Peter Gabriel returns with 'o\i', the follow-up and companion to his acclaimed 2023 album 'i/o'.

“The songs are a mix of thoughts and feelings,” says Gabriel. “I have been thinking about the future and how we might respond to it.”

As we enter a period of transition shaped by AI, quantum computing and brain-computer interfaces, “artists have a role to look into the mists and, when they catch sight of something, to hold up a mirror.”

Recorded at Real World Studios, 'o\i' features extraordinary musicians, two distinct mixes and artwork from leading artists.

TRACK LISTING

Bright-Side Mix:
1. Been Undone (Bright-Side Mix)
2. Put the Bucket Down (Bright-Side Mix)
3. What Lies Ahead (Bright-Side Mix)
4. Till Your Mind Is Shining (Bright-Side Mix)
5. Won't Stand Down (Bright-Side Mix)
6. Who Are We Taking To? (Bright-Side Mix)
7. Yes, It Will Go (Bright-Side Mix)
8. One by One (Bright-Side Mix)
9. A Hard Lesson (Bright-Side Mix)
10. Face the Wall (Bright-Side Mix)
11. I Belong to the Sky (Bright-Side Mix)
12. Looking for the Happy (Bright-Side Mix)
13. Sacrament (Bright-Side Mix)

Dark-Side Mix:
1. Been Undone (Dark-Side Mix)
2. Put the Bucket Down (Dark-Side Mix)
3. What Lies Ahead (Dark-Side Mix)
4. Till Your Mind Is Shining (Dark-Side Mix)
5. Won't Stand Down (Dark-Side Mix)
6. Who Are We Taking To? (Dark-Side Mix)
7. Yes, It Will Go (Dark-Side Mix)
8. One by One (Dark-Side Mix)
9. A Hard Lesson (Dark-Side Mix)
10. Face the Wall (Dark-Side Mix)
11. I Belong to the Sky (Dark-Side Mix)
12. Looking for the Happy (Dark-Side Mix)
13. Sacrament (Dark-Side Mix)

It was a simple idea; to create a festival out of all the brilliant music and art made all over the world, stuff made outside of the mainstream – music that wasn’t getting on the radio and was even harder to find in record stores… the very first WOMAD Festival took place at the 240-acre Bath and West Showground, Somerset, UK over the weekend of 16–18 July, 1982. With the dream ‘not to sprinkle world music around a rock festival, but to prove that these great artists could be headliners in their own right’.

Across the three days ‘an evening concert series’ took place in the Showering Pavilion on the festival site. On the Friday night that concert featured Tian Jin (a song and dance troupe from China), Simple Minds and, with a ‘special festival set of non-album material’, Peter Gabriel.

'Live at WOMAD 1982' is a recording of that Friday night concert. The non-album material in question are seven of the eight songs that would make up the album 'Peter Gabriel 4' (Security). An album that wouldn’t be released for a further two months.

On-stage, Peter is joined by David Rhodes (guitar), John Giblin (bass), Larry Fast (synthesisers). Jerry Marotta (drums), Peter Hammill (vocals) and “the wonderful Bristol-based drum and dance group,” Ekomé (drums, percussion).

“I remember this gig well. We played a mix of old and brand-new material. I would normally be very nervous about playing some of this stuff for the first time, however my mind was very preoccupied with the running of our very first WOMAD festival and the potential financial disaster that it was heading towards.

"Because WOMAD was unique in its focus on music and art from around the world, and mixing it with up with rock and jazz, no-one knew how many people might turn up and we had seriously overestimated our appeal. But those that had decided to check out WOMAD and its weird and wonderful lineup were open-minded, bold and curious - a great audience. It was a landmark and edgy gig for me both personally and musically and brings back lots of memories.”- Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel’s 'Live a WOMAD 1982' takes us back to not only the birth of a festival – one that has now hosted more than 160 editions in 27 countries - but also to the premiere of an album with songs, like The Rhythm of the Heat, San Jacinto and Shock the Monkey, that have become central to the Gabriel canon. More than just a live album, Live at WOMAD 1982 is a pivotal moment..

TRACK LISTING

1. San Jacinto
2. The Family And The Fishing Net
3. I Have The Touch
4. Lay Your Hands On Me
5. Shock The Monkey
6. I Go Swimming
7. The Rhythm Of The Heat
8. Kiss Of Life
9. Biko

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2026 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 18TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM (BST) ON MONDAY APRIL 20th).

April 1986, Peter Gabriel released the single Sledgehammer, the first and trailblazing single from the album So, that followed in May. April 2026 is 40-years since that first release and the anniversary will be celebrated with a zoetrope 12" re-issue of the original single.

'In The Big Room' captures Peter Gabriel and band recorded live in the Big Room at Real World Studios on 23 November, 2003.

"I’d not really taken advantage of the big room as a performance space myself and when, in 2003, the opportunity came up, we grabbed it and offered the small number of seats to members of the Full Moon club. It was not part of a big tour so we weren’t as polished and rehearsed as we might have been while on tour, but it made for a more awake and edgy performance, as we were fully concentrating on what we were doing. There was no elaborate visual show, the whole focus was about making it sound good. I had pretty much forgotten how these songs sounded but listening back to these mixes I was pleasantly surprised how alive they were. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did." - Peter Gabriel

The 14-song set draws on material from both the Growing Up Live tour of 2002/2003 - Gabriel’s first in 10 years that accompanied the release of his album 'UP' - and the subsequent Still Growing Up Live tour that ran through much of 2004. Notable additions to the Growing Up Live set include 'Burn You Up', 'Burn You Down', 'Games Without Frontiers' and 'The Tower That Ate People'.

For the performance Peter is joined by his touring band from this period of Tony Levin (bass), David Rhodes (guitar), Ged Lynch (drums), Richard Evans (guitar, whistle, mandolin), Rachel Z (keyboard and backing vox) and Melanie Gabriel (backing vox).

TRACK LISTING

1. Burn You Up, Burn You Down
2. More Than This
3. Games Without Frontiers
4. Downside Up
5. Mercy Street
6. Darkness
7. Digging In The Dirt
8. The Tower That Ate People
9. San Jacinto
10. Shock The Monkey
11. Signal To Noise
12. Secret World
13. Father, Son
14. In Your Eyes

More than 20 years in the making, this December finally sees the release of i/o, Peter Gabriel’s first album of new material since 2002’s Up.

During 2023, Peter has been releasing a new song from the album on the occasion of every full moon. Being revealed roughly every four weeks, each track has been allowed to find its own time and space, to enjoy its own orbit. “It’s a little like getting a Lego piece each month,” Peter explains. Now it’s time to stand back and admire the final, completed creation.

And what a creation – 12 tracks of grace, gravity and great beauty that provide welcome confirmation of not only Peter’s ongoing ability to write stop-you-in-your-tracks songs but also of that thrilling voice, still perfectly, delightfully intact. Throughout the album the intelligent and thoughtful – often thought-provoking – songs tackle life and the universe. Our connection to the world around us – ‘I’m just a part of everything’ Peter sings on title track i/o – is a recurring motif, but so too the passing of time, mortality and grief, alongside such themes as injustice, surveillance and the roots of terrorism. But this is not a solemn record. While reflective, the mood is never despondent; i/o is musically adventurous, often joyous and ultimately full of hope, topped off as it is, by the rousingly optimistic closing song, Live and Let Live.

Always looking to push the boundaries, i/o is not simply a collection of a dozen songs. All 12 tracks are subject to two stereo mixes: the Bright-Side Mix, handled by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent, and the Dark-Side Mix, as reshaped by Tchad Blake. “We have two of the greatest mixers in the world in Tchad and Spike and they definitely bring different characters to the songs. Tchad is very much a sculptor building a journey with sound and drama, Spike loves sound and assembling these pictures, so he’s more of a painter.” Both versions are included on the double-CD package, and are also available separately as double vinyl albums. And that’s not all. A third version – the In-Side Mix, in Dolby Atmos, comes courtesy of Hans-Martin Buff “doing a wonderful job generating these much more three-dimensional mixes” and is included in three-disc set, including Blu-ray.

Peter has kept his trusty inner circle of musicians close to hand, which means guitarist David Rhodes, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Manu Katché are sterling presences throughout. Several songs bear the fingerprints of long-time associate Brian Eno, whilst there are notable contributions from the likes of Richard Russell, pianist Tom Cawley, trumpeters Josh Shpak and Paolo Fresu, cellist Linnea Olsson and keyboard player Don E. Peter’s daughter Melanie contributes warm backing vocals, as does Ríoghnach Connolly of The Breath. Soweto Gospel Choir and Swedish all-male choir Oprhei Drängar lend their magnificent harmonies and the mass strings of the New Blood Orchestra, led by John Metcalfe, both soothe and soar.

Peter has also invited a range of visual artists to contribute a piece of art to accompany each track. The dozen artists make an exceedingly impressive team of collaborators: Ai Weiwei, Nick Cave, Olafur Eliasson, Henry Hudson, Annette Messager, Antony Micallef, David Moreno, Cornelia Parker, Megan Rooney, Tim Shaw, David Spriggs and Barthélémy Toguo. Having handpicked the artists, Peter recognises that “They have the same obsessive attention to their visual work that we musicians have in sound.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I don't get why everyone is going on about it, it's only been 30 years and the result more than makes up for the *slightly* longer gestation time of I/O. It's a wonderfully rich, beautifully refined work that sings with influence from all of Gabriel's work since he started recording it, and coming together beautifully despite it's disparate elements.

TRACK LISTING

CD Tracklisting:
CD1 – Bright-Side Mix
1 Panopticom
2 The Court
3 Playing For Time
4 I/o
5 Four Kinds Of Horses
6 Road To Joy
7 So Much
8 Olive Tree
9 Love Can Heal
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live

CD2 – Dark-Side Mix
1 Panopticom
2 The Court
3 Playing For Time
4 I/o
5 Four Kinds Of Horses
6 Road To Joy
7 So Much
8 Olive Tree
9 Love Can Heal
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live

Blu-Ray – In-Side Mix (Dolby Atmos)
1 Panopticom
2 The Court
3 Playing For Time
4 I/o
5 Four Kinds Of Horses
6 Road To Joy
7 So Much
8 Olive Tree
9 Love Can Heal
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live

Vinyl Tracklisting:
Bright-Side Mix & Dark-Side Mix
Side A
1 Panopticom
2 Playing For Time
3 The Court
Side B
4 Four Kinds Of Horses
5 I/o
6 Love Can Heal
Side C
7 Road To Joy
8 So Much
9 Olive Tree
Side D
10 This Is Home
11 And Still
12 Live And Let Live