The award was announced Wednesday, as reported by the German press agency DPA via RAW STORY: Peter Gabriel designated 2006 Man of Peace by Nobel LaureatesROME: Peter Gabriel, founder of the rock group Genesis, received the annual "Man of Peace" award Friday from a foundation headed by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Gabriel was recognized for his work promoting human rights and world peace. He received the award in a ceremony on Rome's Capitoline Hill that marks the opening of a meeting of Nobel Peace Prize laureates organized every year in Rome by the Gorbachev Foundation and city hall.
Nobel Peace Prize winners Lech Walesa and Mairead Corrigan Maguire attended the ceremony, along with Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni. Gorbachev was absent for health reasons.
Other recipients of the award have included Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof, the singer once known as Cat Stevens, and Italian actor-director Roberto Benigni.
Gabriel led the once-great rock group Genesis from its beginning in 1967 until his departure in 1975.British musician Peter Gabriel will receive a peace award from the hands of Mikhail Gorbachev and other Nobel Laureates during a ceremony in Rome on Friday. Gabriel was designated 2006 Man of Peace for "his great contribution and commitment to peace and human rights", organizers said in a statement.
Among his numerous initiatives, organisers singled out his efforts to fight apartheid. In 1980, Gabriel [recorded] "Biko", a heartfelt plea not to forget the south-African leader Steve Biko, murdered in September 1977 in a prison in Port Elizabeth.
Former South African president Frederik Willem de Klerk will be among the Nobel Peace Laureates attending the ceremony.
The annual Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, promoted by Gorbachev and the City of Rome, has reached its seventh edition.
Much of his early work was heavily influenced by Greek mythology, but later he came to embrace wider themes and influences, notably African cultures and rhythms.
He was writing about issues of war and peace long before "Biko", and by way of tribute, I wish to share a much earlier lyric.
The Knife
Tell me my life is about to begin,
tell me that I am a hero
Promise me all of your violent dreams,
light up your body with anger
Now, in this ugly world,
it is time to destroy all this evil
Now, when I give the word,
get ready to fight for your freedom now
Stand up and fight,
for you know we are right
We must strike at the lies
that have spread like disease through our minds
Soon we'll have power,
every soldier will rest
And we'll spread out our kindness
to all who our love now deserve
Some of you are going to die,
martyrs of course to the freedom that I shall provide
I'll give you the names of those you must kill,
all must die with their children
Carry their heads to the palace of old,
hang them on high, let the blood flow
Now, in this ugly world,
break all the chains around us,
Now, the crusade has begun,
give us a land fit for heroes now
Stand up and fight,
for you know we are right
We must strike at the lies
that have spread like disease through our minds
Soon we'll have power,
every soldier will rest
And we'll spread out our kindness
to all who our love now deserve
Some of you are going to die,
martyrs of course to the freedom that I shall provide
We are only wanting freedom
We are only wanting freedom...
We have won ...
Some of you are going to die,
martyrs of course to the freedom that I shall provide