"
Shock the Monkey
" is a song by English
rock
musician
Peter Gabriel
. It was released in September 1982 as the first single
[3]
from his fourth self-titled studio album, issued in the US under the title
Security
.
The song peaked at number 29 on the US
Billboard
Hot 100
chart and number one on the
Billboard
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks
chart.
[4]
The song was Gabriel's first Top 40 hit in the US. In the UK, the song charted at number 58. According to
AllMusic
, the song has a "relentlessly repeated hook" that "sounded nothing like anything else on the radio at the time".
[5]
Billboard
called it a "mysterious but infectious track...which melds synthesizers, distinctive vocal and dance rhythms to fresh effect."
[6]
Interpretation
Due to its title and the content of the
music video
, the song is frequently assumed to be either an animal rights song or a reference to the famous experiments by
Stanley Milgram
described in his book
Obedience to Authority
(1974).
[7]
It is neither, but the Gabriel song "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" from his fifth studio album
So
(1986) does deal directly with Milgram. Gabriel has described "Shock the Monkey" as "a love song" that examines how jealousy can release one's basic instincts; the monkey is not a literal monkey, but a metaphor for one's feelings of jealousy.
[8]
Gabriel has mentioned that the song's lyrical motif was inspired by
King Kong
's lightning powers in the film
King Kong vs. Godzilla
(1962).
[9]
Music video
The track is known for its bizarre and disturbing music video, written and directed by
Brian Grant
of MGMM Studios, and produced by Scott Millaney.
[10]
[3]
The video was played heavily in the early days of
MTV
. It features Gabriel (in white
face paint
) and a frightened-looking
capuchin monkey
. Gabriel appears in two guises; one is as a businessman/CIA-
MK-Ultra
-type in a dark suit, and the other as a "
modern primitive
" shaman painted and dressed in white with geometric markings in black on his face.
[11]
The video cuts between two rooms, each vaguely resembling an office. A movie projector plays zoo footage of a
gibbon
(technically, a lesser ape, not a monkey) in both rooms. As the video proceeds, events in the 'normal' (black suit) office become increasingly irregular and disturbing with objects in the room in increasing disarray. Gabriel displays increasing pressure, anger, and fear as the chaos occurs, at one point being restrained by three little people. The office footage is increasingly interspersed with black-and-white footage of Gabriel fleeing from something unknown in a wilderness, and a disoriented Gabriel in different settings including
central London
in what looks to be the office of a hospital. At the end of the video, the dark-suited Gabriel merges with the face-painted Gabriel. In the final shot, the two Gabriels' faces are superimposed over that of the gibbon.
Releases
"Shock the Monkey" was released as a 7-inch
picture disc
in addition to the 7-inch and 12-inch black vinyl singles. Club DJ remix service Hot Tracks crafted an 8:12 version that intersperses verses and choruses sung by Gabriel in German with the more familiar English lyrics. A seven-minute-long concert version of the song appears on Gabriel's album
Plays Live
(1983). It is also included on the compilation albums
Greenpeace
(1985),
Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats
(1990) and
Hit
(2003). The music video appears on the DVD compilation
Play
(2004).
Earth Day version
On 22 April 2022, a previously-unreleased alternate mix of "Shock the Monkey" was exclusively released for download on
Bandcamp
under the title "Shock the Monkey (EarthPercent x Earth Day Mix)". Put out as a tribute to
Earth Day 2022
, proceeds from the download were donated to the environmentalist organization EarthPercent, as part of a project where Gabriel and several other artists donated exclusive and rare material.
[12]
[13]
An online contest was held in September 2006 by Realworld Remixed in which musicians and engineers were invited to submit a
remix
of the song. The original tracks were made available for download, offering an opportunity to work with the raw material from a hit song. The winner was
Multiman
's "Simian Surprise".
[16]
Track Listing
7" (SHOCK1)
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Shock The Monkey"
3:58
2.
"Soft Dog (Instrumental)"
4:10
12" (SHOCK12)
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Shock The Monkey"
5:23
2.
"Soft Dog (Instrumental)"
4:10
Personel
Peter Gabriel
- vocals, Linn programming, prophet, CMI, backing vocals
The
nu metal
band
Coal Chamber
recorded a cover version of "Shock the Monkey" on their second studio album
Chamber Music
(1999). The cover featured guest vocals by
Ozzy Osbourne
. The music video was directed by
Dean Karr
. It shows the band playing with Osbourne and it has shots of a monkey.