Peter Gabriel: Back To Front review

That Sledgehammer has done him well

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

“We were early pioneers... of dad-dancing,” deadpans Peter Gabriel halfway through this 2013 concert movie.

The former Genesis frontman pioneered high-concept gigs and forward-thinking pop, too, as shown by the ambulant lighting rigs and colour-coded staging – shot in eye-jabbing 4K – as he segues from a monochrome ‘greatest hits’ set to a colour revisit of his fifth studio album, 1986’s So .

‘Don’t Give Up’ and ‘Sledgehammer’ have aged well – even Gabriel’s MTV mainstays flaunt heady amounts of heart and off-kilter art.

The talking-heads inserts distract but the end result is a fresh nostalgia trip and – thanks to those pioneering dad-dancing moves – a winning arena-show snapshot.

Freelance writer

Kevin Harley is a freelance journalist with bylines at Total Film, Radio Times, The List, and others, specializing in film and music coverage. He can most commonly be found writing movie reviews and previews at GamesRadar+. 

Latest in Action Movies
The cast of Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts director says the new Marvel movie is inspired by Toy Story 3: "Can they get out of the trash can together?"
Harrison Ford as the Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World
“The reveal was a big mistake”: MCU fans pick the twists they wish Marvel movie trailers didn’t spoil beforehand
Robert Downey Jr announces his Doctor Doom casting at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
"He is so dialed in": Robert Downey Jr. is coming up with backstory and costume ideas for Doctor Doom ahead of Avengers: Doomsday
Bullet Train Explosion on Netflix
Upcoming Netflix movie is like the Speed sequel we never got, and it’s coming next month
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame
The Russo brothers have an idea about Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars runtimes, and one might reach Avengers: Endgame's record
Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm in The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Fantastic Four: First Steps concept art contains an unexpected MCU Easter Egg that could change the Marvel movie completely
Latest in Reviews
Doggerland player board
Doggerland review: "A delicate dance of survival and management that doesn't feel weighted toward a single strategy"
Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 DEX gaming mouse standing upright on a wooden desk
Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 DEX review: "a force to be reckoned with"
Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again season 1 review: "There have been far worse Marvel projects, but few as disappointing as this"
RTX 5070 Founders Edition and Asus Prime OC graphics card standing vertical on woodgrain desk next to plant and monitor
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 review: "far from a RTX 4090 rival, but I’d still call it a solid 4K GPU"
The two characters in Split Fiction dressed in fantasy gear each with a dragon on their back
Split Fiction review: "Cements Hazelight as the master of co-op games"
Acer Nitro V 14 gaming laptop on a wooden desk
Acer Nitro V 14 review: "a solid value proposition… if you can find one"