40-Year-Old Songs Top Ten: Games Without Frontiers (#6)

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Unlike the early part of August, when I was featuring hits from 1980, in the top ten they probably won’t be as familiar. That’s true of today’s song that’s now 40 years old, although some may remember it. It’s hard to forget! And here it is. #6: Games Without Frontiers - Peter Gabriel Ah, that wacky Peter Gabriel. His first four solo albums after he left Genesis were all named Peter Gabriel. Subsequently they’re differentiated by “1,” “2,” etc., or by the cover artwork. This album is known as “Melting,” because that’s what it looks like Gabriel is doing on the cover. This album is considered one of his best solo albums, with two classic songs emerging from it. One is “Biko,” the incredible song about South African political prisoner Stephen Biko, who died in police custody in 1977. The other one is this. “Games Without Frontiers” was the name of a popular European TV show (based on the description, it was the forerunner of many of our “reality shows” today). In England, it was known as It’s a Knockout, which Gabriel also references in the lyrics. The comparison of brutal war to nonsensical entertainment games is appropriate for a war-weary world. Trivia: the female singer on the song is Kate Bush. Games Without Frontiers Written by Peter Gabriel Recorded by Peter Gabriel From Peter Gabriel (“Melt,” or 3), 1980 If looks could kill they probably will: