Gordon Trueman Riviere Waller (4 June 1945 – 17 July 2009) was a Scottish guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as Gordon of the 1960s pop music duo

Peter and Gordon Peter and Gordon were a British pop duo, composed of Peter Asher (b. 1944) and Gordon Waller (1945–2009), who achieved international fame in 1964 with their first single, the million-selling "A World Without Love". The duo had several subseq ...

, whose biggest hit was the no. 1 million-selling single "

A World Without Love "A World Without Love" is a song recorded by the British duo Peter and Gordon and released as their first single in February 1964. It was included on the duo's debut album in the UK, and in the US on an album of the same name. The song was wri ...

Biography

Waller was born in

Braemar Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee, sitting at an elevation of . The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' p ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, Scotland, the son of a prominent surgeon. The family moved to

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

when Waller was a child, where Waller gained entrance to

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

. In attending that school he met fellow student

Peter Asher Peter Asher (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and re ...

, likewise the son of a doctor, and they began playing together as a duo – Peter and Gordon. Asher mentioned in a 2006 interview that "Our voices are quite different, Gordon's and mine, but we tried singing together experimentally and we found that we could achieve this very nice harmony." Asher is the elder brother of actress and businesswoman

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)''The International Who's Who of Women'', 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and through her associatio ...

, who in the mid-1960s was girlfriend of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

. Through this connection he and Waller were often given unrecorded

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney is the songwriting partnership between the English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is widely considered one of the greatest, best known and most successful musical collabo ...

songs to perform, most notably the duo's first and biggest hit, "

" (1964).

Peter and Gordon disbanded in 1968. Afterward, Waller attempted a solo career with little success, releasing one record, ''...and Gordon''. On this album Waller used a New York-based group White Cloud, featuring Teddy Wender on keyboards. He also appeared in a production of ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...

'' as Pharaoh in 1971, a performance that he reprised on the LP. Waller first performed "Joseph" at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

, later reprising the role at the

Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to: Given name * Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator Surname * A. S. Albery, British politician * Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director and impresario * Do ...

in London's West End. In the mid-1970s Waller worked as a photocopier salesman with Rank Xerox in Leicester whilst living in Everdon, Northamptonshire. In 1995, he moved to Los Angeles, California, and started a publishing company, Steel Wallet International. Ltd., with his longtime friend and girlfriend, Georgiana Steele. After his divorce from Gay Robbins was final, he and Georgiana married on 15 August 1998, although they divorced in 2007. Waller returned to recording in 2002 as part of the ''He's a Rebel: The Gene Pitney Story Retold'' project produced by

Gary Pig Gold Gary Pig Gold (born May 30, 1955 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, author and journalist. His fanzine ''The Pig Paper'' was Canada's second independently published music magazine, and among the recor ...

. In 2007, Waller released a solo album ''Plays the Beatles'', featuring a new recording of "Woman", which Paul McCartney wrote under the pseudonym of Bernard Webb, and which had been a Peter and Gordon hit in the mid-1960s. In 2008, he followed up with the release of ''Rebel Rider''. On 19 July 2008, Peter and Gordon performed together at The Cannery Casino in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. Also on the bill that night were

Chad & Jeremy Chad & Jeremy were a British musical duo consisting of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, who began working in 1962 and had their first hit song in the UK with " Yesterday's Gone" (1963). That song became a hit in the United States in the following ...

. Both duos sang the final concert song ("Bye Bye Love") together for only the second time. On 21 August 2008, they performed a free concert on the pier in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, California, briefly accompanied by

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

. On 2 February 2009 Gordon performed with Asher at the

Surf Ballroom The Surf Ballroom (also called the Surf) is a Historic Rock and Roll Landmark at 460 North Shore Drive, Clear Lake, Iowa, United States. The Surf is closely associated with the event known colloquially as "The Day the Music Died" – early rock ...

as part of a tribute concert marking the 50th anniversary of "

the Day the Music Died On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. The event became known as " ...

". Waller married three times. The first two ended in divorce. His first wife was Gay Robbins; his second marriage was to Georgiana Steele. His third marriage, to Josenia (Jen) Couldrey, lasted from March 2008 until his death. He is survived by his two grown daughters, Phillippa and Natalie, both by first wife Gay, and a granddaughter, Tyla, as well as both his sisters, Diana and Annie. Waller resided in the village of

Fowey Fowey ( ; , meaning ''beech trees'') is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, ...

, in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, for eight years, when his daughters were young. At the time of his death, his first wife continued to reside in Fowey and his daughters remained associated with the village.Las Vegas tribute to sisters' pop star dad, Gordon Waller
cornwalllive.com, May 12, 2010. Retrieved 2015-05-25. In later life, Waller lived in

Ledyard, Connecticut Ledyard ( ) is a New England town, Town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States, located along the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. The town is named after Colonel William Ledyard, a American Revol ...

. He went into cardiac arrest on the evening of 16 July 2009, and died aged 64 of a heart attack early in the morning of 17 July 2009 at Backus Hospital in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic River, Yantic, Shetucket River, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River f ...

. On 29 May 2010 a sold-out tribute performance for Gordon Waller was held at the Cannery Casino and Hotel, which was Waller's favourite Las Vegas venue. Performers included

Chad and Jeremy Chad & Jeremy were a British musical duo consisting of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, who began working in 1962 and had their first hit song in the UK with "Yesterday's Gone (song), Yesterday's Gone" (1963). That song became a hit in the United S ...

Denny Laine Brian Frederick Hines (29 October 1944 – 5 December 2023), known professionally as Denny Laine, was an English musician who co-founded two major rock bands: the Moody Blues and Wings. Laine played guitar in the Moody Blues from 1964 to 1966 ...

Terry Sylvester Terence “Terry” Sylvester (born 8 January 1947) is an English musician and songwriter. He is a former member of the Escorts, the Swinging Blue Jeans (1966–1969), and the Hollies. In the latter role, he took on the high parts formerly su ...

The Hollies The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in Manchester in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and ...

Ian Whitcomb Ian Timothy Whitcomb (10 July 1941 – 19 April 2020) was an English entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor. As part of the British Invasion, his hit song " You Turn Me On" reached number 8 on the ''B ...

, John Walker of the Walker Brothers and

DJ Fontana Dominic Joseph Fontana (March 15, 1931 – June 13, 2018) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 14 years. In 1955, he was hired to play drums for Presley, which marked the beginning of a 15-year relationshi ...

, Elvis Presley's drummer.

Discography

With Peter and Gordon

* ''In Touch With...'' (1964) * ''Peter and Gordon'' (1964) * ''World Without Love'' (1964) * ''Hurtin' 'n' Lovin (1965) * ''I Don't Want to See You Again'' (1965) * ''I Go to Pieces'' (1965) * ''True Love Ways'' (1965) * ''Best of Peter and Gordon'' (1966) * ''Peter and Gordon Sing & Play the Hits of Nashville'' (1966) * ''Somewhere'' (1966) * ''Woman'' (1966) * ''In London for Tea'' (1967) * ''Knight in Rusty Armour'' (1967) * ''Lady Godiva'' (1967) * ''Hot Cold & Custard'' (1968) * ''Best of Peter and Gordon'' (1983) * ''Hits of Peter and Gordon'' (1983) * ''Best of Peter and Gordon'' (1991) * ''Ultimate Peter and Gordon'' (2001) * ''Definitive Collection: Knights in Rusty Armour'' (2003)

By himself

* ''...and Gordon'' (1972) * ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (Gordon Waller, as Pharaoh ) (1974) *Race with Destiny (1996) * ''Plays the Beatles'' (by Gordon Waller) (2007) * ''Rebel Rider'' (by Gordon Waller) (2008)

References

External links

A biography of Gordon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Gordon 1945 births 2009 deaths ABC Records artists People educated at Westminster School, London Scottish expatriate musicians in the United States Scottish male guitarists Scottish male singer-songwriters Scottish singer-songwriters 20th-century Scottish male singers 20th-century British guitarists People from Ledyard, Connecticut People from Fowey 20th-century British male musicians British male singer-songwriters People from Braemar