On Monday, Harry Styles sat down for his first-ever interview on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show. The pop star and the shock jock radio host touched on a number of a topics, including their mutual love for artists like Paul McCartney, David Bowie and Stevie Nicks. The former One Direction member also demonstrated his appreciation for Peter Gabriel by performing a cover of the Genesis frontman’s classic “Sledgehammer”.
Calling the 1986 single one of the “best mixed” pop tracks of all time, Styles delivered a rendition that remained faithful to the original, horns and all. After all, why mess with perfection? Styles recorded his recently released sophomore solo album, Fine Line, at Gabriel’s own Real World Studio in London, so his appreciation for the innovative musician clearly runs deep.
Listen to the cover below.
The “Sledgehammer” performance is just the latest in a recent string of interesting cover choices from Styles. He tackled Lizzo’s “Juice” on BBC Radio 1 back in December, and even shared the stage with her for a duet of the song during Super Bowl weekend. During his next trip to the BBC, he covered Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”.
Elsewhere during the interview with Howard Stern, Styles announced that rising singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham will be joining him at his “Harryween” Halloween concerts in New York City in addition to Orville Peck. Styles has a ton of other shows lined up on his extensive tour docket, and you can get tickets to all his upcoming gigs here.
Also during his Stern appearance, Styles talked about being mugged in London back in February. “Yes, I was robbed on Valentine’s Day,” he joked. “That’s what you get for being single these days. I should have had other plans.”
He went on to detail the incident, explaining how a group of hooded men began following him as he was walking home. They asked if he smoked weed, and when he said he didn’t, they demanded his money. When they tried to take his phone and one of the men flashed a knife tucked into his pants under his shirt, Styles ran away.
Styles recalled (via Buzzfeed),
“Two cars were coming and I felt an opportunity to sprint and run. I ran into the road and I tried to stop a car. They don’t let me in. Tried another, they don’t let me in. I just turned and ran back toward the village area where I live. I guess because they had some cash and stuff they ended up just turning around.”
Harry Styles Covers Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”: Stream
Ben Kaye