ABSTRACT
One of the most outstanding examples of this original English rock-stardom was, and still is, Peter Gabriel, whose career has fearlessly continued to explore different aspects of rock-stardom, his own identity and peculiarities of English culture. The idea of unique English rock-stardom enjoyed a temporary revival in the form of Britpop, but without the same counter-cultural and eccentric edge. Britpop was castigated for becoming part of a cult of normality. Eccentricity can be defined as 'capriciousness and whimsicality. The literature on eccentricity tends to concentrate on entertaining characters and their 'wacky' antics from British history. The connection between eccentricity and the English idea of liberty has survived from the nineteenth century. The new English rock-star attacked the puritan side of Victorian tradition but embraced its eccentric Englishness. The performative element and the mediation between an artist and his or her audience were strengthened by the theatrics created by rock-culture in the late 1960s.
