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Peter Gabriel – Recording Compendium, Part 2: 1977 – 1978 (Scratch)

Soon after his first tour, Peter Gabriel began to work on his second album and recorded in New York. Later, he got to know Tom Robinson, which led to a creative output. Find all recordings here.

Official stuff, Demos, Outtakes & more

Last Update: 09/02/2025
Introduction
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Album Tracks

There wasn’t much time for demo recordings for the second album, as Peter Gabriel was on tour in 1977 until early November, but he used the time to test some songs from the second album live: On The Air, Indigo (Song Without Words), White Shadow, Animal Magic and D.I.Y.. He had already recorded a demo version of Flotsam & Jetsam before the first album (see part 1).

The recording sessions for the second album took place in the winter of 1977/78 in New York and elsewhere…

On The Air

(Peter Gabriel) (5:34)

D.I.Y.

(Peter Gabriel) (2:34)

Mother Of Violence

(Peter Gabriel/Jill Gabriel) (3:26)

A Wonderful Day In A One-Way World

(Peter Gabriel) (3:36)

White Shadow

(Peter Gabriel) (5:19)

Indigo

(Peter Gabriel) (3:33)

Animal Magic

(Peter Gabriel) (3:29)

Exposure

(Peter Gabriel/Robert Fripp) (4:18)

Flotsam And Jetsam

(Peter Gabriel) (2:22)

Perspective

(Peter Gabriel) (3:29)

Home Sweet Home

(Peter Gabriel) (4:42)

Recording date: November 1977 – February 1978
Recording location: Relight Studios/Hilvarenbeek, The Hit Factory/New York City
Produced by: Robert Fripp
Performed by: Peter Gabriel feat. [see album credits]
First official release: 3rd June 1978 – Peter Gabriel Peter Gabriel (Scratch) (UK LP//Charisma CDS 4013)
Best available source: Peter Gabriel Peter Gabriel (Scratch) [2002 remaster] (96kHz/24bit PCM download//Real World Productions)


Different versions

On The Air [alternate instrumental version]

(Peter Gabriel) (4:59)

First official release: —
Best available source: Bootleg – Peter Gabriel Ashcombe Works

Perspective (Single Version)

(Peter Gabriel) (5:07)

First official release: May 1978 – Peter Gabriel D.I.Y. (UK 7″//Charisma CB 311)
Best available source: Peter Gabriel Flotsam And Jetsam [2019 remaster?] (48kHz/24bit PCM download//Real World Productions)

D.I.Y. [full length version]

(Peter Gabriel) (2:45

First official release/Best available source: May 1978 – Peter Gabriel D.I.Y. (UK 7″//Charisma CB 311)

D.I.Y. (Re-recorded Version)

(Peter Gabriel) (2:53)

First official release: September 1978 – Peter Gabriel D.I.Y. (UK 7″//Charisma CB 319)
Best available source: Peter Gabriel Flotsam And Jetsam [2019 remaster?] (48kHz/24bit PCM download//Real World Productions)

D.I.Y. [extended remix]

(Peter Gabriel) (4:00)

First official release/Best available source: September 1978 – Peter Gabriel D.I.Y. (US promo 12″//Atlantic 310)

Mother Of Violence (Single Mix)

(Peter Gabriel) (3:15)

First official release: September 1978 – Peter Gabriel D.I.Y. (UK 7″//Charisma CB 319)
Best available source: Peter Gabriel Flotsam And Jetsam [2019 remaster?] (48kHz/24bit PCM download//Real World Productions)

Als B-Seite der zweiten Veröffentlichung der D.I.Y.-Single erschien ein Non Album Track, der auch auf der folgenden Tour gespielt wurde…

Teddy Bear

(John Fred Coots/Jack Winters) (2:16)

Recording date: ?
Recording location: ?
Produced by: ?
Performed by: Peter Gabriel
First official release: September 1978 – Peter Gabriel D.I.Y. (UK 7″//Charisma CB 319)
Best available source: Peter Gabriel Flotsam And Jetsam [2019 remaster?] (48kHz/24bit PCM download//Real World Productions)


Collaborations

After Robert Fripp had produced the Scratch album, Peter Gabriel also took part in Robert Fripp’s first solo album, which was recorded between November 1977 and January 1979…

Preface *
Preface
[1983 mix] **
Preface
[2021 stereo & surround mix] ***

(Robert Fripp) (1:16)

Exposure Master Loops I ***

(Robert Fripp) (30:59)

Exposure Master Loops II ***

(Robert Fripp) (19:35)

Exposure I *** [RF version feat. Ian McDonald]

(Peter Gabriel – Robert Fripp) (4:23)

Exposure II *** [RF version feat. Ian McDonald]

(Peter Gabriel – Robert Fripp) (4:21)

Exposure IV *** [RF version feat. Ian McDonald & Timmy Cappello]

(Peter Gabriel – Robert Fripp) (4:22)

Exposure V *** [RF version feat. Timmy Capello]

(Peter Gabriel – Robert Fripp) (4:21)

Exposure (Daryl Hall vocal) [RF version original 1978 mix] ***

(Peter Gabriel – Robert Fripp) (4:21)

Exposure [RF version] *

(Peter Gabriel – Robert Fripp) (4:26)

Exposure [RF version 1983 mix] **

(Peter Gabriel – Robert Fripp) (4:26)

Exposure (Daryl Hall vocal) [RF version 1983 mix] ****

(Peter Gabriel – Robert Fripp) (4:36)

Exposure [RF version 2021 stereo & surround mix]***

(Peter Gabriel – Robert Fripp) (4:26)

Exposure (Daryl Hall vocal) [RF version 2021 stereo & surround mix] ***

(Peter Gabriel – Robert Fripp) (4:26)

Loops: Here Comes The Flood ***

(Peter Gabriel) (25:44)

[Water Music I/] Here Comes The Flood (Early Mix) *** [RF version]

(5:23) [(Robert Fripp) (1:27)/] (Peter Gabriel) (3:56)

Water Music I/Here Comes The Flood [RF version original 1978 mix] ***

(5:32) (Robert Fripp) (1:26)/(Peter Gabriel) (4:06)

Here Comes The Flood [RF version] *

(Peter Gabriel) (4:06)

Here Comes The Flood [RF version 1983 mix] **

(Peter Gabriel) (3:55)

Here Comes The Flood [RF version 2021 stereo & surround mix] ***

(Peter Gabriel) (4:08)

Come My Love *****

(??? – George Herbert) (4:03)

Recording date: February 1978
Recording location: Hit Factory/New York City
Produced by: Robert Fripp
Performed by: Robert Fripp feat. Peter Gabriel
* First official release: 1979 – Robert Fripp Exposure (UK LP//E’G Records EGLP 101)
** First official release: 1985 – Robert Fripp Exposure (CD//E’G Records EGCD 41)
*** First official release: 2022 – Robert Fripp Exposures (32Disc Boxset//DGM RFBX101)
**** First official release: 2006 – Robert Fripp Exposure [2006 remaster] (2CD//DGM 0602)
Best available source: Robert Fripp Exposures (32Disc Boxset//DGM RFBX101)
***** First official release/Best available source: 2007 – Fripp/Gabriel Come My Love (128 kB/s MP3//dgmlive.com)


Live Tracks

As during the last one, Peter Gabriel’s tour for the second album (August 23rd to December 24th, 1978) also featured songs that were not (yet) to be found on Gabriel’s solo albums…

I Don’t Remember [live 1978]*

(Peter Gabriel)

A Whiter Shade Of Pale [live 1978] **

(Norman Whtifield/Barrett Strong)

The Lamb Lies Down On Bradway [live 1978] **

(Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel/Steve Hackett/Mike Rutherford)

First known performance date: 23rd August 1978 – Oxford (UK), New Theatre

Moi Et Mon Teddy Bear [Me And My Teddy Bear french version] [live 1978] ****

(John Fred Coots/Jack Winters)

First known performance date: 13th October 1978 – Quebec, Colisee de Quebec

Ich Und Mein Teddybär [Me And My Teddy Bear german version] [live 1978] *****

(John Fred Coots/Jack Winters)

First known performance date: 12th December 1978 – Düsseldorf, Phillipshalle

No Tide/Song Without Words/The New One/No Title [Not One Of Us] [live 1978]

(Peter Gabriel)

No Words/New Experience Song/New New One/Get On Back/The New One With The Shorter Ending/Nothing [Family Snapshot] [live 1978]

(Peter Gabriel)

First known performance date: 30th September 1978 – Hollywood, The Roxy
Best available source: Bootleg – Peter Gabriel ?

All Day And All Of The Night [live 1978] *

(Ray Davies)

Merrily Up On High [live 1978] ******

(Peter Gabriel/Tom Robinson)

Bully For You [live 1978] ******

(Peter Gabriel/Tom Robinson)

First known performance date: 24th December 1978 – London, Hammersmith Odeon
* Best available source: Bootleg – Peter Gabriel The Bottom Line Tapes (Early & Late)
** Best available source: Bootleg – Peter Gabriel A New Perspective (PRRP 045)
*** Best available source: Bootleg – Peter Gabriel Rockpalast (William Tell Edition 025)
**** Best available source: Bootleg – Peter Gabriel The Angel And The Teddy Ours
***** Best available source: Bootleg – Peter Gabriel Phillipshalle, Düsseldorf
****** Best available source: Bootleg – Peter Gabriel London ’78 Last Show

A flexi-disc with a live recording was distributed to concertgoers at the last concerts of the tour…

Solsbury Hill (Live At The Bottom Line)

(Peter Gabriel) (5:10)

Recording date: 4th October 1978
Recording location: Bottom Line, New York
Produced by: Larry Fast
Performed by: Peter Gabriel + Band
First official release: 20 December 1978 – Peter Gabriel Thank You! (UK flexi 7″//SFI 358)
Best available source: Peter Gabriel Flotsam And Jetsam [2019 remaster?] (48kHz/24bit PCM download//Real World Productions)


Demos

In the summer of 1978, shortly after the tour had begun, Peter Gabriel found the time to record three demos, two of which would develop into tracks for the next album while on tour at the end of September…

No. 1 (Family Snapshot – Early Incarnation) *

(Peter Gabriel) (4:00)

Yesterday’s Song (Games Without Frontiers – Early Incarnation) **

(Peter Gabriel) (2:59)

The One That Doesn’t Sound Like Genesis (Not One Of Us – Early Incarnation) ***

(Peter Gabriel) (2:24)

Recording date: 28th August 1978
Recording location: Trident Studios, London
Produced by: ??? (engineered by Stephen W. Tayler)
Performed by: Peter Gabriel feat. Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta, Larry Fast, Sid McGinnis & Tim Capello
* First official release/Best available source: 25th March 2024 – Peter Gabriel Family Snapshot early incarnation (subscriber HD FLAC download
//petergabriel.bandcamp.com/track/family-snapshot-early-incarnation)
** First official release/Best available source: 8th April 2024 – Peter Gabriel Games Without Frontiers early incarnation (subscriber HD FLAC download//petergabriel.bandcamp.com/track/games-without-frontiers-early-incarnation)
*** First official release/Best available source: 19th April 2024 – Peter Gabriel Not One Of Us early incarnation (subscriber HD FLAC download//petergabriel.bandcamp.com/track/not-one-of-us-early-incarnation)


Collaborations

This period also saw Peter Gabriel’s collaboration with singer Tom Robinson, which resulted in several songs. Some of them were only properly recorded and released years later – without any further involvement from Gabriel…

Merrily Up On High

(Peter Gabriel/Tom Robinson) (4:11)

Recording date: 21st December 1978
Recording location: Pye Studios/London
Performed by: Peter Gabriel & Tom Robinson feat. ?
First official release: 21st December 1978 – Nicky Horne’s Capital Radio Show (radio broadcast)
Best available source: Bootleg – Peter Gabriel & Tom Robinson Merrily Upon High (YouTube video//https://youtu.be/H79_3Nv_eWo)

Merrily Up On High [Tom Robinson version]

(Peter Gabriel/Tom Robinson) (3:45)

Recording date: January/February 1982
Recording location: FDH, Daylight & Rüssl Studios/Hamburg
Produced by: Richard Mazda
Performed by: Tom Robinson + Band
First official release: 1982 – Tom Robinson North By Northwest (GER LP//Vertigo 6435 161)
Best available source: Tom Robinson North By Northwest [1997 remaster] (CD//Castaway CNWVP004CD)

Bully For You (Rough Mix) [Tom Robinson version]

(Peter Gabriel/Tom Robinson) (3:31)

Recording date: December 1978
Performed by: Tom Robinson Band
First official release: 1981 – Tom Robinson Band (UK LP/EMI EMS 1005)
Best available source: Tom Robinson Band Rising Free: The Very Best Of TRB (CD/EMI 724385788925)

Bully For You [Tom Robinson version]

(Peter Gabriel – Tom Robinson) (3:22)

Recording date: December 1978
Recording location:
Produced by: Todd Rundgren
Performed by: Tom Robinson Band
First official release: 23rd February 1979 – Tom Robinson Band Bully For You (UK 7″//EMI 2916)
Best available source: T. Robinson Band TRB Two [2004 remaster] (CD//EMI 7243 8 66765 0 4)

Atmospherics

(Peter Gabriel/Tom Robinson) (3:12)

Recording date: January/February 1982
Recording location: FDH, Daylight & Rüssl Studios/Hamburg
Produced by: Richard Mazda
Performed by: Tom Robinson + Band
First official release: 1982 – Tom Robinson North By Northwest (GER LP//Vertigo 6435 161)
Best available source: Tom Robinson North By Northwest [1997 remaster] (CD//Castaway CNWVP004CD)

Listen To The Radio (Atmospherics)

(Peter Gabriel/Tom Robinson) (3:44)

Recording date:
Recording location: Windmill Lane Studios/Dublin
Produced by: Tom Robinson
Performed by: Tom Robinson
First official release: 1983 – T. Robinson Listen To The Radio (Atmospherics) (UK 7″//Panic Records NIC3)
Best available source: Tom Robinson War Baby: Hope And Glory [2013 reissue] (CD-R, FLAC//tomrobinson.bandcamp.com/album/war-baby-hope-and-glory-1984)

Listen To The Radio (Atmospherics) [extended version]

(Peter Gabriel – Tom Robinson) (6:05)

Recording date:
Recording location: Windmill Lane Studios/Dublin
Produced by: Tom Robinson
Performed by: Tom Robinson
First official release: 1983 – T. Robinson Listen To The Radio (Atmospherics) (UK 12″//Panic Records NIC3)
Best available source: Tom Robinson War Baby: Hope And Glory [2013 reissue] (CD-R, FLAC//tomrobinson.bandcamp.com/album/war-baby-hope-and-glory-1984)

Peter Gabriel recorded his own version of Bully For You in 1979, but it was never officially released.

Author: Steffen Gerlach

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