Peter will be singing tomorrow in Torino for the Opening Ceremonies. There is also word that he will be singing "Imagine" with Yoko Ono. David Rhodes will appear at the event for this performance as well, with some sounds from Tony Levin in absentia. (Thanks, StacieDee and Marco!).

About Tony, this is from his website:

Jim Weider band has a show coming up at the Ram’s Head in Anapolis, on Feb 18th. After that it’ll be band rehearsals for the Tony Levin Band, cause we’re hitting the road from the CD release on April 4th. I’ll post the shows, of course, as they’re booked. Italy shows, in early May, are just about booked now. We’re looking at more of Europe for May, with U.S. touring in April and then June onward.

SOOO looking forward to Tony’s CD!

Peter and Gillian Caldwell appeared on Charlie Rose to discuss the new WITNESS project to develop a web portal where anyone witnessing human rights violations could upload video to their site. That part of the interview is about 18 minutes into the show.

You can get the video through Google Video here.

This interview on the BusinessWeek site has some interview snippets.

Musician Peter Gabriel may be best known for hits such as Solsbury Hill and Sledgehammer, but his songs have often had a political edge, as well. His 1980 track Biko, for example, was an homage to South African anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko, who died in prison in 1977. Gabriel continues to make music — he’ll sing at the Turin Winter Olympics this month — but he has been devoting an increasing amount of his time to social causes.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, Gabriel and Gillian Caldwell, a documentary filmmaker who’s executive director of Witness, tried to round up corporate support for a new project: a Web site that would act as a portal for images of human rights violations that may be captured by the proliferating number of video cameras and mobile phones in the hands of people around the world. BusinessWeek European Regional Editor Jack Ewing spoke to Gabriel and Caldwell about the project.

Now, that thing about the Olympics – still watching the Torino 2006 site for some mention of that. So far there is no indication if this means opening or closing ceremonies, or some event in the middle.

But since Peter and the chairman of the Olympic committee had a chance to discuss things at Davos, here’s a hypothetical scenario…

Rogge sidles up to Peter and says, "Hey, sorry about that soccer thing. Wanna sing at my gig?"

Stranger things have happened.

Also petergabriel.com is updated, in fact, I missed an update, they came along so fast. There was a nice writeup about Daby Toure and links to information about his show. Also there is a new update about another artist, Guo Yue.

Peter has recently written an introduction to a new book by Guo Yue, who has an accompanying CD just out on Real World Records.

"I have never read such a vivid account of what it is like to have grown up during the Cultural Revolution in China, especially for a young artist. The story is made all the more tangible by the constant references to food.

I have heard Guo Yue play his music, I have eaten his food, and can guarantee he delivers in a magical way.

What he and Clare have created with this book will leave no one wanting, and everyone hungry." Peter Gabriel

Gillian Caldwell of Witness has been blogging about Davos and her contacts with Peter Gabriel and his discussions there. She noted this today in her WEF blog:

I forgot to mention that I got Peter signed up to be the Muscial Director for Mel Young’s Homeless World Cup which will being teams of homeless people together from more than 40 countries in South Africa in September (he wont be paid to do it of course).

The Homeless World Cup, founded by Mel Young, is an annual street soccer tournament, uniting teams of homeless people from around the world to kick off poverty. Following phenomenal success in Austria 2003, Sweden 2004 and Edinburgh 2005, Cape Town will host the 4th Homeless World Cup in September 2006. The programme has received the support of UEFA, Nike and the United Nations since the beginning. Several world-class football teams support Homeless World Cup teams. England is supported and coached by Manchester United and Spain has links with Real Madrid. Research following the 2004 Homeless World Cup found 74% of players made significant changes to their lives as a direct result. Many find regular employment, come off drugs and alcohol, pursue education, improve their housing, and 16 players have taken up player or coaching positions for semi-professional and professional football clubs. Mel is also the co- founder of The Big Issue Scotland, a weekly street paper sold by homeless people in Scotland; Honorary President of the International Network of Street Papers; and founder and editor in chief of New Consumer Magazine, the UK’s leading Fairtrade and ethical lifestyle magazine empowering individuals to use their purchasing power to create positive world change. Young is author of "Goal! The Story of the Homeless World Cup".

To find out more about the Homeless World Cup, visit their web site here. The Cape Town 2006 Homeless World Cup will run from 23 – 30 September 2006.

Peter Gabriel hits ‘Big Time’ in wrestling world

By Michael Paoletta Sun Jan 29, 1:17 AM ET

NEW YORK (Billboard) –
Peter Gabriel’s "Big Time" has become the official theme of World Wrestling Entertainment’s upcoming "WrestleMania 22," nearly 20 years after the song hit the top 10 in the United States.

The tune is heard in TV and online spots for the annual live and pay-per-view extravaganza. The ads began airing earlier this month and will continue through April 2, when "WrestleMania 22" touches down at the Allstate Arena in Chicago.

WWE fans logging on to http://wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania are able to stream "Big Time" — the song and its accompanying video. The site also spotlights Gabriel’s best-of CD ("Hit" ) and DVD ("Play" ) collections.

Then there is this story from the Tallahassee Democrat, By Kati Schardl DEMOCRAT Staff Writer …

Feb. 20: Moses Pendleton’s dance troupe Momix in a performance using Peter Gabriel’s "Passion" (the soundtrack for "The Last Temptation of Christ" ) at Ruby Diamond Auditorium in Tallahassee.

Nuff said.