The Webb Sisters

[remote1]

remote1 - let's just say that I expressed my ecouragement for Leonard to play more UK dates, and have put a word in for Oxford!

Cheers, John E

John Etherington, kudos to you!

[JJR]

Direct Current Music has just posted information about a new 4-track Webb Sisters ep titled "The Other Side". The DC story has full versions of two of the songs which are (intentiionally?) downloadable. Haunting music, as one would expect. Here's the link:

http://www.directcurrentmusic.com/

[bridger15]

This is an article about the Webb Sisters' manager, Peter Asher.
http://thegatewayonline.ca/articles/art ... s-edmonton

British Invasion legend Peter Asher plans night of music and stories in Edmonton
January 21, 2010 - 10:23am
Sarah Stead, Arts & Entertainment Editor
A Memoir of the 60’s

Featuring Peter Asher
Friday, January 22 at 8 p.m.
Century Casino (1313 Fort Road NW)
$29.95–39.95 at Ticketmaster or Century Casino

When it comes to being in the right place at the right time, Peter Asher may well be the luckiest man in music. In 1963, Asher met Gordon Waller, another student at Westminster School who also happened to own a guitar and sing. The two became fast friends and decided to start performing together, simply calling themselves Peter and Gordon.

“It was relatively less common then [to find other musicians at school],” says Asher. “[Gordon and I] both liked the Everly Brothers, so they were the point of confluence, I suppose […] I was a bit of a snob at the time and not very keen on pop music. Gordon taught me the value of rock n’ roll.”

They started out modestly enough, playing local pubs and other small gigs during their lunch hour, but the turning point came when Asher’s younger sister Jane brought home a new boyfriend — some mop-top named Paul McCartney, who gave them an unused Beatles’ tune. The song, “World Without Love,” shot the pair to the top of the charts in the U.K. and across the pond, and solidified their position as British Invasion front-runners. This was the only group that McCartney would write a song for while the Beatles were still together.

The duo parted ways amicably in 1968 to pursue other careers, but Asher has stayed in the business as a producer and talent manager until present. He’s currently working with an impressive roster of artists, including grunge rockers Everclear, the Webb Sisters, and Canadian bombshell Pamela Anderson.

“I’m in the studio producing a Buddy Holly tribute album for the 50th anniversary of his death,” he says of his current project. “For the last couple of days, I’ve been in the studio with Stevie Nicks doing a track with her.”

Asher seems so nonchalant about recording with Nicks that he may as well by talking about picking up his dry cleaning, but it’s just another testament to how many music legends he knows on a first-name basis. After decades of managing and producing, however, Asher returned to the stage with his former musical partner Waller in 2005 for the first time in nearly 40 years. They continued to work and perform together for four more years before Waller died in July 2009.

“I don’t think we regretted the 38-year hiatus. We both had a pretty good time in the gap,” says Asher of his late friend. “Looking back now, of course, I’m glad we got back together when we did. We got to try it again and figure out that it still worked and people still liked it.

“He was one of those people who managed to be extremely charming and clever at the same time as being grumpy and annoying. He was just one of those people that, even when you got really annoyed with him, you could never dislike him. He had a tremendous amount of charm and innate intelligence that overcame all [...] That memory will live forever, or at least as long as people can be bothered to play our music.”

After taking some time to grieve, Asher put together a multimedia show to honour Waller. Combining stories of the ’60s, photographs, video, and live performances, the show will share some of Asher’s memories and give a nod to the man he shared the stage with so many times, and with whom he remained lifelong friends.

“There are obviously going to be parts where Gordon will be sorely missed,” Asher sighs. “Gordon is irreplaceable and I want to make it very clear that we’re not trying to do that.”

Currently the show is a one-off, scheduled for a single night in Edmonton only, but Asher is hoping that a positive response from the performance could lead to booking more shows down the road.

“I’ve put months of work into this and it’ll all be over after one night in freezing Edmonton,” he jokes.

Peter and Gordon’s music may have peaked in the 1960s, but like their British big brothers The Beatles, the influence has been long-lasting. Having seen the musical seasons change many times in his life, Asher turns his thoughts to the future of music and the business.

“The one thing that I don’t agree with is the theory that ‘oh, they don’t write songs like that anymore,’ or that music is nowhere as good as it was. I think that’s a misperception. There is tons of good music. I hear things all the time that impress the hell out of me. The future of the music business is another question, and it’s clearly changing tremendously, but the importance of popular music in people’s lives and in our culture has never been greater — and this is the good news.”

[RegularCliche]

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