Peter is co-founder of the group Genesis with whom he made seven albums. He has also recorded eleven solo albums and composed soundtracks for films including Birdy (1984); The Last Temptation of Christ (1989); and Rabbit Proof Fence (2002) as well as the Oscar-nominated song 'Down to Earth' for the film Wall-E (2008). In 1980 Peter founded WOMAD (World of Music Arts and Dance), which has presented over 150 festivals in over 40 countries.

A long time advocate for human rights, Peter coordinated and participated in Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! Tour in 1988 and also co-founded WITNESS to give cameras and computers to human rights activists around the world. In cooperation with WITNESS, Peter was instrumental in the launch of The Hub, dubbed 'a YouTube for Human Rights'.

Peter's business interests cover music, media and technology and include the Real World group of companies, OD2 which has now become Nokia's Music Store and Solid State Logic, the world's leading manufacturer of mixing consoles for music recording, broadcast and post-production.

Peter has received many awards for his pioneering work in the fields of music and human rights, including the Man of Peace award of the Nobel Peace Laureates, the 'Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres', BT's Digital Music Pioneer Award and Grammy awards for his music and video work. 'Sledgehammer' was voted best video of all time, and his interactive work 'Eve', won the Milia D'Or for Multimedia.