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Biko (song)

"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.

"Biko"

August 1980[1]

1979

  • 7:22 (album version)[4]
  • 6:55 (single version)

Peter Gabriel

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 synthesised 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 with "Ngomhla sibuyayo" and ends with "Senzeni Na?", while the single versions end with "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika".


"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,[7] while review website AllMusic described it as a "stunning achievement for its time".[8] It was banned in South Africa, where the government saw it as a threat to security.[9] "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".[10]

Recording and releases[edit]

Gabriel provided lead vocals and piano.[24] The guitarist for "Biko" was David Rhodes, Gabriel's longtime collaborator.[32] Other participants included Jerry Marotta on drums, Phil Collins on surdo, Larry Fast on synths and synthesised bagpipes, and Dave Ferguson on screeches.[33][24]


"Biko" was first released as a single in 1980.[34] Gabriel donated the proceeds from both versions of the single to the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa.[35] These donations would total more than 50,000 pounds.[10] The B-side of the 7" version contained Gabriel's version of the Ndebele folk song "Shosholoza", while the 12" version also carried a German vocal version of Gabriel's 1977 track "Here Comes the Flood".[34]


"Biko" was included on Gabriel's third solo album Peter Gabriel III (1980) (a.k.a. Melt) released by Charisma Records in 1980.[12][19][20] At seven and one-half minutes, it was the album's longest song.[20] The track was later included on his 1990 compilation Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats.[8]

Reception[edit]

Upon its release "Biko" reached No. 38 on the British charts.[34] The 1987 live version reached No. 49 in the UK.[34] In 2016 Gabriel's biographer Durrell Bowman ranked "Biko" as among Gabriel's 11 most popular songs.[36] Peter Gabriel III topped the British charts for two weeks, giving Gabriel his first No. 1 hit.[6]


Soon after its release, a copy of "Biko" was seized by South African customs and submitted to the Directorate of Publications, which banned the song and the album on which it featured for being critical of apartheid, calling it "harmful to the security of the State".[37] Thus, despite enduring popularity outside South Africa, it had no presence within the country.[38]


The song received strongly positive responses from critics, and it was frequently cited as the highlight of the album.[6] Phil Sutcliffe in Sounds magazine said the song was "so honest you might even risk calling it truth".[6] Music website AllMusic called "Biko" a "stunning achievement for its time", and went on to say that "It's odd that such a bleak song can sound so freeing and liberating".[8] Writing in 2013, Mark Pedelty would say that "Biko" "stood out for its unusual instrumentation (bagpipes and synthesiser), haunting vocals, and funerary chant," and credited Gabriel with doing a "masterful job of creating catalytic imagery and getting out of the way".[39] Music scholar Michael Drewett wrote that the lyrics skillfully engaged the listener by moving from a specific story to a call for action.[23]


The musical elements of the song also received praise. Drewett stated that Gabriel's singing throughout the song was "clear and powerful". Though Drewett questioned the use of bagpipes, he stated that they heightened the emotional effect of the song.[23] 2013, scholar Ingrid Byerly called "Biko" a "hauntingly powerful" song, with "a hypnotic drumbeat thundering beneath commanding guitar, lyrical bagpipe dirges, and the intense eulogy of Gabriel's voice".[7] A review in Rolling Stone was more critical of the song, saying that the melody and rhythms of the piece were "irresistible", but that the song was a "muddle", and that "what Gabriel [had] to say was mostly sentimental."[6]


Gabriel's use of Xhosa lyrics have been read by scholars as evidence of the "authenticity" of Gabriel's effort to highlight Biko. By using a language that many South Africans, and the majority of outsiders, did not know, the words trigger curiosity; in the words of Byerly, "compelling [listeners]...to become, like Gabriel, insiders to the struggle".[22] In contrast, scholar Derek Hook has written that the song highlighted the artist, rather than Biko himself, and "[secured] for the singer and his audience a kind of anti-racist social capital".[40] Hook questioned whether the "consciousness raising" efforts of the song could turn into "anti-racist narcissism".[40] Drewett stated that the use of a simplistic and generic "African" beat was an indication of an "imperial imagination" in the song's composition.[29]

Impact and legacy[edit]

"Biko" had an enormous political impact. It has been credited with creating a "political awakening" both in terms of awareness of the brutalities of apartheid, and of Steve Biko as a person.[7] It greatly raised Biko's profile, making his name known to millions of people who had not previously heard of him,[21] and came to symbolise Biko in the popular imagination.[41] Byerly writes that it was an example of the "right song written at the right time by the right person"; it was released in circumstances of social tension that contributed to its popularity and influence.[26] It triggered a rise in enthusiasm for fighting against apartheid internationally,[26] and has been described as "arguably the most significant non-South African anti-apartheid protest song".[10]


"Biko" was at the forefront of a stream of anti-apartheid music in the 1980s,[25] and sparked a worldwide interest in music exploring the politics and society of South Africa.[7] Along with songs such as "Free Nelson Mandela" by The Specials, and "Sun City" by Artists United Against Apartheid, "Biko" has been described as part of the "soundtrack for the global divestment movement", which sought to persuade divestment from companies doing business in apartheid South Africa.[25] These songs have been described as making the fight against apartheid part of Western popular culture.[42] Gabriel's piece has been credited as the inspiration for many of the anti-apartheid songs that followed it. Steven Van Zandt, the driving force behind the 1985 track "Sun City" and the Artists United Against Apartheid initiative, stated that hearing "Biko" inspired him to begin those projects;[25] on the cover of the album, he thanked Gabriel "for the profound inspiration of his song ‘Biko’ which is where my journey to Africa began".[37] Irish singer and U2 frontman Bono called Gabriel to tell him that U2 had learned of the effects of apartheid from "Biko".[18]


The song was a landmark for Gabriel's career.[6] "Biko" has been called Gabriel's first political song,[43] his "most enduring political tune",[21] and "Arguably [his] first masterpiece".[8] It caught the attention of activist organisations, and in particular anti-apartheid groups and human rights organisations such as Amnesty International (AI).[19] "Biko" became popular among AI workers, along with Gabriel's 1982 song "Wallflower".[43] The song triggered Gabriel's involvement in musical efforts against apartheid: he supported the "Sun City" project, and participated in two musical tours organised by AI: A Conspiracy of Hope in 1986, and Human Rights Now! in 1988.[19] It also led to him beginning a deeper involvement in those groups.[26]

– vocals, piano, drum pattern

Peter Gabriel

– guitar

David Rhodes

– synthesizers, bagpipes

Larry Fast

– drums

Jerry Marotta

surdo

Phil Collins

Dave Ferguson – screeches

Credits from the Melt liner notes.[33]

Peter Gabriel discography

, 1987 film about Biko

Cry Freedom

"" at Discogs (list of releases)

Biko