Faux tribal vocals in late 70s, Early 80s Pop/Art Pop/Art Rock

I picked up a vinyl copy of Peter Gabriel 3 in a charity just before xmas, it’s a record I know well and haven’t really listened to for a long time, but while revisiting I started to wonder about some of his jarring vocal tics that crept in here and lasted until PG4, then more or less vanished by So.

As well as his weird goose honks and odd ascending tails that he attached to the ends of lines (probably reaching critical mass on PG Plays Live) there’s a whole menu of approximately African chants, percussive exhortations and ululations.

I got to wondering if it really started with PG? Did the trend begin when musicians like him started pulling in non-western influences?

It’s all over UK chart music from the period and onto the mid-eighties, I’m sure there are tons of examples, but people like Adam Ant, U2, The Dream Academy & Red Box spring immediately to mind.

I bet The Thompson Twins and Duran Duran have a couple tucked away in their back catalogue.

Then there’s this rather egregious example -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL_c4J4M4Qc

This might perhaps be more of a UK-centric question, but where do we think it all began and why?

Also, please to include some notable examples/favourites/least favourites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0k6nXLwZrY

Paul Young's version of "Love of the Common People"

Of course "I Eat Cannibal"

Can't really speak to UK artsy origins but in the US we craved gimmickry and novelties. Not as considered or sophisticated as PG, maybe, but faux-tribal was a place to go that the Beatles and Bowie hadn't already been. In charts that loved Valley Girl, Pass the Dutchie, Disco Duck, Puttin' on the Ritz, children's choirs, whistling solos, spoken-word Vincent Price, neun­und­neunzig sans frontiers... it all fit together fine

Does Sting's irritating "Banana Boat Song" thing count?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PLGLATbfpY

Also this seems like something Andy Partridge must have done at least once.

(xp) LOL!

obv. stuff like Remain in Light and My Life in the Bush of Ghosts too

there was obviously a mini-trend for this sort of thing in the 60s...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09SXTH699xE

see also R*lf H*rris - Sun Arise

the main 80s thing it makes me think of is Jimmy The Hoover which is frankly terrible...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr9h5xBQz3k

... "It's Nearly Africa" by XTC is also frankly terrible tbf.

I guess 'Life In A Northern Town' is another prominent example

Oh lord, I had completely forgotten about that Jimmy The Hoover thing

Talking Heads - I Zimbra was 1979 btw so that pre-dates Peter Gabriel

aw they taken down the music video, anyway King Trigger - River

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7FLNVSTiL0

Yeah, Eno, the connective tissue here maybe. That was some sort of Hugo Ball sound poetry experiment iirc.

This song almost singlehandedly ruins one of Iggy's best songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdvCwGvR6hE

Best albums, I mean. New Values is 90% a masterpiece, and then this thing arrives at the end.

I think what I'm most interested in is the artist's motivation in plonking some tribal backing vox or hooks down in an otherwise western-sounding pop/rock tune. I suppose that discounts some Adam Ant songs.

this is one i really like by the early 80s Bristol indie band Electric Guitars:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SojO-RTjTqc
Electric Guitars - Language Problems (1982)

ugh that Iggy song is just the fucking vilest thing

Joni Mitchell "The Jungle Line" for a particularly early example. Later covered by Thomas Dolby on a b-side.

Yes on Electric Guitars, who I first heard when they opened for Peter Gabriel in the States.

oh wow - jealous!

This is an amazing one too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd6wGTdWFiE
Brian Briggs - Aeo 2 (1981)

Yeah, Eno, the connective tissue here maybe. That was some sort of Hugo Ball sound poetry experiment iirc.

― Maresn3st, Friday, January 3, 2025 2:11 PM (twelve minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

speaking of eno, does the last two minutes of this qualify for the thread?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAD1j32TiiY

another personal favourite...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qBtq-6Gu-E
Zinc - Amazon (1982)

... "It's Nearly Africa" by XTC is also frankly terrible tbf.

― Please play Lou Reed's irritating guitar sounds (Tom D.)

#3 on my XTC Poll ballot!

and lest we forget...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrSVrcYt2m0
King Crimson - Thela Hun Ginjeet (1981)

indoor life - miuzu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ahhMDK4_PI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFAk0fyjN14
Savage Progress -- My Soul Unwraps Tonight (1984)

These are all great, bravo!

Joni Mitchell "The Jungle Line" for a particularly early example. Later covered by Thomas Dolby on a b-side.

Burundi beat and glam rock = Adam & the Ants

Things like Destination Zululand by King Kurt also

Sinker could answer this but i wonder if the soundtrack from If.... was at all relevant?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZzHbkHvHus

I idly wonder whether the widespread availability/use of samplers has something to do with this trendlet

I’m sure The The did other African inspired tracks but this epic was the one which sprang to mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unVf6EUX2GU

Sympathy for the Devil is an early one for trial sounding drum beat though not sure if the whoot-hoos are particularly trial

Trial=tribal lol

Sympathy For The Devil invented Italo house too

I am not sure that I'd call Latin / Afro-Cuban drumming "tribal."

earliest tribal beat in rock was probably the bo diddley rhythm, he had the whole call and response chanting thing going on too, onviously a massive influenece on the stones et al

and then you have garage bands doing stuff in that style, i.e. the strangeloves who wrote the original 'i want candy' which went on to be covered by bow wow wow during that whole 80s phase of uk faux tribal rock

we had some very bad tribal iggy upthread, but this is the good tribal iggy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxsx9S6CHNw