Editing Peter and Gordon

{{short description|British pop duo}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2010}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name            = Peter and Gordon
| image           = Peter and Gordon.jpg
| caption         = Peter and Gordon publicity photo, 1965
| image_size      = 
| background      = group_or_band
| alias           = 
| origin          = 
| instrument      = 
| genre           = [[Pop music|Pop]]
| occupation      = 
| years_active    = 1962–1968, 2005–2009
| label           = [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia (EMI)]]<br>[[Capitol Records|Capitol]] (US)
| website         = 
| current_members = 
| past_members    = [[Peter Asher]]<br>[[Gordon Waller]] 
}}

'''Peter and Gordon''' were a British pop duo, composed of [[Peter Asher]] (b. 1944) and [[Gordon Waller]] (1945–2009), who achieved international fame in 1964 with their first single, the million-selling "[[A World Without Love]]". The duo had several subsequent hits in America in the [[British Invasion]] era, including "[[I Go to Pieces]]", "[[Lady Godiva (song)|Lady Godiva]]", "[[Woman (Paul McCartney song)|Woman]]", "[[True Love Ways]]" and "[[Nobody I Know]]".

==History==
Peter Asher and his sister [[Jane Asher|Jane]] were child actors in the 1950s. They played siblings in a 1955 episode of the television series ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]''. Jane dated [[Paul McCartney]] between 1963 and 1968, and Peter and Gordon recorded several songs written by McCartney but credited to [[Lennon–McCartney]].<ref name="Larkin"/> Those hits included "[[A World Without Love]]" (US & UK No. 1), "[[Nobody I Know]]" (US No. 12; UK No. 10) and "[[I Don't Want to See You Again]]" (US No. 16, but not a hit in the UK).<ref name="Larkin"/>

[[File:A World Without Love - Cash Box ad 1964.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' advertisement, 2 May 1964]]

With "[[Woman (Paul McCartney song)|Woman]]" (1966: US No. 14, UK No. 28), McCartney used the pseudonym [[Bernard Webb]] to see if he could have a hit song without his name attached.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book |editor-last=Larkin |editor-first=Colin |editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]] |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |edition=concise |date=1997 |page=948 |isbn=1-85227-745-9}}</ref> First pressings of the US [[Capitol Records|Capitol]] single listed the composer as "A. Smith". Peter and Gordon also recorded the [[John Lennon]]–penned Lennon–McCartney song "[[If I Fell]]", which was previously recorded by the Beatles and released on their 1964 album ''[[A Hard Day's Night (album)|A Hard Day's Night]]''.

Other hits for the duo included "[[I Go to Pieces]]" (US No. 9), written by [[Del Shannon]] and given to Peter and Gordon after the two acts toured together. The duo also recorded remakes of [[Buddy Holly]]'s "[[True Love Ways]]" (1965: US No. 14, UK No. 2), and [[The Teddy Bears]]' "[[To Know Him Is To Love Him]]", retitled "To Know You Is To Love You" (1965: US No. 24, UK No. 5).

Peter and Gordon had their last hit in the UK in late 1966 with "[[Lady Godiva (song)|Lady Godiva]]", which reached No. 16 there (and No. 6 in the US), whilst their success lasted into 1967 in the US, with "Knight in Rusty Armour" and "Sunday for Tea" both registering in the upper reaches of the [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] that year.

[[File:Gordon waller.jpg|thumb|left|Peter and Gordon performing in 2005]]

Peter Asher subsequently became head of [[A&R]] for [[Apple Records]]. He continued his career as a recording executive in California, where he managed and produced [[Linda Ronstadt]] and [[James Taylor]] throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Asher also produced recordings for [[Cher]], [[10,000 Maniacs]], and [[Diana Ross]]. His daughter, [[Victoria Asher]], is a member of the alternative group [[Cobra Starship]].

In August 2005, Peter and Gordon reunited onstage for the first time in more than 30 years, as part of two tribute concerts for [[Mike Smith (Dave Clark Five)|Mike Smith]] of [[The Dave Clark Five]] in New York City. This was followed by full concerts at [[The Fest for Beatles Fans]] (formerly Beatlefest) conventions that began the following year. Paul McCartney heard about the reunion shows and sent a message to congratulate them on reuniting. Peter and Gordon told Palmiere at the Las Vegas Festival for Beatles Fans that they were to perform at the 2006 [[Adopt-A-Minefield]] show with Paul McCartney, who subsequently cancelled it because of his impending divorce from [[Heather Mills]].

In the spring of 2007 and 2008, Peter and Gordon were featured performers in the [[Epcot|EPCOT]] ''Flower Power'' concert series at Walt Disney World. Also in 2007, they performed as part of ''Love-In: A Musical Celebration'', a tribute to the music of the 1960s, which was filmed at the Birch North Park Theatre in San Diego, California, and released on DVD in March 2009. On 21 August 2008, they performed a free concert on the pier in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], California.

The pair played numerous times at the ''50 Winters Later'' celebration, in February 2009, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of [[Buddy Holly]], [[Ritchie Valens]] and the [[Big Bopper]]. This was held in [[Clear Lake, Iowa]], at the [[Surf Ballroom]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.50winterslater.com/events.html |title=January 28 – February 2, 2009 |publisher=50 Winters Later |access-date=10 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229051822/http://www.50winterslater.com/events.html |archive-date=29 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

They subsequently performed in Chicago, New Jersey, and at the Festival for Beatles Fans convention in Las Vegas on 1 and 2 July 2009, where, according to a report by journalist Peter Palmiere for ''Beatlefan'' magazine, the pair were the performing highlight of the convention.

Gordon Waller died of a [[heart attack]] on 17 July 2009 in [[Ledyard, Connecticut]], at the age of 64.

==Certifications==
"A World Without Love", "Nobody I Know", "True Love Ways", and "Lady Godiva" each sold over one million copies, and were awarded [[Music recording sales certification|gold discs]].<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book |last=Murrells |first=Joseph |title=The Book of Golden Discs |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/180 |url-access=registration |publisher=Barrie and Jenkins Ltd |location=London |edition=second |year=1978 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/180 180, 194, 203] |isbn=0-214-20512-6}}</ref>

==Discography==
{{main|Peter and Gordon discography}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.pr-inside.com/mccartney-thrilled-by-peter-and-gordon-reunion-r2651.htm McCartney Thrilled By Peter & Gordon Reunion]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304022517/http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/news/402peterandgordonreunion.html "Peter and Gordon reunite at Fest for Beatle Fans"]
* {{IMDb name|1943252}}
* {{discogs artist|Peter & Gordon}}
* {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5136}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:British Invasion artists]]
[[Category:English pop music duos]]
[[Category:British male musical duos]]
[[Category:Capitol Records artists]]