Gordon Waller

b. 4 June 1945, Braemar, Grampian, Scotland. Waller made his name as the more fractious half of the Peter And Gordon duo in the mid-60s. When their relationship ended in acrimony in 1967, Waller elected to pursue a solo career, though he would never experience even a portion of the success of his former venture. Signing to Columbia Records, he recorded his debut single, ‘Rosencrans Boulevard’, in 1968. A Jim Webb composition, it featured a dense, orchestral arrangement which was unsuited to Waller’s more stylised vocal abilities. Successive singles ‘Every Day’ and ‘Weeping Annaeleah’ also failed. Waller then moved to Bell Records, but neither ‘I Was A Boy When You Needed A Man’ nor ‘(You’re Gonna) Hurt Yourself’ returned him to the charts. When he finally released his debut album in 1972 it was for progressive rock label Vertigo Records. The critical reaction to Gordon was overwhelmingly hostile, ensuring the record’s fate as one of the worst-sellers in Vertigo’s history. Disillusioned, Waller gave up the music business to take up farming. In the mid-70s he made a brief comeback, appearing on the Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat soundtrack, but thereafter has remained quiet.