This amazing tribute/protest song by Peter Gabriel about South-African activist Steve Biko, killed in 1977, was a powerful outcry against the
apartheid regime and one of the earliest songs to talk about the dark period of that nation under the British ruling. From "Biko" onwards, many artists
joined the cause against the control and brutality from the apartheid regime, which ended in the 1990's and with a free Nelson Mandela, an activist just as Biko.
Besides Gabriel's noble effort the
cinema also joined the cause with several films and most noticeably Richard Attenborough's classic "Cry Freedom" (1987) is one, which tells the story of Biko
(played by Denzel Washington), his social political activism fighting for a free South Africa and also his friendship with a British journalist (Kevin
Kline). Possibly an idea from the producers, along with theatrical trailers released at the time a music video for the famous Peter Gabriel work was created since
although a hit it never got a video since it was released years before the movie.
The video consists of a live performance from Gabriel and some profile shots of him singing "Biko" while clips of Denzel and Kline are presented. What makes
this a little different than most soundtrack videos is that during some of the instrumental part of the song we can hear lines from the movie, the positive
thoughts expressed by Denzel/Biko and the junction with Gabriel's powerful lyrics is unusually brilliant. So, if you're here because of the song you might
get disappointed because you won't hearing the original version neither just the performance from the artist; but on the other hand you'll be curious enough
to watch Attenborough's film, a very strong picture.
Too bad the song doesn't appear in the movie because it'd be powerful to be played during credits. That was probably a disappointment for those
who went after the movie and walked out without hearing it. But eorge Fenton and Jonas Gwangwa magnificent score and "Cry Freedom" song are equally great,
with a significative use of African rhythms and sounds just as "Biko", a song about tragedy, struggle and a legacy that lives on. 9/10
