fishing Net
I Have the Touch
Lay Your Hands on Me
Shock the Monkey
I Go Swimming
The Rhythm of the Heat
Kiss of Life
Biko

Label : Real World Records

Venue : Showering Pavilion at the Royal Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet, UK

Recording Date : July 16, 1982

Release Date : August 8, 2025

Length : 55:52

Review (Genesis News) : Peter Gabriel surprised everyone at the beginning of August with the release of his live album "Live At WOMAD 1982". We take a closer listen. Following In The Big Room, Peter Gabriel released his second full-length live album, "Live At WOMAD 1982", within a matter of weeks. The latter caused real euphoria among fans. His performance at the premiere of the WOMAD festival was not just any concert, but something truly special. In 1982, Peter Gabriel had already been performing solo for five years after leaving Genesis in 1975. During this time, he released three solo albums and had a fourth in the pipeline. While his former band was already on the second leg of their tour with their album Abacab, Peter Gabriel was working on a project close to his heart during the recording sessions for his fourth album: WOMAD – World of Music, Arts & Dance. The aim was to bring the art and, above all, the music of foreign cultures more into focus. Although WOMAD had already been founded in 1980, it was now time to take the next step. The event was originally supposed to be called ‘Music From the Edges of the World.’ The founders then agreed on WOMAD. A six-day festival was originally planned. As the logistical details became clearer, it was eventually shortened. The WOMAD Festival was intended to be something new, presenting live music far removed from the mainstream. The first festival took place in Somerset between 16 and 18 July 1982 (at the Bath & West Showground). The venue is only about 20 miles from where Peter lived and later built his Real World Studios. The festival site had been used for the Bath Festival in the early 1970s, so its name was synonymous with the city. Logistically, it was probably an easy choice. In addition to Peter himself, well-known bands such as Simple Minds performed, along with around 60 other artists and bands that could be classified as world music or had close ties to world music. These included The Drummers of Burundi, Pigbag, Salsa de Hoy, Musicians of the Nile, Echo & the Bunnymen, Prince Nico Mbarga, Rip, Rig and Panic, and The Beat. Artistically, the festival was a success, but financially it was disastrous. Peter Gabriel could have gone bankrupt if his old band hadn’t come to his rescue. Thus, WOMAD was responsible for the only reunion of the classic line-up after 1975 on 2 October 1982. In 2022, a sampler was finally released, intended to showcase the highlights of the performances. The compilation also included two songs from Peter’s own performance (I Have The Touch and Biko). Originally, Peter wasn’t planning on performing himself. But in the end, he decided to do it anyway, partly to attract more people to the festival. His performance was billed as a ‘special set of non-album songs.’ And indeed, Peter Gabriel only played songs that hadn’t been released yet. The only exception was Biko. Seven of the nine songs played were from his upcoming fourth album. In addition, there was I Go Swimming, which appeared on the album Plays Live a year later and had already been played live in 1980. Shosholoza was already known as the B-side of Biko. Peter on stage in 1982 Photo: Giacomino Parkinson Due to the many unknown songs, the audience’s reaction was also special. After the announcement of Shock The Monkey, there was absolute silence – at that point, everyone must have realised that Peter was serious about the unreleased songs. With the exception of Wallflower, all the songs from the then still unknown fourth album were played – some in different versions than we know them. The band is also unusual: David Rhodes (guitar), John Giblin (bass), Larry Fast (synthesizers), Jerry Marotta (drums), Peter Hammill (vocals) and ‘the cool drum and dance group from Bristol’ Ekomé (drums, percussion). Contrary to what is stated in the official credits, Peter Hammill did NOT play guitar during Friday’s performance. Tony Levin was not there, which was not unusual at the time. John Giblin had already been in the live band since 1980. David Rhodes, who had previously been involved in the recordings for Gabriel’s third album, finally took to the stage. This performance was released in its entirety on 8 August 2025. So now we have a recording of this concert ‘in our hands’ – but only in digital form for the time being. However, the album can be purchased in high-resolution formats. The only track missing from the performance is Shosholoza. It’s not entirely clear why it’s missing, but it’s safe to assume that Peter considered this piece, or rather its performance, dispensable. The album was mixed by Real World veteran Tim Oliver, and the good sound is immediately noticeable. The highs are clear and the bass is powerful. Considering how the concert came about, where it took place and which songs were played, this is quite a sensation. The performance of all the songs is very smooth and Gabriel sings without any major lyrical errors. Since almost all of the performances are early live versions of the songs that were to appear on IV, there are naturally differences. San Jacinto is sung with a different tone here and there than we are used to from later recordings. Towards the end, there is a different keyboard entry and the drums also continue to play a beat at the beginning of the ‘Hold the line’ sequence, which makes the song sound like a classic rock number. "Live At WOMAD 1982" Cover The Family And The Fishing Net is shorter than on Plays Live (or Back To Front: Live In London). It is played faster than on later recordings. Before the drums come in, there are clearly audible keyboard improvisations. The lyrics ‘Even as the soft skins tingle / They mingle with the homeless mother / Who loves the day but lives another / That once was hers’ are missing from the WOMAD album, which continues straight on with ‘The worried father, long lost lover’. I Have The Touch has a striking bass part. This was played by John Giblin, and Tony Levin interpreted it completely differently in later versions. Lay Your Hands On Me still has a ‘youthful’ flair, and you can really feel the band trying things out and finding their feet on this track. Shock The Monkey shows even more clearly that the song is still in its developmental stage. The track, which is otherwise powerfully driven by the drums, seems to be led by the keyboards here. The version of I Go Swimmingis bursting with power, and the second part in particular is magnificent! The Rhythm Of The Heat is also a real masterpiece in this early version, and we are witnessing the birth of a Gabriel live classic. Kiss Of Life has always led a shadowy existence and is certainly one of the weaker album closers in Gabriel’s discography. At least the finale of the song fits well with the flair of the evening. Ekomé, who are present in the second part of the performance, give the songs additional power. This is particularly noticeable in the final sequences of I Go Swimming and Kiss Of Life. In The Rhythm Of The Heat, their participation even ensures that we hear the only live version that ultimately manages to reproduce the flair of the studio production. Gabriel does treat the audience to one well-known song after all. Biko was only two years old at the time, but already a live classic. And the audience, who loudly demand the song (clearly audible on the bootleg recordings), gratefully accept the gift. At the end, Gabriel explains that they can’t play any more because they’ve already exceeded the allotted time… By the way: Peter’s performance on Sunday, which included Dog One, Indian Melody and an improvised version of Across The River, remains unreleased. Given the improvisational nature of this performance and the not always successful rendition, one can assume that this will remain the case. However, Ritual Mask (with Peter Hammill) was released on the sampler album three years ago.Surprisingly, the well-known bootleg recordings and the live album now available are almost identical in terms of running time. However, we did discover a few differences (we do not guarantee that this list is complete): At the beginning of I Have The Touch, you can hear PG shouting ‘Hou hou hou’ right at the start, which is not audible on the bootleg. It is unclear where these come from (possibly from the sound check?). They could also be heard on the WOMAD sampler released three years ago. The pause between Lay Your Hands On Me and Shock The Monkey has been cut (although only unnecessary sound checks can be heard here anyway).Shock The Monkey sounds slightly different on the bootleg, with the drums more prominent here. After Shock The Monkey, there is a longer announcement on the bootleg. Gabriel announces Ekomé and finally I Go Swimming as ‘something some of you may be familiar with’. This is missing from the album. In Rhythm Of The Heat, a small part of the vocal track was apparently replaced. On the live album, Gabriel’s head voice can be heard during the first part of the second verse, which is not present on the bootleg. After the first verse, there were also some cosmetic corrections. Things get a little wild on the bootleg, especially on the keyboards. The Rhythm Of The Heat ended live with a band introduction and the announcement of the song Shosholoza. Both of these, as well as Shosholoza itself, are missing from the live album. After Kiss Of Life, three minutes of ‘waiting for the encore’ were also cut (as is usual on live albums). The encore, Biko, is then heavily shortened. On the bootleg, we count around 20 ‘Ha-Ha-Haaaa’, while there are only seven on the album. Here, Peter’s voice was also mixed very much into the background in the final part. Overall, however, these are very moderate adjustments that tend to enhance the overall experience. In addition to the magnificent sound, Gabriel’s consistently strong vocals are also impressive. The performance itself thrives on the fact that not everything is perfect yet. Provided it receives an appropriate release on CD and vinyl, this live album is likely to go down in history and has a good chance of achieving a similar cult status to other live albums by Peter Gabriel. It was a special performance at a special festival (which famously led to the Genesis reunion in 1982) and has been turned into a special album. It is a gift to the fans. A beautiful digipak with a booklet and a gatefold vinyl would make us even happier. It’s just a way of saying thank you.