So

“So” is Peter Gabriel’s fifth solo album. It is his most popular album, co-produed by him and Daniel Lanois. The album featured great collaborations that include duets with Laurie Anderson and Kate Bush, and the partnership with Youssou N’Dour for “In Your Eyes”. In addition to its sublime quality, part of the album’s success is due to the great visual work that was the video for “Sledgehammer”, the second track on the album, whose video was directed by Stephen R. Johnson, the most awarded video of the history of MTV’s VMA.

There is always wisdom from hindsight. And because ‘So’ was my most successful record, I think that a lot of people, particularly in America, think that it was designed to be that. From the other end of it, you never really know which records are going to do well. You know that some things are going to be so obscure and difficult for a mainstream audience that they’re no-hopers but generally, with what I do, it’s hard to predict which albums are going to do well. You know certain songs have a better chance of getting on the radio when you do them, for sure, but I think part of the reason that ‘So’ works so well was that the band was really firing off each other and we had a great sound and production team. It was compact in the process and the way it was put together.

• Peter Gabriel