I'm posting this for no other reason than that Peter Gabriel's third album was released on this very day in 1980. Here is a "demo" version of "And Through the Wire," perhaps the least known song on that record and probably my favorite as well. I don't think this is a "demo" at all, but rather an alternate mix from the master take. That's Paul Weller of the Jam playing the snarling guitar riff, and Gabriel sings some different lyrics in this version.

Peter Gabriel [1980] (sometimes called "3" or "Melt") was a revolutionary record upon its release. It was one of the first albums to use gated reverb on the drums, a sound which went on to dominate the rest of the '80s, and its early incorporation of African rhythms and instruments was well ahead of this time. Naturally, Gabriel's American record label at the time, Atlantic, didn't get it, and promptly kicked him off the label. (It was released in the US on Mercury Records, and later Geffen Records after Gabriel became one of that new label's first signings following this record's unsurprising success.)

With his 1980 album, Peter Gabriel anticipated many of the sounds and recording approaches that dominated the rest of the decade. Now with the '80s revival in full swing, there are echoes of this album everywhere.