Sixties rockstar still gets butterflies
By CHRISTINA YOON Special to the Daily Press
SM PIER While British bands such as Coldplay and Keane continue to gain popularity in the states, many rock fans still pine for the days when British pop was not so much a trend as a revolution.
These die-hards can participate in a reenactment of sorts tonight at 7 p.m. on the Santa Monica Pier, when 1960s British icons Peter and Gordon along with Gerry and the Pacemakers take the stage for the second-to-last Twilight Dance Series concert of the summer.
“There’s no question that what people really want is the old songs done in the old way as well as we can,” said Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon, who has not appeared on-stage in the Los Angeles area since the ‘60s.
The band, which hit the states with its first number one single, “World Without Love,” in 1964, was placed in the same league as the Beatles and often called the Everly Brothers of the British Invasion.
Their debut song was also well-known for being the only song that Paul McCartney wrote for a band outside of the Beatles.
As Peter and Gordon continued to gain popularity, they recorded songs written by John Lennon, including “Woman” and Buddy Holly’s “True Love Ways.”
“I don’t think it necessarily matters if you write the songs that become successful or not,” Asher said. “I’ve always enjoyed picking the right songs for the right purpose. It didn’t matter where they came from as long as we liked them.”
After a four-year whirlwind rock career that included 10 U.S. top 20 hits, Peter and Gordon called it a day. Asher went on to become a successful producer and manager after he discovered a new, talented musician by the name of James Taylor.
“My move into management was based on the fact that I found and became friends with an artist who I really liked,” Asher said.
Aside from the occasional contribution on a track he was producing, Asher played almost no music for nearly 40 years.
In that time, he has managed and produced artists including Kenny Loggins and Billy Joel and was at one time the head of the Beatles’ Apple Records and senior vice president of Sony Music Entertainment.
In 2005, his good friend Paul Shaffer approached him to reunite with Gordon for a concert benefiting his fellow British rock musician Mike Smith of The Dave Clark Five, who was seriously injured in an accident.
“Paul Shaffer asked me, ‘What would it take for you and Gordon to get back together?’” Asher said. “It became clear to me that this would be a hard request to say no to.”
Asher quickly found that reuniting was not as simple as stepping on the stage.
“I was hoping I could just strap on my guitar and it would all come back instantly,” he said. “I rapidly discovered that’s not going to happen.”
After calming a few nerves, taking some voice lessons to regain his high notes and even relearning some of his lyrics, Asher found that the reunion was worth more than just one show. Peter and Gordon have performed several shows since 2005, and last year appeared at a tribute concert to the music of Elton John and Bernie Taupin Carnegie Hall to rave reviews.
“I confess that there were moments where I thought, ‘Why would someone want to hear us now when they could hear the originals?’” he said. “But then I’d see people crying or people telling me that this was the song that they proposed to their wife to. And I realized that actually, being an oldie does have some function and value. But to pretend that it’s anything other than an experiment in nostalgia and reminiscence is a mistake.”
For Asher, who now lives in Malibu and represents artists including Pamela Anderson and the Dixie Chicks, tonight’s performance will be no less stressful as a seasoned music industry veteran.
“It’s always a little nerve-wracking,” he said. “I’d be worried if I didn’t get nerves.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 21, 2008. Read the original PDF.