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 subsequent hits in America in the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

era, including " I Go to Pieces", "

Lady Godiva Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...

", "

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or Adolescence, adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functi ...

", " True Love Ways" and " Nobody I Know".

History

Peter Asher and his sister Jane were child actors in the 1950s. They played siblings in a 1955 episode of the television series ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...

''. Jane dated

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 ...

between 1963 and 1968, and Peter and Gordon recorded several songs written by McCartney but credited to

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 ...

. Those hits included " A World Without Love" (US & UK No. 1), " Nobody I Know" (US No. 12; UK No. 10) and " I Don't Want to See You Again" (US No. 16, but not a hit in the UK). A World Without Love - Cash Box ad 1964

With "

" (1966: US No. 14, UK No. 28), McCartney used the pseudonym Bernard Webb to see if he could have a hit song without his name attached. First pressings of the US Capitol single listed the composer as "A. Smith". Peter and Gordon also recorded the

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

–penned Lennon–McCartney song " If I Fell", which was previously recorded by the Beatles and released on their 1964 album '' A Hard Day's Night''. Other hits for the duo included " I Go to Pieces" (US No. 9), written by

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit " Runaway", which was covered la ...

and given to Peter and Gordon after the two acts toured together. The duo also recorded remakes of

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

's " True Love Ways" (1965: US No. 14, UK No. 2), and The Teddy Bears' " To Know Him Is To Love Him", retitled "To Know You Is To Love You" (1965: US No. 24, UK No. 5). Peter and Gordon had their last hit in the UK in late 1966 with "

", which reached No. 16 there (and No. 6 in the US), whilst their success lasted into 1967 in the US, with "Knight in Rusty Armour" and "Sunday for Tea" both registering in the upper reaches of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 that year. Gordon waller

Peter Asher subsequently became head of A&R for

Apple Records Apple Records is a British record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists inclu ...

. He continued his career as a recording executive in California, where he managed and produced

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

and

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Asher also produced recordings for

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, 10,000 Maniacs, and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

. His daughter, Victoria Asher, is a member of the alternative group Cobra Starship. In August 2005, Peter and Gordon reunited onstage for the first time in more than 30 years, as part of two tribute concerts for Mike Smith of

The Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark was the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964, they had their first UK top-ten single, ...

in New York City. This was followed by full concerts at The Fest for Beatles Fans (formerly Beatlefest) conventions that began the following year. Paul McCartney heard about the reunion shows and sent a message to congratulate them on reuniting. Peter and Gordon told Palmiere at the Las Vegas Festival for Beatles Fans that they were to perform at the 2006 Adopt-A-Minefield show with Paul McCartney, who subsequently cancelled it because of his impending divorce from Heather Mills. In the spring of 2007 and 2008, Peter and Gordon were featured performers in the EPCOT ''Flower Power'' concert series at Walt Disney World. Also in 2007, they performed as part of ''Love-In: A Musical Celebration'', a tribute to the music of the 1960s, which was filmed at the Birch North Park Theatre in San Diego, California, and released on DVD in March 2009. 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. The pair played numerous times at the ''50 Winters Later'' celebration, in February 2009, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of

, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. This was held in Clear Lake, Iowa, at the Surf Ballroom. They subsequently performed in Chicago, New Jersey, and at the Festival for Beatles Fans convention in Las Vegas on 1 and 2 July 2009, where, according to a report by journalist Peter Palmiere for ''Beatlefan'' magazine, the pair were the performing highlight of the convention. Gordon Waller died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on 17 July 2009 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 ...

, at the age of 64.

Certifications

"A World Without Love", "Nobody I Know", "True Love Ways", and "Lady Godiva" each sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs.

Discography

References

External links

McCartney Thrilled By Peter & Gordon Reunion

* * * {{Authority control British Invasion artists English pop music duos British male musical duos Capitol Records artists