Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel song)
"Sledgehammer" is a song by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released in April 1986 as the lead single from his fifth studio album, So (1986).[2] It was produced by Gabriel and Daniel Lanois. It reached No. 1 in Canada on 21 July 1986, where it spent four weeks; No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States on 26 July 1986;[3] and No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart, thanks in part to its music video. It was his biggest hit in North America and ties with "Games Without Frontiers" as his biggest hit in the United Kingdom.
"Sledgehammer"
- "Don't Break This Rhythm"
- "I Have the Touch" (mix)
- "Biko" (ext.)
14 April 1986[1]
Ashcombe House (Bath, England)
- 5:12 (album version)
- 4:58 (7-inch single edit)
- 4:55 (video version)
Peter Gabriel
- Peter Gabriel
- Daniel Lanois
The song's video won a record nine MTV Video Music Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards[4] and Best British Video at the 1987 Brit Awards.[5][6] The song also saw Gabriel nominated for three Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.[7] In a 2005 poll conducted by Channel 4 the music video was ranked second on their list of the 100 Greatest Pop Videos.[8]
Release[edit]
"Sledgehammer" is Gabriel's only US No. 1. It replaced "Invisible Touch" by his former band Genesis; coincidentally, that group's only US No. 1. Genesis lead singer Phil Collins later jested about the occurrence in a 2014 interview, stating, "I read recently that Peter Gabriel knocked us off the No. 1 spot with 'Sledgehammer'. We weren't aware of that at the time. If we had been, we'd probably have sent him a telegram saying: 'Congratulations – bastard.'"[16]
"Sledgehammer" also achieved success on other Billboard charts in 1986, spanning the Album Rock Tracks (two weeks at the summit in May and June)[17] and Hot Dance Club Play (one week atop this chart in July).[18]
The single release included the previously unreleased "Don't Break This Rhythm" and an "'85 Remix" of 1982's "I Have the Touch". US versions of the single contained an extended dance remix of "Sledgehammer".
Reception and legacy[edit]
"Sledgehammer" has been described as dance-rock,[19] funk rock,[20] and soul,[21] Ryan Reed of Paste called the song a danceable "blue-eyed soul-strut".[22] Trouser Press gave it as an example of Gabriel's "characteristically sophisticated music" which in this case "touches on funk".[23] Stewart Mason of AllMusic thought that "Sledgehammer's" "earthier foundation keeps the song from getting distracted from the pounding, swaggering groove at its core", adding that "it's not his masterpiece, but it's probably his best pop song. Later attempts at rewriting it, like 1992's dismal 'Steam', didn't work half as well."[24]
"Sledgehammer" was used as the now defunct 3rd Brigade 3rd Infantry Division song. The Sledgehammer Brigade was located on Kelley Hill, Fort Moore (Benning), GA. The song was used to increase Esprit de Corps of the brigade at the end of physical training and special events.[25][26]
Covers and parodies[edit]
In 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied this song as the first song from his polka medley "Polka Party!" from the 1986 studio album of the same name.[65]
On 2 March 2020, Harry Styles covered this song for the first time publicly on the Howard Stern Show.