British Invasion
Peter Asher Reflects on the Era that Reshaped Pop Music…
Readers of a certain age will recall the British Invasion of 1964, most likely with a wistful smile and a story about where they were when the Beatles made their U.S. television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Peter Asher can certainly recall it because he was a part of it. He was half of the duo Peter and Gordon (formed with his late partner, Gordon Waller), that has the distinction of being the first British act other than the Beatles to have a No. 1 hit in 1964 in the United States with “A World Without Love.”
Asher will share the memories and the music from that era, as well as tales from an illustrious managing and producing career working with luminaries like James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, on Thursday, Feb. 19, when he brings “Songs & Stories” to the Riverfront Playhouse for a pair of shows.
“It was a time of change for sure,” says Asher, 81, of the early 1960s when young United Kingdom musicians started directing their eyes and ears toward America. “The Beat Movement … we were fascinated by it. We had all read ‘On the Road’ and Ginsberg’s ‘Howl.’ We looked to America to define that change,” he adds in a telephone conversation from his home in Malibu.
Asher had a front-row seat to the budding sensation that became the Beatles, thanks in part to the fact that Paul McCartney dated his sister, Jane, from 1963 to 1968. McCartney, in fact, penned “A World Without Love” and gave it to Asher and Waller, who recorded it and turned it into a million-selling hit.
Asher suggests it was a combination of “sociology and good fortune” that sparked the British Invasion. The London native says “we fell in love with American music, and that coincided with an admiration of America as a whole. Late ’50s London was a city of bomb craters, rationing, belt tightening and the collapse of the British Empire. America to us was a world of plenty with food and guitars. America was inheriting the Empire role. We were a relatively poor country at the time. America was the land of hope, where you can make it if you try. England was still a recovering society and ‘know your place,’” Asher says.
“On top of that, there was this extraordinary music. Why we fell in love with it, I don’t know. For some reason, the blues, jazz, folk music, the whole thing. Until the Beatles started writing their own songs, they never sang a British song. The (Rolling) Stones too,” Asher says, adding with a laugh: “One of the miracles of the year is we were able to fall in love with American music, tweak it slightly and sell it back to America.”
Peter and Gordon’s fame as a duo began in 1964 with “A World Without Love” and was fueled by other McCartney-penned hits like “Woman,” “Nobody I Know” and “I Don’t Want to See You Again.” The pair also scored with “I Go to Pieces,” which was written by Del Shannon.
By 1968, the spark had begun to fade and Asher moved on as the head of A&R (Artists and Repertoire) for Apple Records, the Beatles’ record label, where he was responsible for discovering, signing and developing musical talent. Asher worked closely with members of the Beatles on their individual projects and signed a young James Taylor.
After moving to the United States in 1969, Asher opened his own management company and began a management and producing career that saw him working with a wide range of artists, including Taylor, Diana Ross, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, Cher, Morrissey, Robin Williams, Kenny Loggins, Steve Martin and a host of others.
More recently, Asher co-produced Barbra Streisand’s 2025 Grammy-nominated release “The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two.” Asher has produced 13 Grammy-winning albums and twice won a Grammy Award as Producer of the Year. His contributions to British society were acknowledged in 2015 when he was awarded Commander of the British Empire at an investiture conducted by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.
Asher says he’s happy to “reminisce about the old days and sing songs about that era” when he performs in Redding. “It’ll be me and a couple of great musicians. We end with a singalong of ‘A World Without Love.’ It was 61 years ago so we put the lyrics up on a screen but sure enough, they remember the words.”•
“Songs & Stories” will be performed at 2:30 and 7 pm Thursday, Feb. 19, at Riverfront Playhouse, 1950 California St., Redding, Calif. Tickets are priced from $57.33 to $145.90. Visit www.eventbrite.com to purchase.
