The University of South Australia awards the
Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University to a person
of eminence, who has made a distinguished contribution
to public service, or a field of academic endeavor or artistic pursuit.
It is my pleasure to confer Peter Brian Gabriel
with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University
in recognition of his distinguished service to the community
as a musician, writer, innovator and humanitarian.
Peter Gabriel has made an enormous contribution to the
arts and entertainment industry and to the promotion
and conservation of world music and culture.
He's a major figure in humanitarian causes
and initiatives to solve world conflicts.
Peter Gabriel is one of the giant figures of the
20th and 21st century for music and culture more broadly.
Beginning his career as a rock musician in the 1970s,
he pushed the boundaries of the genre and incorporated
elements of theatre, narrative and visual arts
as well as novel use of video and technology.
He's one of the most influential producers and
promoters of world music, championing musicians
from Africa, Latin America and Central Asia
who would otherwise have been unknown to
mainstream audiences and facilitating their careers.
At the same time he continued to innovate in his own music,
incorporating an increasingly wide range of influences
and making them his own.
Peter Gabriel has earned a worldwide reputation for his
innovative work as a musician, writer and humanitarian.
While still at school he co-founded the group, Genesis in 1967,
one of the most innovative and popular
progressive rock acts of the world,
which he left to pursue a solo career in 1975.
Genesis' style, characterised by complex song structures
and elaborate instrumentation, combined with concerts
which became theatrical experiences with innovative
stage design, pyrotechnics, extravagant costumes and
onstage stories, was hugely influential as well as groundbreaking.
Gabriel has also long been involved in various humanitarian efforts.
In 1986, he started what has become a longstanding association
with Amnesty International, becoming a pioneering participant
in all 28 of Amnesty's Human Rights Concerts,
a series of music events and tours staged by the
US sector of Amnesty International between 1986 to 1998.
He's been willing on multiple occasions to put
his own money extensively into furthering such causes.
For example, he and Richard Branson
privately funded a group of elder statesmen
led by Nelson Mandela, called the Elders.
In the late 1990s, Gabriel and Branson discussed with
Nelson Mandela their idea of a small, dedicated group of leaders
working objectively and without any vested personal interest
to solve difficult global conflicts,
a group which was finally formed in 2007.
In recognition of his many years of human rights activism,
Gabriel received the Man of Peace award
from the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in 2006,
and in 2008, TIME magazine named Peter
one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Peter was also awarded the
Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2007,
the Polar Music Prize in 2009 and was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.
In October 2013, he was announced as an nominee
for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his solo work.
He has been awarded a number of Grammies for
his records and his film music, for example the music in
Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ.
Musically, Gabriel has recently focussed on producing
and promoting world music and pioneering
digital distribution methods for music.
His interest in world music led to the inauguration of WOMAD,
World of Music, Arts and Dance,
the first world music festival of its kind in Europe
and a vehicle to bring the musical wonders
of lesser-known cultures to the world stage.
Annual WOMAD festivals exist in the UK,
Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Italy and Abu Dabhi.
In 2012, WOMADelaide celebrated
its 20th anniversary in South Australia
and its continued existence owes a great deal
to Peter, who has been instrumental in sustaining it
through challenging periods.
On behalf of the University of South Australia
I'm pleased to present Peter Gabriel,
for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University,
in recognition of his distinguished service to the community
as a musician, a writer, innovator, and humanitarian.
Congratulations.
Thank you so much.
Hi to the class of 2015.
I'm very proud to be in your midst
and robed up, as I'm sure some of you are today.
I'm sure you're not going to be deterred by any obstacles
and you will blitz your way into the world
and make a difference wherever you go.
Congratulations on your success today
and may your trails blaze.