Dream Peter Reveals His True Voice: Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes

Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes

The story so far:

I've dreaming about Dream Peter since I was 16 (and now I'm -- er -- much older than 16.) He gets his name and face from Peter Gabriel.  He's been my friend, confidant, guide and source of great frustration.  Although I know that my subconscious thought him up in order to get me through my turbulent dream realm, he's such a complex and unpredictable character that I can't help but think of him as somehow a separate entity than myself.

There has been one problem that I haven't written about until now.  Peter's speaking voice in my dreams was often much different than the actual speaking voice of the real Peter Gabriel. (However, his singing voice is that of PG.)  He also was much taller than the real PG and often had scowls or mannerisms that the real PG just doesn't do.

I had to admit that this was disappointing.  I liked my Dream Peter to be as close to the real Peter as possible.  It also makes things much easier to explain on this blog.  "I dream about Peter Gabriel" is much easier to explain than "I dream about a Peter Gabriel that is taller, nastier and has a different speaking voice than the real Peter Gabriel.  Otherwise, they're two peas in a pod."

There also have been times that I have tried to "force" Dream Peter to be more like the real Peter Gabriel.  When I'm dreaming lucidly (aware that I am dreaming) I concentrate on what Dream Peter should look like so that he looks like the lovely PG.  Sometimes in this contest of wills I win but usually I don't.

And now I've recently discovered why.  My subconscious latched onto many men I'd seen on television or in the movies in my tender years, especially in the early 1980s.  Although Peter Gabriel would wind up eclipsing them all starting in 1986, he didn't entirely take control of the man I would wind up dreaming about for the rest of my  life.

When I was about 14 or so, I liked watching a television show called The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  The actor who played Holmes was mesmerizing.  His name was Jeremy Brett.  However, the show was too hard for me to concentrate on and I moved on to other things.  But Holmes never really left my brain.

Last month, I finally wanted to trace down the source of Dream Peter's speaking voice, height and scowls.  I wanted to see if I could find a British actor with the voice I'd dreamt about since childhood.  I finally found an old episode of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on YouTube and nearly fell out of my chair.

There he was.  I did some research on Jeremy Brett (1933 - 1995) and discovered that his real first name was Peter.  I felt something click in my brain.  Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but it was a major moment of realization for me.

So now I do not try to manipulate Dream Peter when he appears or talks to me in my dreams.  He is no longer a Peter Gabriel mimic but his own blend of Sherlock Holmes, Jeremy Brett and Peter Gabriel.  And a bit of myself, too. 

Peter Gabriel