Concert Band Remixes With a British Invasion Original

0
925

 

Eric Idle of “Monty Python” fame introduces Peter Asher, right, from a big screen monitor as rehearsal begins with the Laguna Beach Community Band. By Mitch Ridder
Eric Idle of “Monty Python” fame introduces Peter Asher, right, from a big screen monitor as rehearsal begins with the Laguna Beach Community Band.
Photo by Mitch Ridder

“Please lock me away and don’t allow the day, here inside where I hide with my loneliness; I don’t care what they say I won’t stay in a world without love….”

So opens the Paul McCartney song, “World Without Love,” a tune the British duo Peter & Gordon turned into a world hit in 1964.

Peter Asher, half of the iconic duo, will perform in “A British Invasion Tribute” with the Laguna Concert Band at the Laguna Playhouse this Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 6-7 at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.

“They say we were part of the British invasion, but the artillery was really American. We all started out as tribute bands for American music,” said Asher, who went on to a career managing and producing recording artists and more recently writing tunes.

Asher and Gordon Waller (1945-2009) were school friends who got together playing pubs and clubs in London. “The Everly Brothers were everyone’s idol,” said Asher.

After their first records made it big, Peter & Gordon toured the U.S. “We all had our eye on America, but no one had gone there. All we knew were tourists and troops and then suddenly we were in New York and the Statue of Liberty and the skyline looked just like it had in photographs, and screaming teenage girls were trying to rip our clothes off,” he recalled.

Asher and his sister Jane, an actress known for her liaison with Paul McCartney, are the children of a doctor and a professional musician. When his mother did not need the basement to give oboe lessons, the two lads plus the other Beatles were allowed to practice in the basement. “One day, Paul wanted me to come down to hear a new song. When I arrived, he and John sat on the piano bench playing, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’,” said Asher, still smiling at the memory.

He and Gordon performed several songs written by McCartney, including “Woman,” one that McCartney released under a pseudonym to see if it would have the same appeal with another name on it.

Asher credits his mother for his musical talent, but concedes he lacked ambition. “You were taught piano. I rejected it. I did not do my lessons. I did not practice. I remember hating it, but loved the guitar. I’m probably the least competent (music) reader in my family and that’s probably why I made a living in the music business,” he quipped.

Scrolling through recollections, he said that he had a good ear and learned enough music to get by. Once he entered a music studio, though, he knew exactly what to do. “I found it exhilarating to make suggestions what musicians should play.”

The Beatles hired him at Apple Records where he was in charge of artists and repertoire. While there, he signed James Taylor. When Taylor wanted to return home to California, Ascher moved with him in 1970 and ultimately established his own management firm, Peter Asher Management. He came to count Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Randy Newman among his clients. Elton John became a close friend.

In 1995, he became senior vice president of Sony Music. As a producer, he has worked with Neal Diamond, Kenny Loggins, Diana Ross, Cher, Billy Joel and Hans Zimmer, the German-born composer credited with music for the DaVinci Code and “Pirates of the Caribbean” among others.

Today, Asher lives in Malibu, but travels to his birthplace frequently. Queen Elizabeth II recognized him with a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire title.

Busy as ever, he’s not given to nostalgia and has no plans to write his memoirs. He wrote music for “Bright Star,” a musical based on a man and woman discovering a life-altering secret. Written by Steve Martin, it premiered in San Diego in 2014, and he is now working on bringing it to Broadway, said Asher.

Asher will be joined by the 70-member band with music selected by music director Ed Peterson in the first part of the concert. The second part will spotlight Asher’s music and his own group.

The first half includes music of the 1960s, including tributes to Frank Sinatra and Natalie Cole, and Beatles tunes that lend themselves to a symphonic setting, said Peterson. Ginger Hatfield and Sara Gordon will also perform.

Arrangers Scott Director, Eric Dries and Charlie Warren worked to customize part two, spotlighting Ascher and his group, said Peterson.

“I love a great deal of current music. I’m not one to sigh that they don’t write songs the way they used to,” said Asher, who described artists such as Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift and Adele as performers equal to the talent of musicians of his time.

He does envy today’s modern recording technology. “There are things we wish we could have done then that are possible now. But, you still have to write a great song in the first place.”

Correction:

Peter Asher’s name was misspelled in an article, “Concert Band Remixes With a British Invasion Original,” in the Feb. 5 edition. The writer regrets the error.

Share this:

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here