Peter Gabriel At United CenterThe progressive-rock pioneer decided to add a special twist to his latest project, New Blood, an album of orchestral reinventions. Banning drums and guitar from his studio, [lastfm]Peter Gabriel[/lastfm] set about recording his New Blood album with a 46-piece orchestra, a move that required a complete rearrangement of each and every song. When it finally hit the stage earlier this year in London, the results were simply magical — and you can watch a Live on Letterman concert webcast right here (or on CBS.com) on Wednesday, Nov. 9 live from New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater at 9pm Eastern (6pm Pacific).

To get geared up, here are 20 great videos and facts you might not have known about the singer, songwriter, producer and former member of [lastfm]Genesis[/lastfm].

1. Peter was born and raised in Surrey, England. He attended private prep schools growing up learning to play the clarinet at an early age. The pupils he met at Charterhouse prep school would go on to a have a big influence in Peter’s life.

One More Thing You(Probably) Didn’t Know About Peter Gabriel