A founder member of Genesis with fellow pupils from Charterhouse (Tony Banks,
Mike Rutherford, Anthony Phillips and Chris Stewart), Peter Gabriel's natural
flamboyance and showmanship made him a compelling frontman who played a key role
in the band's successes in the 1970s with albums like Selling England By the
Pound and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway—a concept album conceived by Peter
Gabriel. It was a shock when he quit Genesis in 1977, launching his solo career
with the spiritual single Solsbury Hill, written about his exit from the band.
Regarded as slightly eccentric, Peter...