Sledgehammer was the first single to be taken from Peter Gabriel's fifth solo studio album So, and was originally released on 21 April, 1986. A top five single in the UK and a Hot 100 #1 single in the USA, Sledgehammer — with its multi-award winning video, directed by Stephen R Johnson — heralded Gabriel's shift into the mainstream consciousness and provided a first indication of So's irresistible marriage of the artistic and the commercial. "I'd been revisiting my childhood obsession with 1960s soul music and was even considering doing a full album of covers, but instead I wrote Sledgehammer as more of a tribute to singers like Otis Redding. This was the end of the idea of me being a sort of cult artist at the fringes of the mainstream." Exclusive for Record Store Day 2026, Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer single is being re-issued to celebrate its 40th anniversary as a zoetrope picture disc, using images taken from the ground-breaking video. Tracklist Sledgehammer (Extended Mix) Don't Break This Rhythm I Have the Touch (85 Remix)
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