Biko is a protest song by British rock musician Peter Gabriel. The song was included on Gabriels third album, Peter Gabriel (1980). It is about Steve Biko, a noted black South African anti-apartheid activist. Biko had been arrested by the South African police in late August 1977. After being held in custody for several days, he was interrogated in room 619 of the Walmer Street prison in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape. Following the interrogation, during which the police beat him and left him with serious head injuries, Biko was transferred without medical care to a prison in Pretoria, where he died shortly afterwards, on 12 September 1977. Gabriel often plays the song at the end of concerts, encouraging the audience to join in the singing, and eventually leaving only the drummer on stage. The album version of the song is bookended by a recording of the South African song Senzeni Na? as sung at Biko’s funeral. The single version is bookended by Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika, also sung at Bikos funeral. Biko was first released as a single in 1980, when it reached #38 on the British charts. A live version, recorded in July 1987 at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was released later that year, reaching #49 in the UK. A newly recorded version of the song (again by Gabriel) was used to promote the Richard Attenborough Biko biopic Cry Freedom, and its music video (which consisted mostly of clips from the film) was in heavy rotation on MTV during the films premiere and run. Gabriel performed the song at Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at Wembley in 1988. One line of the lyrics reads Yehla Moya which in Xhosa means Come Spirit.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 21:51:25 +0000