Peter Gabriel - Shock the Monkey - First Time Reaction 

OMG! Now that you heard the song, you need to go back and watch the video. He is my favorite all time performer. My last year at college, I made all my Dead Head friends go see him. I laid out the money for the tickets for the 11th row at the Poughkeepsie Civic Center (10 of us, and I was skint at the time). 1982, it was AMAZING! He dove into the crowd and we passed him around over our heads. I will never forget it. The monkey is a metaphor for modern man try to make sense of the quickly changing world around him. My all time favorite song by him will always be "Here Comes the Flood". Simple piano with the most amazing vocals. Thanks for another good one. US Roadie 1 signing off.

Watch his SHOCKINGLY creative official video for this tune!

Oh & another awesome one is "Games Without Frontiers"

Oh man, Gabriel was so huge in the 80’s. And Phil Collins. Genesis “incubated” so many great musicians. Sorta like The Yardbirds in the 60’s……Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page.

Great tune. He has always been astronomically astounding! 😊 ty for reaction sir. SHOCK⚡️!

This was the 1st Peter Gabriel song I remember hearing. I absolutely 100% recommend his 1st single after he left Genesis. "Solsbury Hill" My absolute favorite song in 7/4 time!!!

Hi **Luv Luv Luv** THIS song!!! **Luv** LOTS of songs by **Peter Gabriel** he is another **Unique Soul** speaking of **Unique** have ya done any **Talking Heads**

Pretty cool. I feel like a banana now ✨️🎶✨️

Well if you want to hear Peter Gabriel at his real start with their debut song (1968), Peter was 17 then, The Silent Sun (it came out also on their first album now called From Genesis To Revelation).

I have a lot of Peter Gabriel albums including music for movies such as Birdy. I have a best of dvd which has the videos to songs and live concerts. Very talented artist.

Hi, Another classic reaction 👌 Enjoyed it. Ronnie SCOTLAND A Roadie Member. Keep Rocking 👍

If you might like to see another side of Gabriel, check out the video from his Secret World Live tour of 1993 for the song "In Your Eyes". It is uplifting and joyful. This man was a creative genius.

Personally I think his song Family Snapshot is his crowning solo achievement from the amazing Gabriel 3 album. That album is lyrical masterpiece.

To get clearer understanding of STM, P G's meaning may be found in his mind-blowing video of Shock the Monkey. Good Luck! I hope you find it enlightening! With Peace and Love to All! (Michael)

Wow, I’ve always thought it would have been so cool to have been a roadie back in the day so I guess now I CAN be a “Roadie”! Cool! Very good name pick for your subs!

Great choice, if you're getting a taste for him dive into those first 4 solo albums and don't look back!

Many people used to think that this was about animal rights and anti-vivisection, but Gabriel himself said in an interview last year (I think?) that it was meant to be about jealousy, and how the pain of love can release inner primal feelings. So now you know. You should definitely check out some of the other tracks off this, his 4th self-titled album (aka "Security"), e.g. The Rhythm of the Heat, as well as off his 3rd (aka "Melt").

I remember this coming out in 1982-83. I hadn't heard of Peter Gabriel at that time (I was 12) but this song instantly put him on my listening chart. I was also a big fan of Genesis at that time. Shock the monkey, I believe is a euphemism for masturbation. (spank the monkey).

You should try his song Rythm of the Heat. The percussions at the end are awesome!

Peter Gabriel's said it was about Jealousy

The best decision was for Gabriel to part ways with Genesis and let Phil Collins lead. Peter was so much better off being a solo artist and really let his energy and personality and creativity shine, and Collins/Genesis put out some amazing hits. Gabriel with Genesis was... interesting. Not bad. Just interesting. But it didn't really let anyone be their best. Whenever I want a good cry... Gabriel's cover of "The Book of Love" will do it to me every time.

Please, react to Peter Gabriel - Moribund the Burgermeister.

As huge gabriel fan....never really cared for this 1..but yeah its about jealously

Shoulda watched the music video. What were you thinking?

clip version...

Monkeys…experiments in labs…on Monkeys…Shocking.