BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987
“Biko” is an anti-apartheid protest song by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released by Charisma Records as a single from Gabriel’s eponymous third album in 1980.
The song is a musical eulogy, inspired by the death of the black South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in police custody on 12 September 1977. Gabriel wrote the song after hearing of Biko’s death on the news. Influenced by Gabriel’s growing interest in African musical styles, the song carried a sparse two-tone beat played on Brazilian drum and vocal percussion, in addition to a distorted guitar, and a synthesized bagpipe sound. The lyrics, which included phrases in Xhosa, describe Biko’s death and the violence under the apartheid government. The song is book-ended with recordings of songs sung at Biko’s funeral: the album version begins and ends with “Senzeni Na?”, while the single began instead with “Ngomhla sibuyayo”.
“Biko” reached No. 38 on the British charts, and was positively received, with critics praising the instrumentation, the lyrics, and Gabriel’s vocals. A 2013 commentary called it a “hauntingly powerful” song, while review website AllMusic described it as a “stunning achievement for its time”. It was banned in South Africa, where the government saw it as a threat to security. “Biko” was a personal landmark for Gabriel, becoming one of his most popular songs and sparking his involvement in human rights activism. It also had a huge political impact, and along with other contemporary music critical of apartheid, is credited with making resistance to apartheid part of western popular culture. It inspired musical projects such as Sun City, and has been called “arguably the most significant non-South African anti-apartheid protest song”.
A live version, recorded in July 1987 at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was released as a single later that year, to promote Richard Attenborough’s Biko biopic Cry Freedom. The music video consists of clips from the film and Gabriel singing. The song did not appear in the actual film.
SIDE A:
Peter Gabriel – Biko 6:30
Engineer [Effanel Music Mobile] – Kevin Killen
Engineer [Real World Studios] – David Bottrill
Producer – Kevin Killen, Peter Gabriel
Recorded By [Live] – Kevin Killen, Randy Ezratty
Written-By – Peter Gabriel
SIDE B:
Peter Gabriel / Shankar / Little Steven – No More Apartheid 7:11
Producer – Arthur Baker, Little Steven
Written-By – Little Steven
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin – 609 510, Virgin – 609 510-213
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: Europe
Released: 1987
Genre: Rock
Style: Art Rock
CREDITS:
Bass – Tony Levin
Design [Sleeve Design – At Peter Saville Associates] – Brett Wickens
Drums – Manu Katché
Guitar – David Rhodes
Keyboards – David Sancious
Liner Notes – Peter Gabriel
Percussion – Assane Thiam, Babacar Faye
Vocals, Keyboards – Peter Gabriel
NOTES:
Recorded live at The Blossom Music Centre, Cleveland, 27th July 1987 on Effanel Music Mobile.
Mixed at Real World Studios, Box, England.
Little Steven appears on B2 courtesy of EMI/Manhattan Records, A Division of Capitol Records Inc.
Proceeds from the sale of this record got to: The International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa and the Africa Fund.
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7 TubeGold Pins
Soundcard: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Yep, another great tunes that appeared in Miami Vice, ep. Evan.
Oh, by the way… THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
On paper it should never have worked a dirge at over 6 minutes long by boring old Peter Gabriel but what a rallying song it turned out to be, musically the polar oposite to Free Nelson Mandella, 2 agit prop tunes that defined an era.
Thanks a bunch for this classic … I compared it with my CD-Edition … your rip sounds so much better 🙂
Paul rips also sound better than other vinyl rips made by “pro” people, and I have a lot of vinyl rips. In Paul we trust 😀
paul,
always good to see social causes addressed, and of course
peter gabriel. (simple minds would cover this song later on
along with ‘mandela day’).
so it was banned in south africa, probably because of the
b-side track. thanks for the information about it.
later
-1
This song is so powerful. Thank you Paul for posting such a record, especially on the day of Martin Luther King’s assassination. This record has always left an impression on me. I remember when I first heard it all those years ago, I stopped in my tracks and just listened. Grateful to these types of records.
Jeff
I have this CD-Single. I’ll have to compare it to this single. Thanks.
Thanks Paul.
You’re welcome Omar 🙂
Awesome choice to honor MLK! I never realized until now that the version on this 12″ was a live recording, I always thought it was the album version from PGIII.
As for Phil Collins, he played drums on the PGIII album but didn’t sing any backing vocals. Perhaps you’re thinking of the time Peter Gabriel (and Sting) sang backing vocals on Phil’s “Take Me Home”?
Thanks for the clarification regarding Phil Collins. Ah, yes, I do remember “Take Me Home” with Peter Gabriel and Sting singing backing vocals!
Thank you, Don 🙂
Just another quick note about Phil Collins playing on PG3. Did you know that there are no cymbals on the album at all, as PG wanted a dead percussive sound for all the tracks?
One of those great tunes that appeared in Miami Vice!
I agree 🙂
I love the strong message behind this song. It is really hauntingly powerful. We need such messages in this world gone mad. Thank you so much Paul.
I love the message too Daniel one that we need to hear so desperately. 🙂
I know the credits don’t mention it, but I thought I remember Phil Collins add backing vocals to the song. Does anyone know if this is true?
I’m not sure if Phil had anything to do with this version. Maybe some of the other readers will know 🙂
A great track.
I remember when I ended up working on “Steve Biko Way” in the centre of Hounslow (London) I was the only one in the office who knew who Steve Biko was which shocked me.
Good timing on today’s release with the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, although not connected it’s essentially the same cause of course.
Richard, I am so happy that you got the connection for today’s post. 🙂