Return to Rock-and-Roll Page.Peter and Gordon were talented pop performers in the 60's who rode the wave of the British Invasion. From 1964 to 1967 they put ten records in the U.S. top forty.
Peter Asher was born in London in 1944 and Gordon Waller was born in Braemar, Scotland in 1945. They were friends in school and, inspired by the success of the Everly Brothers, formed a duo in London in 1963. Both Peter and Gordon played the guitar and sang. Peter's sister, British model Jane Asher, was the girlfriend of the Beatles' Paul McCartney. McCartney at the time was part of a legendary songwriting duo (with John Lennon), and he was gracious enough to give some of the songs that he had written to Peter and Gordon to record on their own.
Their first release was a beautiful song written by McCartney titled A World Without Love. In the Spring of 1964 it went to number one in the US and the UK, and would prove to be their biggest selling record ever. Peter and Gordon had talent, and were fortunate to find and record songs that had been written by other well known performers and which became popular with the record buying public. New releases in 1964 and 1965 included Lennon and McCartney's Nobody I Know and I Don't Want To See You Again, Del Shannon's I Go To Pieces, Buddy Holly's True Love Ways, and Phil Spector's To Know Him Is To Love Him, which was recorded by Peter and Gordon as To Know You Is To Love You.
As time went on, Peter and Gordon found their popularity increasing in the US as it waned somewhat in the UK. The popular British duo toured the United States in 1964. They appeared on several US television programs, including Shindig, Hullabaloo, and The Ed Sullivan Show. More hits followed, all of them recorded on the Capitol label. Woman was written by Paul McCartney under a pseudonym, but the secret didn't last for long. Lady Godiva in 1966 was their final hit to reach the top ten, but other releases followed, including Knight In Rusty Armour and Sunday For Tea. The two split up by 1968 but remained friends. Decades later, still the best of friends, they reunited and began performing together once again.
In the 70's Gordon Waller played a role in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Audiences were delighted when he incorporated an Elvis Presley impersonation into his portrayal. Peter Asher became a producer at the Beatles' Apple record label. He met James Taylor and served as his record producer, and went on to a successful career in music production and management. Peter has handled stars as varied as Linda Ronstadt and 10,000 Maniacs.
Gordon Waller suffered cardiac arrest and passed away at age 64 at a hospital in Connecticut on July 17, 2009.
Peter and Gordon had talent and some useful connections, and they certainly were a large part of the British Invasion that was so prominent in the music business in the 1960's. Perhaps their most memorable record is their first release, A World Without Love. There is a top-notch web site.
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Send email to the author, Tom Simon tsimon@tsimon.com.