Did I really hear this weird bit of surreal poetry by (I think) Peter Gabriel on the radio years ago?
July 17, 2012 11:04 PM   Subscribe

When I was about 15 (circa 1994), I remember listening to some sort of radio program (on NPR or similar) wherein they played an extremely bizarre bit of surreal spoken-word verse by a very young Peter Gabriel. Or at least I *think* it was Peter Gabriel. In any case, I would love to hear it again and actually learn what album/collection it came from. Presuming I didn't imagine this weird thing involving a train and a golden rod...

I don't remember the exact wording of the piece, but I do remember it being so weird that it caught my attention and I ended up just sitting there on my bed enraptured by strangeness until it finished. The main bits I remember describe a train(?) full of people, which at one point is boarded by another person who walks down the aisle between the seats, unzips his skin, and removes a golden rod of some sort from his spinal column.

There was a lot more than that but that particular image-fragment has really stuck with me for whatever reason. Thus, I'd be delighted to know if anyone else finds it even remotely familiar, and if so, if they could point me at the source. IIRC, the radio host said it was written by Peter Gabriel when he was only about 16 so it could be something really obscure. Or not. But googling has come up short so I figured I'd ask here. Thanks in advance!
posted by aecorwin to Media & Arts (3 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Wow, there's actually audio of Gabriel reading that story? I do know that the story in question was included with the original vinyl issue of Genesis Live back in 1972. Sadly, it never made it onto the pamphlets of the CD issues years later. Some quick google-fu turns up the text here

I hope those helps. I'll he following this question myself, as I would love to hear the audio.
posted by KingEdRa at 12:00 AM on July 18, 2012


Damn mobile phone. Here's that link again : http://therockfile.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/the-voice-of-britain-1973/
posted by KingEdRa at 12:02 AM on July 18, 2012


Response by poster: KingEdRa: Hmm, I don't actually remember if the audio I heard was Gabriel himself reading the story or someone else. It was read aloud in the context of some sort of lengthy prog-rock special feature thing. But THANKYOUTHANKYOU for identifying the Genesis Live album as the source(?) of the text! That's definitely way more info than I had prior to asking this question, and that is why I love the AskMe. :D
posted by aecorwin at 12:11 AM on July 18, 2012


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