“Rather than make a traditional covers record, I thought it would be much more fun to create a new type of project in which artists communicated with each other and swapped a song for a song, i.e. you do one of mine and I’ll do one of yours, hence the title
– Scratch My Back – And I’ll Scratch Yours.”
Peter Gabriel, 2013

Scratch My Back…And I’ll Scratch Yours is a series of song exchanges in which Gabriel and other leading artists reinterpret each other’s songs. The ?rst half of this double album, titled Scratch My Back, was originally released in 2010. Gabriel covers work by seasoned superstars like David Bowie, Paul Simon and Lou Reed, but he also took on marvelous interpretations of work by younger acts like Arcade Fire, Bon Iver and Radiohead.

In 2013, most of these artists returned the favour on …And I’ll Scratch Yours. The reciprocating artists opted for differing approaches to Peter’s songs. A few chose to radically reinterpret the original material, in the process leaving it barely recognisable
– Lou Reed’s snarling “Solsbury Hill” or the frighteningly futuristic version of “Mother Of Violence” by Brian Eno, co-writer of David Bowie’s “Heroes” covered by Gabriel on Scratch My Back. Other contributors include Arcade Fire (“Games Without Frontiers”), Elbow (“Mercy Street”) and Regina Spektor (“Blood Of Eden”).