Peter Sarstedt
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist
Peter Eardley Sarstedt<ref name="allmusic"/> (10 December 1941 – 8 January 2017) was a British singer-songwriter and instrumentalist. He was the brother of singers Eden Kane, a teenage pop idol and Clive Sarstedt, with both of whom he also recorded and performed as The Sarstedt Brothers. The Sarstedts had the distinction of being the only family from which three siblings separately attained chart success without any of them ever charting as a combined act.
Although his music was classified as pop, it generally encompassed ballads derived from traditional folk music rather than traditional rock and roll. He is best known for writing and performing the song "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?", which topped the UK Singles Chart in 1969. Set to a "faux European waltz tune"<ref name="allmusic"/> and described as "a romantic novel in song",<ref name=scotsman/> it won an Ivor Novello Award. The record remained Sarstedt's biggest hit. He had one more hit single and one hit album but despite numerous releases never had chart success again.
He released the album England's Lane in 1997, which continued the story of the fictional Marie-Claire in the song "The Last of the Breed"; a planned third installment titled "Farewell Marie-Claire" did not materialise.<ref name="DC" />
Sarstedt continued to tour mainly in 1960s revival-type shows, until his retirement in 2010 due to ill health.<ref name="bbc"/>
Early lifeEdit
Sarstedt was born, as one of six, in 1941, to English expatriates Albert James Sarstedt, an accountant and civil servant and his second wife Cora (nee Byrne), in New Delhi in what was then British India. His ancestors were long resident in India; his ancestor Christian Ludwig Wilhelm Sarstedt, was born in 1841 in Hanover, Germany and migrated to India where he died in 1893.<ref name="45-rpm">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="allmusic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Both of his parents had trained as classical musicians.<ref name="theguardian"/>
After Indian independence from Britain in 1947, Sarstedt's parents managed a tea plantation in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, where Sarstedt attended Victoria Boys' School, a boarding school in Kurseong.<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="scroll"/> He later moved to Calcutta; in 1954, Sarstedt's father died and the family relocated to Britain,<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="scroll">Template:Cite news</ref> settling in south London just before the rock 'n' roll boom.<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="The Sarstedt Brothers">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Sarstedt along with his two brothers Richard and Robin joined a skiffle group called "The Fabulous Five", before establishing a group in 1960 called "The Saints", with Richard as lead vocalist and Peter playing bass guitar, whilst Richard was the first of the brothers to also establish a solo career in his own right also in 1960 and changing his name to Eden Kane, and becoming a teen idol having a hit record with "Well I Ask You" the following year in 1961. Peter would follow his older brother establishing his music career in the late 1960s, whist his younger brother Robin known as Clive Sarstedt would have a hit record with "My Resistance is Low" in 1976.<ref name="biography">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="britannica">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Sarstedts had the distinction of being the first family where three siblings all attained separate chart success.<ref name="Guardian">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CareerEdit
Hit recordingsEdit
Sarstedt was best known for writing and performing his 1969 UK number one single, released on the United Artists label, "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?", a portrait of a poor-born girl, Marie-Claire, from Naples who becomes a member of the European jet set.<ref name="bbc"/><ref name="mirror">Template:Cite news</ref> The song topped the chart in 14 countries.<ref name="allmusic"/> and was awarded the 1970 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.<ref name="theguardian"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He later cited his first wife, Anita, as the inspiration for the song.<ref name=scotsman/>
Lovely followed his earlier single "I Am A Cathedral" which didn't attain chart success, and his debut self-titled vinyl LP album was released in 1969 and reached number eight on the British charts<ref name="britannica" /> his follow-up single, "Frozen Orange Juice", reached number 10 in the UK in 1969.<ref name="telegraph">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, subsequent releases failed to chart. Sarstedt's recorded songs include "Beirut", "Take Off Your Clothes"<ref name="theguardian"/>
Another selection from the album Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?, from which his single of the same title had been released, was an instrumental called "Overture". Sarstedt composed it in collaboration with Ian Green and Ray Singer and it was later used as the theme music for Keep America Beautiful's famous "Crying Indian" public service announcement, which starred Iron Eyes Cody.Template:CN
TouringEdit
In the 1980s and 1990s, Sarstedt frequently toured the southern UK as part of the "Solid Silver '60s" package tours,<ref name="Rock movers & shakers">Template:Cite book</ref> having returned to England after several years residing in Denmark.<ref name="45-rpm"/><ref name="ktvl">Template:Cite news</ref> In the 1990s and 2000s, he continued to release new albums and tour. In 1997 he released the album England's Lane, which featured the follow-up to "Where Do You Go To", entitled "The Last of the Breed"<ref name="DC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and in 2006 an album of new material called On Song.<ref name="on song">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He sang harmonies on "Don't Think Twice" and "The Last Thing on My Mind" on Canadian singer Peter Thompson's 2007 album, Taking a Dive (Heart First).
Popular cultureEdit
New interest was sparked in his music after "Where Do You Go To" was used in the 2007 Wes Anderson films Hotel Chevalier and The Darjeeling Limited.<ref name="bbc"/><ref name="allmusic"/> In 2012 a compilation of songs called Highlights—the Demos was released.<ref name=demos>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Later yearsEdit
Sarstedt's final album, was a compilation released in 2013, was titled Restless Heart.<ref name="telegraph"/> It was produced by Ray Singer and the single and accompanying video, "Valentine", directed and produced by Lara Singer, was released on Singer Records.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> A third installment of "Where Do You Go To", continuing the story of Marie-Claire, to be titled "Farewell Marie-Claire", did not materialize.<ref name="website">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sarstedt last performed live in 2010.<ref name="music-news.">Template:Cite news</ref>
Personal life and deathEdit
Sarstedt married dentist Anita Atke in 1969 and moved to Denmark. The couple divorced five years later.<ref name=scotsman>Template:Cite news</ref> His second wife was Joanna Meill. From 2013 he lived in a retirement home in Sussex, England. He had progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), diagnosed in 2015, but originally misdiagnosed as dementia in 2013.<ref name="music-news."/> He died on 8 January 2017 at the age of 75.<ref name="bbc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="thetimes">Template:Cite news</ref> He is survived by his wife and two adult children.<ref name=scotsman/>
DiscographyEdit
SinglesEdit
| Year | A-side | B-side | Label | UK Chart | US Chart | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | "In the Day of My Youth" | "My Monkey Is a Junkie" | Major Minor MM520 | -- | -- | as "Peter Lincoln"<ref name="irishrock">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 1968 | "I Must Go On" | "Mary Jane" | Island WIP-6028 | -- | -- | <ref name="45-rpm"/><ref name="allmusic"/> | |
| "I Am a Cathedral" | "Blagged" | United Artists UP 2228 | 53Template:Efn | -- | <ref name="45-rpm"/><ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="theguardian"/> | ||
| 1969 | "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?" | "Morning Mountain" | United Artists UP 2262 U.S.: World Pacific 77911 |
1 | 70 | <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref name="45-rpm"/><ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Template:Cite book</ref> |
| "Frozen Orange Juice" | "Arethusa Loser" | United Artists UP 35021 U.S.: World Pacific 77919 |
10 | 116 | <ref name="45-rpm"/><ref name="telegraph"/><ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> | ||
| "As Though It Were a Movie" | "Take Off Your Clothes" | United Artists UP 35041 | -- | -- | <ref name="45-rpm"/><ref name="As Though It Were a Movie">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref name="theguardian"/> | |
| 1970 | "Without Darkness" | "Step into the Candlelight" | United Artists UP 35075 | -- | -- | <ref name="45-rpm"/> | |
| 1971 | "You're a Lady" | "Useless" | United Artists UP 35301 | -- | -- | <ref name="Peter Sarstedt Discography">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 1972 | "Every Word You Say" | "What Makes One Man Feel" | United Artists UP 35369 | -- | -- | <ref name="Every Word You Say">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 1973 | "Chinese Restaurant" | "Beloved Illusions" | Regal Zonophone RZ 3081 | -- | -- | Credited to The Sarstedt Brothers | |
| 1975 | "Tall Tree" | "Mellowed Out" | Warner Bros. K 16575 | -- | -- | <ref name="Peter Sarstedt Discography"/> | |
| 1978 | "Beirut" | "Hollywood Sign" | Ariola/Hansa AHA 517 | -- | -- | <ref name="theguardian"/> | |
| "You'll Never Be Alone Again" | "Waitress in the Whiskey" | Ariola/Hansa AHA 531 | -- | -- | <ref name="Peter Sarstedt Discography"/> | ||
| 1979 | "Mulberry Dawn" | "I Am No Longer" | Ariola/Hansa AHA 537 | -- | -- | <ref name="Peter Sarstedt Discography"/> | |
| "The Far Pavilions" | "Juli's Theme" | Monarch MON 04 | -- | -- | <ref name="Peter Sarstedt Discography"/> | ||
| 1981 | "English Girls" / "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" | "Frozen Orange Juice" | Liberty BP 396 | -- | -- | <ref name="Peter Sarstedt Discography"/> | |
| 1982 | "Love Among the Ruins" | "Don Quixote" | Peach River BBPR 2 | -- | -- | <ref name="Peter Sarstedt Discography"/> | |
| 1984 | "Other People's Lives" | "You'll Never Be Alone Again" | Audiotrax ATX 4 | -- | -- | <ref name="Peter Sarstedt Discography"/> | |
| 1986 | "Hemingway" | "Don Quixote" | Filmtrax FRAME 102 | -- | -- | <ref name="Peter Sarstedt Discography"/> | |
| 1987 | "Suzanne" | "Stress" | Trax PTS 1 | -- | -- | <ref name="Peter Sarstedt Discography"/> |
AlbumsEdit
Sarstedt issued 15 albums in his 50-year-long career.<ref name="theguardian">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="independent">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
| Year | Title | Label | UK Albums Chart | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Peter Sarstedt | United Artists ULP 1219 | 8 | <ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> | |
| As Though It Were a Movie | United Artists UAS 29037 | -- | <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |
| 1971 | Every Word You Say Is Written Down | United Artists UAS 29247 | -- | Template:Cn | |
| 1973 | Worlds Apart Together | EMI SRZA8516 | -- | (credited to "The Sarstedt Brothers") <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 1975 | Tall Tree | Warner K56129 | -- | <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 1979 | Ps... | Ariola/Hansa AHAL8006 | -- | <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 1981 | Up Date | Festival Records D 19106 | -- | <ref name=who>Template:Cite book</ref> | |
| 1986 | Colors: Asia Minor | Music Maker CMMR923 | -- | (credited to Peter and Clive Sarstedt)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 1987 | Never Say Goodbye | TRAX PETER/_IMS/POLYGRAM | -- | <ref name=who/> | |
| 1997 | England's Lane | Roundtower Music RTMD89 - BMG | -- | <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 2004 | Singer/Songwriter | EMI 5762632 | -- | <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 2006 | On Song | RMS Studios | -- | (credited to Peter Sarstedt with Clive Sarstedt on guitar)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 2008 | The Lost Album | Singer SING 204 | -- | <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 2012 | Highlights – the Demos | -- | <ref name=demos/> | ||
| 2013 | Restless Heart | Singer | -- | <ref name="theguardian"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
See alsoEdit
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1960s
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
- United Artists Records
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Template:YouTube from The Lost Album (2008), published by Singer Records