Peter Gabriel in rage over Oscar snub

The Oscars ceremony, which takes place on February 22, has already seen its first major hissy fit. Peter Gabriel (pictured), the former singer with the 1970s band Genesis, has pulled out of the ceremony after learning his performance as a best song nominee would be limited to just 65 seconds.

The singer, co-nominated for his composition Down To Earth from the animated Disney movie Wall·E, said he had hoped to perform the song in its entirety, but the producers of the Academy Awards informed him they are cutting back on this segment of the proceedings in order to devote time to the more popular elements in a bid to boost ratings.

Gabriel, 59, who wrote the number with American Thomas Newman, is not happy. "The songwriters are a very small part of the filmmaking process, but we still work bloody hard," he said. "I'm an old fart and it's not going to do me any harm to make a protest."

Gabriel, 59, who is in the running for his first Oscar, said he hoped the Soweto Gospel Choir would perform in his place but added that he will still attend the ceremony on February 22. Down To Earth is up against stiff competition, principally two songs from Slumdog Millionaire written by Bollywood songwriter AR Rahman. So far, Gabriel hasn't fared that well in the annual movie awards, losing out to Bruce Springsteen's track from The Wrestler at the Golden Globes last month.

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