Photographer Dan Wilton on Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer

Date
7 July 2014
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I’m glad we caught Dan Wilton while he was on dry land with some time to spare, most of the time he’s cavorting around the world getting drunk in hotel rooms with really cool bands or pursuing his ongoing photography project looking at his beloved American football. We love Dan’s work, and Dan himself, and knowing how much he loves pop culture we asked him tot ell us about his favourite ever music video. Here he is…

Dan Wilton: Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer

Oh my god. I can’t emphasise quite how gutted I am that Nicos Livesy and Tom Bunker already chose Money for Nothing. It’s by far and away my first choice and I’m currently in the grip of a mild Dire Straits obsession.

Saying that, I always thought it was really missing a pair of dancing, oven-ready chickens. Sledgehammer doesn’t suffer from this problem.

I can actually remember it totally blowing my head off the first time I saw it way back in the 1980s. I really love the start, the close-up of his dancing earlobes and lips and from there on in it’s just one big bag of unadulterated joy. My dad is a huge Peter Gabriel fan too which is probably why I love it so much. Apparently Uncle Pete was repeatedly electrocuted by the lightbulb suit during filming too, what a trooper! And it’s the most played video in MTV history. And speaking of those chickens again – the one and only Nick Park animated them….Wallace and Gromit chickens! What more do you need?

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Peter Gabriel: Sledgehammer

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Peter Gabriel: Sledgehammer

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Peter Gabriel: Sledgehammer

Above

Peter Gabriel: Sledgehammer

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Peter Gabriel: Sledgehammer

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About the Author

Liv Siddall

Liv joined It’s Nice That as an intern in 2011 and worked across online, print and events, and was latterly Features Editor before leaving in May 2015.

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