MOZO

Meet Mozo, Gabriel’s long‑lasting fictional multimedia character.

Despite all the difficulty associated with its delivery, Peter Gabriel enjoyed the extended narrative and utilisation of visuals on the lamb lies down on Broadway, forever seen as

‘his baby’. during this period, Gabriel considered the idea of Mozo, another multimedia concept.

Mozo was a ‘mercurial stranger’, an outsider based obliquely on the character of Moses. Mozo was to be a fictional character that came from nowhere, made changes to people’s lives and then abruptly disappeared. his principal method of communication was through short-wave radio, something that had become an obsession for Gabriel during this period.

Mozo was inspired by the aurora consurgens, a medieval work. carl Jung, whom Gabriel had recently become infatuated with as a writer, had attributed the work to st. thomas aquinas. Gabriel discussed the idea with Bob ezrin, who in turn suggested he spoke with pioneering czech theatre group laterna Magica.

Gabriel would grapple with the overarching idea of Mozo right through into his so album in 1986. the character of Mozo is introduced by name in on the air, the opening track of his second album, yet there’s evidence that down the dolce vita and here comes the flood were also at one point intended for use in this concept.