Gabriel composed lyrics about a man whose unemployment causes stress in his domestic relationship. He had seen a TV program about the consequences of unemployment on family life, and said that it "played into my own problems at that time.

The inventive music video definitely helped, but the song itself was the perfect blend of pop, soul, funk, and Gabriel's experimental studio techniques that defined his career. Undoubtedly the peak of his mainstream fame, the video for 'Sledgehammer' is consistently voted as one of the best of all time.

Peter Gabriel has been married to Meabh Flynn since 2002. They have two sons together, born in 2001 and 2008, Isaac and Luc. He has two daughters, Anna-Marie (born 1974) and Melanie (born 1976) from his first marriage to Jill Moore.

"Sledgehammer" is a song by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released in April 1986 as the lead single from his fifth studio album, So (1986).