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Top tracks from this artist:
 | Gordon Waller
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| Gordon Waller
Label: Blue Pie Productions
Artists Genre: Rock
BIOGRAPHY
To return to the roots of Peter & Gordon, they met
back around l961 at Westminster School in London. They
were about the only two people at school who played
guitar and sang, and became friends.
Peter was a big jazz fan, be-pop and Charlie Parker
and the like, though that didn't have any discernible
influence on his music. He was also a folk music fan:
Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, Sonny Terry and Brownie
McGhee. Gordon was more Rock 'n' roll, above all a big
fan of Elvis. They found common ground in The Everly
Brothers and Buddy Holly.
Peter & Gordon first started singing together for
their own entertainment then got some engagements.
They would play a gig at lunchtime for a little money
and free food in a pub, and also started playing at
parties and that sort of thing.
They then got a regular gig at a place called The
Pickwick Club, which was a supper club in London where
a lot of show business people went.
After being there for some months, Norman Newell, an
A&R man for EMI Records called them over to his table
asking "Have you boys ever made a record?". Here's my
card, I work for EMI, come and make an appointment to
do a demo." They did, he liked it and signed them to a
contract. The rest is History.
Besides the Lennon-McCartney connection, "I Go To
Pieces" was acquired while on tour in Australia with
Del Shannon and The Searchers. Del was playing it to
the Searchers in their dressing room, they didn't want
it, Peter & Gordon did.
Many musicians of the day played on some of their
records, among them, John Paul Jones, playing bass and
Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones.
Peter & Gordon always played guitar on their albums,
Gordon playing 12-string on "I Go To Pieces", the
rhythm parts were always P&G, lead electric guitar was
almost never them, Brian Jones played harmonica on
"Love Me Baby."
PETER & GORDON Peter (Asher) & Gordon (Waller) were
the Everly Brothers of the British Invasion. They
harmonized in ear pleasing intervals, strummed
acoustic guitars in tandem, and recorded an
impressively consistent string of hit songs, mostly
composed by others. They were devout students of folk,
blues and rock 'n' roll, and they fitted this amalgam
through their own pop-flavoured English sensibility.
The results included, among other things, the first
British invasion single by an artist other than The
Beatles to go to #1.
That song "A World Without Love," was actually
composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and
therein lies a tale. For most of the Sixties
McCartney's steady girlfriend was Jane Asher, a stage
actress, and Peter's sister. A friendship developed
between Peter, Paul and Gordon and McCartney wound up
penning four songs for Peter & Gordon, "A World
Without Love", "Nobody I Know," "I Don't Want to See
You Again," and under a pseudonym, "Woman." The first
three of these were Top 20 singles in l964, Gordon and
Peter writing the "B" sides of these singles and of
future releases. Suddenly Peter and Gordon were among
the most recognizable faces of the British Invasion.
Peter & Gordon also turned out to be astute song
finders outside the Lennon-McCartney sphere, recording
spirited versions of tunes by Del Shannon ("I Go To
Pieces"), Buddy Holly ("True Love Ways"), and Phil
Spector ("To Know You Is To Love You"), all of which
charted well inside the US, making the Top 40. They
also found success in l966 and 67 with music-hall
novelties such as "Lady Godiva" and "Knight in Rusty
Armour," and parent-pleasing pop like "Sunday For
Tea." At the same time, they were capable of rocking
out in blusier, more unrestrained mode, usually in the
B-sides of singles or in tracks buried deep in
long-forgotten albums. Several rough gems-among them
"Love Me Baby" and You've Had Better Times", the
latter of these found a limited amount of airplay and
a place in the charts before it was withdrawn for
content (there was a mention on getting into bed!).
Following a four-year, ten song hit spree, Peter &
Gordon went their separate ways in l968. Peter Asher
decided to pursue a career in Production, leaving
Gordon to carry on on his own, performing solo and
writing songs.
In 1970 he came to America to record a solo album in
New York which had the dubious title in his own
words"....and Gordon."
Unfortunately the promotion on this record was not up
to scratch and the album containing all Gordon's
material, except for two songs fell by the roadside.
In l971 Gordon was approached by Tim Rice to play the
part of Pharaoh in the musical "Joseph and His Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Edinburgh Festival. The
show was an amazing success and Gordon's holiday from
his landscaping-gardening business in Northamptonshire
developed into yet another career enhancement. album
cover of Joseph and the Amazing Technocolor Dreamcoat.
Original London cast.
"Joseph..." went from Edinburgh to The Roundhouse in
North London, The National Theatre, Young Vic, and
finally into the West End where Gordon received
standing ovations every night for the run of the play.
In June l975 Gordon went to Australia to get married
and ended up once again in "Joseph" at the brand new
Seymour Centre in Sydney. The reviews and audience
reception were outstanding, and at the end of the
Australia run Gordon decided to give stage work a
break, but continued to write the occasional song,
many of which are yet to be recorded.
Gordon, today has his one music publishing company
with an exclusive list of writers and performers
developing their talents and careers, and has recently
finished the sound track for the film "James Dean-Race
With Destiny." All original songs written by Gordon
and a few friends, Tom MacLear, who has been involved
with the Small Faces and Rod Stewart and is now
embarking on a solo career, Keith Allison with Paul
Revere & The Raiders, and Jim Blazer, keyboard player
for the likes of Chuck Berry and Spencer Davis. This
album is set in the style of the music of the time of
James Dean, l954-55 and "rocks!"
Peter Asher & Gordon Waller were called "the Everly
Brothers of the British Invasion". They harmonized in
ear pleasing intervals, strummed acoustic guitars in
tandem, and recorded an impressively consistent string
of hit songs. They blended folk, blues and rock 'n'
roll with their own pop-flavoured English sensibility.
The results included, among other things, the first
British invasion single by an artist other than The
Beatles to go to #1.
Waller met Asher at the Westminster School for Boys in
London. They were about the only two people at school
who played guitar and sang, and soon became friends.
Peter was big on jazz as well as a folk music fan.
Gordon was more rock 'n roll, above all a big fan of
Elvis. They found common ground in The Everly Brothers
and Buddy Holly.
They first started singing together for their own
entertainment, alone or at parties and eventually
tried a lunchtime gig for a little money and free food
in a local pub. From there, they got a regular booking
at a place called The Pickwick Club, a supper club in
London where a lot of show business people went. After
being there for some months, Norman Newell, an A&R man
for EMI Records called them over to his table, asking
"Have you boys ever made a record? Here's my card, I
work for EMI, come and make an appointment to do a
demo." They did, he liked it and signed them to a
contract.
When Capitol signed the two, Peter's relationship with
Paul McCartney, who was living in the Asher family
home, soon proved advantageous. For most of the
sixties, McCartney's steady girlfriend was Jane Asher,
Peter's sister. McCartney taught them "World Without
Love", a song the Beatles had never used, that he had
written earlier in his career. The track sounded like
an early Beatles song, and Peter and Gordon took it to
#1 on both sides of the Atlantic in 1964. The duo also
scored hits with the Lennon and McCartney songs
"Nobody I Know" and "I Don't Want to See You Again",
both left unused by the Beatles, along with "Woman"
(written by McCartney under an alias). Suddenly Peter
and Gordon were among the most recognizable faces of
the British Invasion.
Peter & Gordon also turned out to be astute song
finders outside the Lennon-McCartney sphere. "I Go To
Pieces" was acquired while on tour in Australia with
Del Shannon and The Searchers. Del was playing it for
the Searchers in their dressing room, they didn't want
it, Peter & Gordon did.
The two also has success with Buddy Holly's "True Love
Ways", and Phil Spector"s "To Know You Is To Love
You", all of which charted well in the U.S., making
the Top 40. They also found success in l966 and 67
with music-hall novelties such as "Lady Godiva" and
"Knight in Rusty Armour," and parent-pleasing pop like
"Sunday For Tea".
Many musicians of the day played on some of their
records, among them, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin,
playing bass and the late Brian Jones of the Rolling
Stones on guitar. Peter & Gordon always played rhythm
guitar on their albums, with Gordon playing 12-string
on "I Go To Pieces". Lead electric guitar was almost
never them.
In the mid-1960s, Waller indirectly set in motion a
series of pop relationships when he began dating Jenny
Dunbar. Dunbar introduced her brother John to the
Waller/Asher social set, which included Jane Asher and
her boyfriend, McCartney. John's wife, Marianne
Faithful, was subsequently discovered by the Rolling
Stones' manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, who transformed
her into a pop star (she later became Mick Jagger's
girlfriend). Later in the decade, John Dunbar, Peter
Asher and Barry Miles formed the fabled Indica
Bookstore and Gallery, where John Lennon first met
Yoko Ono.
Following a four-year, ten song hit spree, Peter &
Gordon went their separate ways in l968.
Peter Asher became A&R director for the Beatles' Apple
Records, then moved to Los Angeles. As a record
producer, he helped usher in the mellow "California
rock" sound made famous by many artists he worked
with, including Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor and
10,000 Maniacs. He was voted "Producer Of the Year" in
1977, by Rolling Stone Magazine.
Gordon Waller was left to carry on alone. In 1970 he
came to America to record a solo album in New York
which had the dubious title "....and Gordon".
Unfortunately the promotion on this record was not up
to par and the album containing mostly original
material, fell by the way-side. He then issued a few
unsuccessful solo singles, including "The Lady In The
Window," before largely retreating from the music
world.
In l971, Gordon was approached by Tim Rice to play the
part of Pharaoh in the musical "Joseph and His Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Edinburgh Festival. The
show was a smashing success and Gordon's holiday from
his landscaping-gardening business in
Northamptonshire, developed into yet another career
enhancement. "Joseph..." went from Edinburgh to The
Roundhouse in North London, The National Theatre,
Young Vic, and finally into the West End where Gordon
received standing ovations every night for the run of
the play.
In June l975 Gordon went to Australia to get married
and ended up once again in "Joseph" at the brand new
Seymour Centre in Sydney. The reviews and audience
reception were outstanding, and at the end of the
Australia run, Gordon decided to give stage work a
break, but continued to write the occasional song.
Waller later started a music publishing company with
his partner, Georgiana Steele, called "Steel Wallet
International Ltd."
Peter and Gordon's greatest hits:
World Without Love
Nobody I Know
I Don't Want To See You Again
I Go To Pieces
Woman
To Know You Is To Love You
True Love Ways
Lady Godiva
Knight In Rusty Armor
Sunday For Tea
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