Gordon Waller of Peter and Gordon, dead at 64
[Posted by Dave Haber on Friday, 07/17/09 12:32 pm]
Sad news for Beatles fans. Gordon Waller, one half of 1960s singing duo Peter & Gordon, passed away early today at age 64, in a hospital near his home in Connecticut. He suffered a cardiac arrest.
Peter & Gordon had nine Top Forty hits in the USA, UK and most major countries in the world between 1964-1968. Four of their hits were specially written for them by Paul McCartney, "A World Without Love," which was the first Lennon-McCartney composition not recorded by The Beatles to reach number one on the charts, "Nobody I Know", "I Don't Want To See You Again" and "Woman".
In recent years Waller had reunited professionally with his singing partner Peter Asher and the duo performed well-attended reunion concerts throughout the world. In December, 2005, Peter & Gordon performed at the 10,000 capacity Araneta Coliseum in Manilla and at the Hard Rock Cafe, Makati, Philippines.
At their first full concert in 38 years in North America, held at the Beatles fan convention in New York in March 2006, event host Martin Lewis surprised the duo by reading them a special message he'd secured from their old friend Paul McCartney:
"What the world needs now is Peter & Gordon to sing their songs and remind us all of the fab years they are from. I'm very glad to hear that they have got together after these many moons and are going to help to make a World Without Love into a love-filled planet."
Waller's last major appearance with Peter Asher was in Los Angeles last August, 2008, on the 40th anniversary of their last performance in the 1960s. They performed to an audience of over 17,000, including many Hollywood stars, at The Santa Monica Pier and were joined on stage by longtime friend and admirer Joan Baez.
Waller is survived by his wife Jen, whom he married in March 2008, by his first wife Gay, with whom he had stayed on excellent terms, by their two daughters Phillipa and Natalie, by his granddaughter Tyler, and by his two younger sisters Diana and Annie.
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