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.

Okay, “Sledgehammer” is unabashedly about sex—big dippers, fruit cages, and all. But the song was also Gabriel's way of paying homage to the '60s soul that soundtracked his youth and drew him to music.

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.

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.