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Cover of Peter Gabriel by Peter Gabriel
Cover: Peter Gabriel

Song · Peter Gabriel

“Games Without Frontiers” by Peter Gabriel

From the album Peter Gabriel (1980)

“Games Without Frontiers” by Peter Gabriel appears on 53 radio countdowns from 25 stations between 1980 and 2026. It was first released in 1980 on the album Peter Gabriel. Its best result is #20 on the CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #25 alternative song of 1980, #1,034 alternative song of all time and #415 of the '80s.

53countdowns
25stations
#20best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1980–2026years charted

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Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers

Video from YouTube (Peter Gabriel). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Games Without Frontiers" came off Peter Gabriel's third self-titled album in 1980, and it's about as eerie as pop singles get. Steve Lillywhite produced, Hugh Padgham engineered, and the two of them joined Gabriel on the whistling that drifts through the track, while Larry Fast and Gabriel lay down synthesizers and bass synth over Jerry Marotta's drums and David Rhodes' guitar. Kate Bush's backing vocal hangs over it all like a playground chant heard through fog.

The lyric is usually read as a jab at war and diplomacy played like kids' games. The video drives it home with Olympic footage and clips from Duck and Cover, the 1951 schoolroom film that taught children how to survive a nuclear attack. It gave Gabriel his first UK top-10 hit.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1980 25 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1980 106

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 223 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 443 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1988 170 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) 200
1989 133 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 418 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1989 328 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1990 293 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 207 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1991 295 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1994 349 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 432 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 317 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1997 353 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1999 302 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 346 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 414 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 20 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 323 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2001 323 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 1321 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 416 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2001 486 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 1938 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1845 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 312 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2004 740 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 933 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 335 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2006 331 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 1526 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1452 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1469 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1497 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1565 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1622 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1660 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 701 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2019 704 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2020 724 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 1015 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 304 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 830 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2022 874 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2022 895 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 379 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 819 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2023 211 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 770 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 918 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 1098 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 492 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2023) 500
2026 597 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: Games without Frontiers.

Charting alongside it in 1980

Best songs of 1980 →
  1. 1And the Cradle Will RockVan Halen
  2. 2Another One Bites the DustQueen
  3. 3Whip ItDevo
  4. 4Don't Stand So Close to MeThe Police
  5. 5Once in a LifetimeTalking Heads
  6. 6You Shook Me All Night LongAC/DC

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