Biko (song)

"Biko"
1980 artwork for UK 7" release, also used for the German vinyl release
Single by Peter Gabriel
from the album Peter Gabriel (Melt)
B-side
ReleasedAugust 1980[1]
Recorded1979
Genre
Length
  • 7:22 (album version)[4]
  • 6:55 (single version)
LabelCharisma[5]
Songwriter(s)Peter Gabriel
Producer(s)Steve Lillywhite[6]
Peter Gabriel singles chronology
"No Self Control"
(1980) 		"Biko"
(1980) 		"I Don't Remember"
(1980)
Music video
"Biko" on YouTube

"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 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]


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  1. ^ "Biko".
  2. ^ Pollock 2014, p. 31.
  3. ^ Considine, J.D. (November 2, 2004). "Peter Gabriel". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 319–320.
  4. ^ "Peter Gabriel [3]". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  5. ^ Bowman 2016, p. 76.
  6. ^ Easlea 2013, chpt. 14.
  7. ^ Byerly 2016, p. 114.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Biko AM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Drewett 2007, pp. 39–51.
  10. ^ Drewett 2007, p. 47.