Peter Asher, half of UK 60s pop group Peter & Gordon, has been awarded the Commander of the British Empire honor (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth has made her annual New Years Honor announcement of people who will be presented with Knighthoods and lesser honors of the British Empire.
Among those named is producer and performer Peter Asher who will become a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. The Commander is in the middle of the five classes of honors, below Knight Grand Cross and Knight Commander. Asher is receiving the honor for his “services to the British music industry.”
While still a teenager, Asher began to carve out a successful acting career but, it was when he met Gordon Waller while both were attending the Westminster School that his interests turned to music. In 1962, they officially formed Peter and Gordon eventually having six top twenty hits in Britain and eight in the U.S. (A World Without Love, Nobody I Know, I Don’t Want to See You Again, I Go to Pieces, True Love Ways, Woman, Lady Godiva and Knight in Rusty Armour).
Asher went on to produce some of the biggest albums of the 70’s and 80’s including virtually all of James Taylor and Linda Rondstadt’s sets, 10,000 Maniacs’ In My Tribe and Blind Man’s Zoo plus albums for Olivia Newton-John, Cher, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, Tina Arena, Sarah Brightman, Kenny Loggins and many others. His latest production was Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s Love Has Come to You.
Other honored involved in music included Jamal Edwards, founder of Britain’s music channel SBTV.
In other news veteran actor John Hurt was knighted and becomes Sir John Hurt. Joan Collins was made a Dame, the female equivilent of a knighthood.
more from vvnmusic.com
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