Not many people would be relieved when Sir Paul McCartney turned down their request for an interview. But this is exactly how Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine felt when putting together their critically acclaimed new documentary on the life of Peter Asher.
The 82-year-old boasts one of the great showbiz stories, as he managed to pack a thousand lifetimes into one and be at the very centre of pop culture in the latter half of the 20th century. The child star turned pop star turned record producer was a key cog in shaping the direction of modern music and the new film, Peter Asher: Everywhere Man, is the definitive account of his story.
Husband and wife filmmakers, Dan and Dayna, brought the documentary to Liverpool for a special screening at FACT Picturehouse on Sunday (November 1). The San Francisco couple insisted on a screening in Liverpool as Peter’s contribution to the Beatles story means he is a vital part of the city’s history.
Dan told the ECHO: “It’s amazing to do this. There’s such a connection because so much of Peter’s earlier life and the propulsion behind his career comes out of the Beatles, Paul and Apple Corps.”
Sir Paul was a regular in the Asher household on Wimpole Street at the beginning of Beatlemania when he was dating Peter’s sister, Jane. Living in this part of London changed Sir Paul forever as it is where he ingrained himself into the countercultural scene of the swinging 60s and broadened his own artistic horizons.
Sir Paul and Peter became close friends during this time and he repaid the favour of being allowed to live in the family home by writing Peter’s biggest hit, A World Without Love. John Lennon ruled out the song from being part of the The Beatles back catalogue as he couldn’t keep a straight face after hearing the opening line: “Please lock me away.”
Paul McCartney and Peter Asher(Image: Greenwich Entertainment)
But for Peter and his music partner, Gordon Waller, this became a smash number one hit that established the duo as part of the British invasion. The connection to the Beatles is more fundamental than taking discarded Lennon/McCartney songs, as Peter was appointed the first A&R of Apple Corps when the Fab Four’s business arm was set up in 1967.
The archive footage from this time which features in the documentary is incredible and feels like you are watching a fundamental part of The Beatles story. It’s this connection why Dan and Dayna were determined to get Sir Paul to contribute his voice to the film.
Dan told the ECHO: “First of all, we thought we would ask for a sit down interview, knowing it would be almost impossible. Through Scott Rodger, Paul’s manager, he said, ‘Paul is really thinking about this. He does not do interviews anymore. He is barely doing them for his own projects’.”
But while Sir Paul was contemplating to give a rare interview about his close friend, the filmmakers uncovered something more powerful already existed. The iconic musician had spoken extensively about his days in the Asher household as part of the recording tapes for his biography, Many Years From Now.
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As part of the research for the 1997 book, Sir Paul sat down with writer Barry Miles to talk all aspects of his journey. The parts on the Asher household were particularly illuminating and the filmmakers were honoured to receive permission to use these voice recordings, which are housed in Liverpool John Moore’s University, for the film.
Dan said: “We sent Paul the passages we wanted and he said, ‘great, no problem.’ They are so fresh, immediate and intimate in a way I don’t think Dayna and I would have got from the sit down interview.”
Dayna laughed: “[After discovering the tapes existed] We were kind of praying he would turn us down for the sit down interview. As soon as Barry told us about the tapes and we read the book, we knew this would be way better. It’s 30 years younger and [Barry and Paul] were two old friends who had known eachother since the early 60s.”
Gordon Waller and Peter Asher(Image: Redferns)
Sir Paul is just one of many pop culture icons whose life was shaped by his association with Peter. The singer was one of the movers and shakers of the 60s as the Indica Gallery he opened is where John Lennon met Yoko Ono – and he also introduced Mick Jagger to Marianne Faithful.
The extent of his influence is laid bare with how Steve Martin, Eric Idle, Twiggy, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor are some of the contributors in the documentary. The filmmakers said they are proud they managed to round up so many important cultural figures to feature in the movie.
Dan said: “What Peter told us early on was he would not, on our behalf, ask any of those people to be in the movie because, and I quote, ‘It would make my skin crawl’. It was incumbent upon us. And several of these people don’t give interviews anymore, about anything.”
However, many of the famous contributors jumped at the chance to talk about Peter as Dayna said: “When he said I’m not going to ask on your behalf, our hearts sank a little bit. But, in the case of Carole King, he said I’ll give you her daughter’s email so that’s as much as what we had to go on.
“Her daughter said there’s no way she’ll do an interview. She doesn’t do interviews anymore, but I’ll ask. Within half an hour, she got back and was like, ‘I’m completely blown away, but when do you want to come to Idaho’.”
It was this level of influence that initially drew Dayna to the story when she was invited to watch Peter’s onstage musical memoir 15 years ago. She said: “Someone gave me a ticket for us to see his one man cabaret show and I wanted to meet [Blue Bayou singer] Linda Ronstadt. Within 10 minutes, without knowing anything about Peter, I wanted to make a documentary about him.”
Peter Asher and Gordon Waller performing on TV in the 1960s(Image: Redferns)
Someone else was already planning a documentary on Peter at the time, but that fell through which prompted Dan and Dayna to resurrect the project in 2019. The two had just got off the back of making their celebrated film on Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, which piqued Peter’s interest.
Dan said: “The first thing he said to me was, ‘I’m no Leonard Cohen. Why would you want to make a film about me?’ And that is the mix of Peter. On the one hand, he’s up there doing a show so he’s not hiding. On the other hand, he does not compare himself to a legend like Leonard Cohen.
“But Peter is brilliant in his own way. I though that was a good response. It put it into position that he wasn’t going to play games or be a diva. He just was honest and he has always been direct and honest. Even when asked uncomfortable things by us about parts of his life he would clearly rather not talk about.”
Peter Asher helped shaped modern music(Image: Josh Kaplan)
While exploring the highs of his music success and the lighter moments of his legacy, as the reported inspiration behind the look of Austin Powers, the film also explores the difficult aspects of his life when hard drugs infiltrated the 1970s music scene. Peter helped many famous artists during a dark time and Dan thinks the support he was able to give musicians is what Peter will be remembered for.
He said: “His legacy will be as someone who could capture what was incredibly special about an artist and provide the circumstances and framework around that artist as a producer to lift them and their material up to the potential that he spotted that those artists may not have fully understood themselves at the time.”
Dayna added: “As long as people know about those artists [like Linda and James] , they’ll see Peter was the one who discovered him.” Peter Asher: Everywhere Man is showing in selected UK cinemas. You can find the latest information on screenings near you here