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.

With evident ideas of where he wanted his own music to go, Gabriel left in 1975, initially to take a break from music but then work on his own solo career.

"Shock the Monkey" is a song by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released in September 1982 as the first single from his fourth self-titled studio album, issued in the US under the title Security.