Released in 1980 on Gabriel’s third solo album, which was self-titled like the first two but can be distinguished by Peter’s melting face on the cover, "Games Without Frontiers" came upon us at a time when song lyrics weren’t there for the taking on the internet. Kate Bush enters with the song's eerie, haunting chorus hook, sung in French ("jeux sans frontières"), as more guitar figures interlock in the background. Toward the end of the song, the majority of the instrumentation behind Bush's vocals drops out, leaving only synth noises and interlocking electronic percussion figures.
The whole effect is creepy yet sonically inventive, from the detailed arrangement to the way the melodies and rhythms contribute to the mood. The chorus has a dour feeling, and Gabriel brings the tone back to the dark side with the line: "If looks could kill/They probably will in games without frontiers/War without tears." "Games Without Frontiers" is a song written and recorded by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. This release is the same as 3309235. It was released on his 1980 self-titled solo album, where it included backing vocals by Kate Bush. "Gabriel spoke at the time of the song’s release about how his innocent original intent seemed to expand into something relevant. "Games Without Frontiers" is a hit 1980 single by Peter Gabriel, released on his third self-titled solo album.
And it also happened to be the title of a European game show pitting international contestants against each other in athletic contests while in costume. Gabriel deftly walks the fine line between harmless and ominous throughout, with the unsettling music helping to color our interpretation: "Dressing up in costumes, playing silly games/Hiding out in treetops, shouting out rude names.
"In the case of "Games Without Frontiers," the tricky part was the refrain floated throughout the song by a young Kate Bush on backing vocals. Unless you had the album, you were meant to play lyrical detective, which led to many of the misheard lines that still persist today.In the first verse, the kids seem to be only worried about who their play partners will be, although things do get a little destructive: "Adolf builds a bonfire, Enrico plays with it." referencing Games Without Frontiers, 7", Single, 6079 492. The music is a tug of war between those contrasting sensibilities.
The second verse renders the political overtones a bit clearer with mention of contrasting colors on flags. It features Kate Bush on backing vocals and became his first UK Top 10 hit, peaking at #4. It was released on his 1980 self-titled solo album, where it included backing vocals by Kate Bush. After that, though? But the chorus hints that the bigger consequences of this foolishness is still to come: "If looks could kill, they probably will/In games without frontiers/War without tears. One of the highlights of Peter Gabriel's masterful third eponymous album, "Games Without Frontiers" nearly became his second Top 40 solo hit in 1980, thanks in part to its unsettling video clip. Overall, it's one of the finest moments preceding Gabriel's commercial breakthrough in the mid-'80s. In any case, those who heard it were entranced, even though they might have been belting out the wrong words to that intoxicating music.There is no important events to showYou have to give credit to Peter Gabriel.
One of the highlights of Peter Gabriel's masterful third eponymous album, "Games Without Frontiers" nearly became his second Top 40 solo hit in 1980, thanks in part to its unsettling video clip. "I just began playing in a somewhat light-hearted fashion – ‘Hans and Lottie…’ – so it looked, on the surface, as just kids.
"She’s so funky, yeh?"
And finally, in 2010, there was a remix contest where stems of the song could be downloaded and contestants could create their own remixes of 'Games Without Frontiers'. Bush repeats her ethereal, sighing, almost alien line, and the process begins all over. The names themselves are meaningless, but they do have certain associations with them. The song also peaked at #48 in the U.S.
It happened quicker in the UK, where the song went Top 10, while, in the US, it made a dent in rock radio but didn’t hit the top 40. A lot of artists in the ’80s gave us lyrics that kept us guessing what they meant. Discover releases, reviews, track listings, recommendations, and more about Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill / Games Without Frontiers at Discogs.
Hence, the laundry list of names, each seeming to represent a different part of the world, some clearly modelled on the names of famous (and infamous) leaders, deciding who is going to "play" with whom.