Peter Gabriel - Plays Live

Plays Live is the first live album by British progressive rock musician Peter Gabriel, originally released in June 1983 via Charisma.

Plays Live was compiled from live recordings made at four venues across the American Midwest in late 1982 and released the following June. The sleeve notes memorably state; “Some additional recording took place not a thousand miles away from the home of the artiste. The generic term of this process is ‘cheating’”. But it’s fair to say that the essence of the live shows remains very much intact on these recordings.

Plays Live was effectively a sign-off to the first phase of Peter Gabriel the solo artist. As such, it’s a celebration of all that was achieved on that opening quartet of self-titled long-players, while also standing as confirmation that Peter was an engaged and engaging frontman.

At the time, all bar one of the tracks would be familiar to the Gabriel completist, the exception being the previously unreleased “I Go Swimming”.

The touring band captured by the recordings consists of Peter, alongside Jerry Marrotta (drums and percussion), Tony Levin (bass and stick), David Rhodes (guitar) and Larry Fast (synthesizer and piano), whilst the iconic cover image of Peter in ‘monkey mask’ make-up was taken by long-time collaborator Armando Gallo.

In August 2020, a half speed remastered LP, by Matt Colton at Alchemy Mastering, was released, with newly scanned artwork that replicates the original LP.

This double album 2LP record set is a 2020 reissue on 180 gram black vinyl housed in a single pocket sleeve with printed inner sleeves, download and half speed remastered audio, pressed in Europe via Real World Records.