No Self Control (Peter Gabriel song)

"No Self Control" is a song written and performed by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released in 1980 as the second single released from his third self-titled album and peaked at number 33 in the UK.

Background
The song was inspired by Steve Reich's composition Music for 18 Musicians. "Steve Reich had done this wonderful record called Music for Eighteen Musicians, which involved marimbas and I think, of all the systems composers, his work had a lot of textures and colours and grooves to them that I really responded to. So I tried to involve elements of that in the work."

Percussionist Morris Pert supplied the song's marimba work, which underpins the composition. Wordless backing vocals from both Gabriel and Kate Bush enter following the introduction of Pert's marimba ostinato. The marimba playing, which author Durrell Bowman described as "rhythmically insistent" and "minimalist", drops out at the song's more rock–oriented bridge, which includes instrumentation of electric guitar, bass, and drums, the latter of which was provided by Phil Collins. Guitarist David Rhodes played his parts on a Fender Jazzmaster through a Eurotec Black Box Fuzz Module.

Prior to being recorded for Gabriel's 1980 studio album, the song was performed live under the working title "I Don't Know How to Stop". Later live performances, such as on Plays Live (1983), were slower and more subdued than the studio recording. Gabriel and his China 1984 touring band performed "No Self Control" on BBC One's Top of the Pops in May 1980.

Critical reception
In his retrospective review of Peter Gabriel's third eponymous release, Chris Roberts of The Quietus described the song as a "beautifully structured and subtly aggressive" song with a "compelling construct of synths and riffs." Graeme Thompson of Uncut magazine said that "No Self Control" was one of the album's "terrific songs" that was "greatly enhanced by a vaulting spirit of adventure."

7" UK single (1980)

 * 1) "No Self Control" – 3:47
 * 2) "Lead a Normal Life" – 4:10

Personnel

 * Peter Gabriel – lead vocals, piano
 * Kate Bush – backing vocals
 * David Rhodes – guitar
 * Robert Fripp – guitar
 * John Giblin – bass guitar
 * Dick Morrissey – saxophone
 * Larry Fast – synthesizers, processing
 * Phil Collins – drums
 * Morris Pert – percussion

In other works
It was used in the season three episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, "The City That Bleeds".