Michael Drewett
Biographic Data
| ID | 188015 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael Drewett |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael |
| FAMILY NAME | Drewett |
| SIGNATURE | DREWETT M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Rhodes University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7300-3083 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 8 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
I Will Do What I Can Do’
This article explores the cyclical relationship between Peter Gabriel, his music, the documentation of human rights, and human rights organization. It emphasizes the importance of the documentation of human rights issues as an influence in Peter Gabriel’s life, and how, in turn, he has reflected his concern for human rights issues within his own creative and more direct activist work. In at least one instance a song of his—‘Biko’—has ended up bei…
Rodriguez, apartheid, and censorship
In the narrative and post-release aftermath of the film Searching for Sugar Man various claims have been made about the relationship between Rodriguez’s album Cold Fact (in particular) and the development of an anti-apartheid rebelliousness among white South African youth in the 1970s and 1980s. These claims have ranged from the unlikely to the incredible. This is a critical investigative article based on interviews, archival research, and explor…
Music and Fear in Night-Time Apartheid
Peter Gabriel, from Genesis to Growing Up
The Eyes of the World Are Watching Now
This chapter explores various readings and people's experiences of the song, in the hope of providing an insight into how it has worked as a political song, and in John Street's words, how it has engaged with the particular political moments and issues Peter Gabriel attempted to encapsulate. It explores the way in which 'Biko' by Peter Gabriel has worked as a protest song which successfully conveys not just a slogan but ideas about Biko's death. …
Exploring ‘space’ in censorship battles
A part of the apartheid state's attempt to maintain hegemony in South Africa was through censorship. The terrain of popular music was no exception. This paper considers popular music censorship by means of the metaphor of space as both a real and imagined area of contest. It is argued that censorship involved contests over the use of space, and those involved in the contest sought to reposition themselves according to the most suitable strategies…
Developing a retro brand community
1980s South Africa was a constrained context within which to produce protest music. Apartheid censorship prevented protest music from reaching a mass market. This was an especially dire situation for white protest musicians who (unlike black musicians) were restricted by a small potential audience and also limited by the cultural boycott, precluding the possibility of an international audience. In the post‐apartheid era some of these earlier prot…
The Eyes of the World Are Watching Now
This paper explores various readings of “Biko” by Peter in an attempt to understand the extraordinary political impact of the song. The song did more than simply act as a vehicle for reflecting Gabriel's thoughts and feelings: it brought about awareness and also challenged and ultimately changed people's lives. It is argued that “Biko” by Peter is not simply a political rally song with an ability to facilitate “collective identity formation” ) bu…
Battling over Borders
This paper explores instances in which popular music captured contesting narratives over the South African border war of the 1970s and 1980s. It is particularly concerned with the use of ‘the border’ as a trope for situating ideological and political contests arising out of the border war and conscription into the South African Defence Force. Popular music was an important means by which such narratives could be expressed. During this period Sout…
Developing a retro brand community
1980s South Africa was a constrained context within which to produce protest music. Apartheid censorship prevented protest music from reaching a mass market. This was an especially dire situation for white protest musicians who (unlike black musicians) were restricted by a small potential audience and also limited by the cultural boycott, precluding the possibility of an international audience. In the post‐apartheid era some of these earlier prot…
The Eyes of the World Are Watching Now
This paper explores various readings of “Biko” by Peter in an attempt to understand the extraordinary political impact of the song. The song did more than simply act as a vehicle for reflecting Gabriel's thoughts and feelings: it brought about awareness and also challenged and ultimately changed people's lives. It is argued that “Biko” by Peter is not simply a political rally song with an ability to facilitate “collective identity formation” ) bu…
Battling over Borders
This paper explores instances in which popular music captured contesting narratives over the South African border war of the 1970s and 1980s. It is particularly concerned with the use of ‘the border’ as a trope for situating ideological and political contests arising out of the border war and conscription into the South African Defence Force. Popular music was an important means by which such narratives could be expressed. During this period Sout…
Battling over Borders
This paper explores instances in which popular music captured contesting narratives over the South African border war of the 1970s and 1980s. It is particularly concerned with the use of ‘the border’ as a trope for situating ideological and political contests arising out of the border war and conscription into the South African Defence Force. Popular music was an important means by which such narratives could be expressed. During this period Sout…
The Eyes of the World Are Watching Now
This paper explores various readings of “Biko” by Peter in an attempt to understand the extraordinary political impact of the song. The song did more than simply act as a vehicle for reflecting Gabriel's thoughts and feelings: it brought about awareness and also challenged and ultimately changed people's lives. It is argued that “Biko” by Peter is not simply a political rally song with an ability to facilitate “collective identity formation” ) bu…
Developing a retro brand community
1980s South Africa was a constrained context within which to produce protest music. Apartheid censorship prevented protest music from reaching a mass market. This was an especially dire situation for white protest musicians who (unlike black musicians) were restricted by a small potential audience and also limited by the cultural boycott, precluding the possibility of an international audience. In the post‐apartheid era some of these earlier prot…
Exploring ‘space’ in censorship battles
A part of the apartheid state's attempt to maintain hegemony in South Africa was through censorship. The terrain of popular music was no exception. This paper considers popular music censorship by means of the metaphor of space as both a real and imagined area of contest. It is argued that censorship involved contests over the use of space, and those involved in the contest sought to reposition themselves according to the most suitable strategies…
Peter Gabriel, from Genesis to Growing Up
The Eyes of the World Are Watching Now
This chapter explores various readings and people's experiences of the song, in the hope of providing an insight into how it has worked as a political song, and in John Street's words, how it has engaged with the particular political moments and issues Peter Gabriel attempted to encapsulate. It explores the way in which 'Biko' by Peter Gabriel has worked as a protest song which successfully conveys not just a slogan but ideas about Biko's death. …
Music and Fear in Night-Time Apartheid
Rodriguez, apartheid, and censorship
In the narrative and post-release aftermath of the film Searching for Sugar Man various claims have been made about the relationship between Rodriguez’s album Cold Fact (in particular) and the development of an anti-apartheid rebelliousness among white South African youth in the 1970s and 1980s. These claims have ranged from the unlikely to the incredible. This is a critical investigative article based on interviews, archival research, and explor…
I Will Do What I Can Do’
This article explores the cyclical relationship between Peter Gabriel, his music, the documentation of human rights, and human rights organization. It emphasizes the importance of the documentation of human rights issues as an influence in Peter Gabriel’s life, and how, in turn, he has reflected his concern for human rights issues within his own creative and more direct activist work. In at least one instance a song of his—‘Biko’—has ended up bei…
Political science (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Art (7 works) · History (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Media studies (6 works) · Music History and Culture (5 works) · Politics (5 works) · Aesthetics (4 works) · Censorship (4 works)