ARTIST: Peter Gabriel

CREATOR: Mark Charlesworth

SONG: ‍I Grieve‍ ‍FROM: Up

Video info:

The video for 'I Grieve' gave him chance to hone his craft, capturing a series of deceptively simple images. He had turned to Peter's song for comfort after suddenly losing two friends in Summer 2025. No other song encapsulated the feeling of gut-punching loss, punctuated by moments of hope as life continues to happen all around.

Mark's video takes viewers on a journey from late summer, autumn, and into winter, with a recurring image of fire - a destructive force, but also a source of light. The video is overlaid with voices from conversations Mark had with his friends and family, asking about their experiences of grief, and how it made them reflect differently on life. Ultimately, death can be a great impetus to live, and look for light in dark places.

Spoken word: Carol Hands, Melanie Williamson, Brian Charlesworth, Mark Charlesworth, Chris Newton

Song info:

‘I Grieve’ is a track taken from Peter Gabriel's album Up, released in September 2002.

Words and music by Peter Gabriel. Produced by Peter Gabriel.

Published by Real World Music Ltd. / Sony Music Publishing.

‘One of the things over the years that’s amazed me in some ways is how people use songs once you’ve said goodbye to them. There was one American comic who came up to me, (I’ve always liked his work), and said I think that song Don’t Give Up saved my life. I was suicidal and I just kept on playing it. All sorts of other people have used that song as an emotional tool. I started to think that if you have songs as emotional tools then what do we not really have. You know, there aren’t many songs that deal with grief properly, so I thought I’d try and do a grief song.’
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ARTIST: Peter Gabriel

CREATOR: Pamela Glintenkamp

SONG: In Your Eyes FROM: So

Video info:

This film uses footage I shot at Botswana’s only elephant orphanage, the charity Elephant Havens. There, the emotional connection between orphaned elephants and the handlers who raise them is profound. In the film, I’ve paired the song lyrics with imagery that expresses this extraordinary relationship. The film also explores the process of each young elephant growing more confident and independent - as they become ready to be released to the wild. The push and pull between emotional connection, and independence is expressed by the song lyrics and the imagery. The evolution of the individual is reflected in the last section of the film. Here, we see elephants interacting with each other (rather than handlers), preparing for their eventual return to the wild.

The lyrics and imagery together explore a number of themes:

-     Seeking sanctuary and refuge - the elephants finding safety and care. 

- Emotional vulnerability and trust - baby elephants learn to trust their human caregivers.

- The healing power of compassion - the nurturing relationship between handlers and their charges.

- Seeing beauty in another being - expressed by the interspecies bond between elephants and handlers.

- Individual development - Orphans developing into independent individuals who will ultimately return to their natural state in the wild.

Musically, the song features African-influenced percussion rhythms as well as call-and-response vocal patterns between Peter Gabriel and Senegalese musician N’Dour. In editing the film, I’ve tried to choreograph imagery of movements of the elephants with the rhythms. 

The profound relationship between elephants and handlers at Elephant Havens reflects the transformative work that takes place there. More information about Elephant Havens can be found at: www.elephanthavens.org

Song info:

In Your Eyes is a track taken from Peter Gabriel's album So, released in May 1986.

Words and music by Peter Gabriel. Produced by Daniel Lanois and Peter Gabriel.

Published by Real World Music Ltd. / Sony Music Publishing.

‘In Your Eyes’ was the first thing that I’d recorded, I think, with Youssou and it was very important for that reason. It was around the time I was going to Africa and really getting inspired by a lot of the music I was hearing there, particularly rhythmically and vocally. I’ve described Youssou’s voice as “liquid gold” and I think when he comes in singing on that track it’s just a fantastic moment. We’ve since gone on to do a lot of other things, but that was one of the most exciting.
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ARTIST: Peter Gabriel

CREATOR: Mike Bennion

SONG: Wall of Breath FROM: Passion

Video info:

This film is a response to an earlier film I made called ‘memento mori’. In that film a man reflected on the death of his little sister, using glimpses of childhood memories to illustrate his confused feelings, along with his whispered voice over.

This film is his sisters’ reply, from ‘the other side’, the next life. It uses the same visual grammar, a whispered voice, shots about nothing, elements of nature. She advises him to seize the day, not to dwell on the past.

I found Peter’s music in ‘Wall of Breath’ the perfect accompaniment. Quiet, reflective, evocative, allowing the words to breathe.

Song info:

Wall of Breath is a track taken from Peter Gabriel's album Passion, released in June 1989.

Music by Peter Gabriel. Produced by Peter Gabriel.

Published by Real World Music Ltd. / Sony Music Publishing.

[Passion] was one of the most important records for me – an opportunity as a writer to try to do a different sort of job than I usually do. The brief for The Last Temptation Of Christ was to create something that had references to that time and that part of the world, but that had its own character and was to be timeless in a way.

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