Peter and Gordon

I realize that some readers of this blog may not know who Peter and Gordon, which I have mentioned in a previous posting, are. Peter Asher and Gordon Waller where friends in school in England and liked to play guitar and sing together. At first they called themselves Gordon and Peter and played at school parties. Eventually they changed their act’s name to Peter and Gordon. The school parties was a good place for this young act to start but the guys wanted more. They took to climbing the school’s gate at night and started playing in clubs when they were only 16 or 17 years old. A lot of record company executives were at those clubs and while many showed interest the one they auditioned for and eventually signed with was E.M.I. While they were signed to a contract on their own merits the duo was lucky enough to be friends with one of the Beatles. Paul McCartney was dating Peter’s sister Jane. In those days Paul and John would write songs for other people who they liked. Sometimes Lennon and McCartney would write songs that started out as a Beatles tune but then one of them decided they didn’t like it. What were they going to do with a song that was ready to be recorded but it was not right for the Beatles? The answer is that they gave them away to their friends. Peter and Gordon received at least 3 songs from Paul that were throw a ways and one that was written just for Peter and Gordon.
One of the throw away songs was “A World Without Love.” Paul like the song but John didn’t. John must have felt odd when it turns out that he gave away a #1 hit song. Peter and Gordon topped the charts world wide for one week in 1964 making them the 2nd British act after the Beatles to have a #1 hit song in America. Around this time the Beatles, mostly John and Paul, were being attacked for their success. Critics were saying that if anyone had a hit in the top 40 that was written by Lennon and McCartney it was only because the Beatles were so famous it did not matter how good the song was. Paul took this as a challenge and wrote a song called Woman for Peter and Gordon. However, he did not use his real name. He signed the song as written by Bernard Webb. The song reached #14 on the charts in the USA and it was then they told that it was really written by Paul McCartney.
After a string of hits that ended with them doing novelty songs like Knight In Rusty Armor and Lady Godiva, a song that Peter didn’t like, P & G decided to take a rest from recording. The rest lasted for almost 40 years. Now they have started to get back together on occasion and perform their old hit tunes to the delight of old fans like me and new fans that have just found out about them.
Actually the first time I heard of them was in the 1970’s after they had decided to take a rest. My friend Jeff was a huge fan of 60’s music. I liked that music too but my friendship with Jeff fanned the flames into a near obsession with many groups from that decade. Anyway he introduced me to P & G and I happened to notice he didn’t have a lot of their records. One day in Cincinnati at a place called the Ohio Bookstore I found their first American album in the records section. I didn’t know it was their first one but it was in good condition and it was only selling for $1. My Mom and Dad drove me to his house and I will never for get the look of surprise and enjoyment on his face when I gave it to him. He said he didn’t have this one and that it was a rare find. I told him where I got it. After that we started taking the bus into Cincinnati to visit that store and other book and record stores that we saw ads for. Jeff has wound up with the biggest private record collection in the USA, I may be wrong but the man could open up his own record shop and if you include his sister Marsha’s collection it may be the biggest collection in the world. It comes as no surprise to anyone who knows him that he has made a living out of working in record stores. Usually as the manager.
Getting back to Peter and Gordon. Peter became a manager and producer of such singers as James Taylor and Linda Rondstat. Gordon released a solo album and to me it seemed like he had dropped off the face of the Earth. Actually he was touring the Earth in the show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He had also gotten married and raised a family.
The above photo you can get at this site.