In 1982, Peter Gabriel launched the WOMAD Festival, which stood for World of Music, Arts and Dance, and now he’s revisiting one of his performances for a new digital album.
The very first WOMAD Festival took place in Somerset, England, and featured 60 bands from over 20 countries. The new album, Live at WOMAD 1982, features a recording of Gabriel’s Friday night set. It included seven songs from his album 4, which was released two months after the event.
“I remember this gig well,” says Gabriel. “We played a mix of old and brand-new material. I would normally be very nervous about playing some of this stuff for the first time, however my mind was very preoccupied with the running of our very first WOMAD festival and the potential financial disaster that it was heading towards.”
It turned out the initial WOMAD Festival wasn’t a financial success and in October of that year Gabriel reunited with Genesis for a concert at Milton Keynes Bowl in Buckinghamshire, England — the money from that gig bailed him out financially. The WOMAD Festival was then able to continue, and since its inception, there have been more than 160 editions of the WOMAD Festival in 27 countries.
Live at WOMAD 1982 will be released to digital services on Friday. The first single, “The Rhythm of the Heat,” is now available.
Here is the track list for the album:
“San Jacinto”
“The Family and the Fishing Net”
“I Have the Touch”
“Lay Your Hands on Me”
“Shock the Monkey”
“I Go Swimming”
“The Rhythm of the Heat”
“Kiss of Life”
“Biko”
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
