A Beatles Insider Who Remains Here, There, and Everywhere

Just how unassuming is the title subject of “Peter Asher: Everywhere Man,” a documentary by Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine, can be measured by the roster of names who testify on his behalf. Among them are Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Steve Martin, Eric Idle, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, and “The Face of 1966,” Twiggy. Sixty years later, Dame Lesley Lawson is as convivial an icon of Swinging London as you could hope for.Should Mr. Asher’s name not ring a bell, pair his Christian name with that of Gordon Waller and wonder if you could live in a world without love. That song, “A World Without Love,” was a massive hit for Peter and Gordon back in the halcyon days of 1964. Credited to Lennon-McCartney but primarily the work of Sir Paul, it went to the top of the charts in the United Kingdom, the United States and Ireland, but only made it to #8 in Norway. The Norwegians, on the whole, preferred “Gentlemen” Jim Reeves to the British duo.Ever under the radar, Mr. Asher survived the affront, and at 81-years of age can look back at a career that is all the more remarkable for having thrived past the short-lived satisfactions of Top 40 fame. Channeling the tight knit harmonies of the Everly Brothers, Peter and Gordon were part of the British Invasion, and had the good fortune of having Mr. McCartney provide songs, sometimes, as with “Woman,” on the sly. The cute Beatle wanted to see if he could write a hit independent of his group’s imprimatur, thereby adopting the pseudonym, “Bernard Webb.”Having a Beatle dating your sister also comes in handy. Not only was Mr. McCartney once an item with the actress Jane Asher, he was invited to live in her family’s home even as the Beatles were achieving an undreamt level of fame. The Asher family were a notable bunch. Peter, Jane and younger sister Claire were child actors whose talents were once advertised as “All Have Red Hair.” Their father, Richard Alan John Asher, was a doctor who discovered the condition he would come to call Munchausen syndrome. A classically trained musician, mother Margaret taught oboe to, amongst others, future “Fifth Beatle,” producer George Martin. Is Mr. Asher’s world really that small? Peter Asher. Greenwich EntertainmentMr. Geller and Ms. Goldfine liken his life to that of the fictional character at the center of Woody Allen’s 1983 film, “Zelig.” But Mr. Asher is more than an adjunct to history: He’s a prime motivator to a boggling number of pop culture events. “Everywhere Man” lays out how his ventures helped to boost the careers of sundry notables, as well as how he ended up breaking up not only a marriage, but the Beatles.Well, okay: Mr. Asher introduced singer and actress Marianne Faithfull to Rolling Stones front-man, Mick Jagger, thereby putting an end to her marriage to the artist John Dunbar. He was also the co-owner, along with Mr. Dunbar and Barry Miles, of a counter-culture bookshop and art gallery, Indica. It was at this venue that John Lennon first encountered the work of Japanese artist, Yoko Ono. We all know how that turned out. Mr. Asher tells the story, like he tells most of the stories, with a disarming sense of wonder.There’s more, much more: Mr. Asher discovers and cultivates an unknown singer-songwriter by the name of James Taylor, provides the right musical context for a gifted young singer by the name of Linda Ronstadt, and otherwise lends his acument to talents as diverse as Diana Ross, Bonnie Raitt, Robin Williams, 10,000 Maniacs, Neil Diamond, and, most recently, Barbra Streisand. Even now, Mr. Asher seems to be everywhere in attendance. “Peter Asher: Everywhere Man” is the story of a gifted man who knows how good he’s had it. There’s satisfaction to be had in his fortunes.

A Beatles Insider Who Remains Here, There, and Everywhere

A Beatles Insider Who Remains Here, There, and Everywhere

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