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Peter Eardley Sarstedt (10 December 1941 – 8 January 2017), briefly billed early in his career as Peter Lincoln, was a British singer-songwriter and instrumentalist. He was the brother of musicians Eden Kane and Clive Sarstedt.
Although his music was classified as pop, it generally encompassed ballads derived from traditional folk music rather than traditional rock and roll. He was best known for writing and performing the song "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?", which topped the UK Singles Chart in 1969. Set to a "faux European waltz tune" and described as "a romantic novel in song", it won an Ivor Novello Award. The record remained Sarstedt's biggest hit, despite his releasing numerous successful albums and singles from the late 1960s onward.
He continued to tour throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, mainly in 1960s revival-type shows, until his retirement in 2010 due to ill health.
Early life
Sarstedt was born in Delhi, India in 1941, in what was then part of the British Raj, as one of six siblings, to Albert and Coral who were civil servants in the British administration. Both of his parents had trained as classical musicians. Sarstedt attended Victoria Boys' School, a boarding school in Kurseong in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, where his parents worked at a tea plantation. His family moved to the UK in 1954, settling in south London just before the rock 'n' roll boom, and the Sarstedt brothers started out performing skiffle. in a groupknown as the Fabulous Five
Sarstedt was a younger brother of the 1960s pop star Eden Kane, for whom he was backing singer and briefly played bass, and an elder brother of pop singer Robin Sarstedt.
Career
Hit recordings
Sarstedt was best known for his 1969 UK number one single, released on the United Artists label, "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?", a portrait of a poor-born girl Marie-Claire who becomes a member of the European jet set. The song topped the chart in 14 countries. It was also awarded the 1970 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. He later cited his first wife, Anita, as the inspiration for the song.
His debut album in 1969 reached number eight on the British charts and his follow-up single, "Frozen Orange Juice", reached number 10 in the UK in 1969. However, subsequent releases failed to chart. Sarstedt recorded songs include "Beirut", "Take Off Your Clothes", and "I Am a Cathedral".
Touring
In the 1980s and 1990s, Sarstedt frequently toured the southern UK as part of the "Solid Silver '60s" package tours, having returned to England after several years residing in Denmark. In the 1990s and 2000s, he continued to release new albums and tour. In 1997 he released the album England's Lane, which featured the follow-up to "Where Do You Go To", entitled"The Last of the Breed" and in 2007 an album of new material called On Song. He sang harmonies on "Don't Think Twice" and "The Last Thing on My Mind" on Canadian singer Peter Thompson's 2007 album, Taking a Dive (Heart First).
Popular culture
New interest was sparked in his music after "Where Do You Go To" was used in the 2007 Wes Anderson films Hotel Chevalier and The Darjeeling Limited. In 2012 a compilation of songs called Highlights—the Demos was released.
Later recordings and touring
Sarstedt's final album, released in 2013, was titled Restless Heart. It was produced by Ray Singer and the single and accompanying video "Valentine," directed and produced by Lara Singer, was released on Singer Records. A third instalment of "Where Do You Go To", continuing the story of Marie-Clair, to be titled "Farewell Marie-Clair", did not materialize. Sarstedt last performed live in 2010.
Personal life and death
Sarstedt married dentist Anita Atke in 1969 and moved to Denmark. The couple divorced five years later. His second wife was Joanna Meill. From 2013 he lived in a retirement home in Sussex, England. He had progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), diagnosed in 2015, but originally misdiagnosed as dementia in 2013. He died on 8 January 2017 at the age of 75. He is survived by his wife and two adult children.
Siblings
Sarstedt's brothers are
- "Rick" Sarstedt (born Richard Graham Sarstedt, 29 March 1940, in New Delhi, India) who himself topped the UK Singles Chart in 1961 with "Well I Ask You," under the stage name Eden Kane.
- Robin Sarstedt (born Clive Robin Sarstedt, 21 January 1944, in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India), the youngest brother, who made his recording debut as "Wes Sands" (recorded by Joe Meek), and then continued as "Clive Sands". He had a hit in 1976 (as "Robin Sarstedt") with the Hoagy Carmichael cover "My Resistance Is Low."
Discography
Singles
| Year | A-side | B-side | Label | UK Chart | US Chart | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | "In the Day of My Youth" | "My Monkey Is a Junkie" | Major Minor MM520 | -- | -- | as "Peter Lincoln" |
| 1968 | "I Must Go On" | "Mary Jane" | Island WIP-6028 | -- | -- | |
| "I Am a Cathedral" | "Blagged" | United Artists UP 2228 | -- | -- | ||
| 1969 | "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?" | "Morning Mountain" | United Artists UP 2262 U.S.: World Pacific 77911 | 1 | 70 | |
| "Frozen Orange Juice" | "Arethusa Loser" | United Artists UP 35021 U.S.: World Pacific 77919 | 10 | 116 | ||
| "As Though It Were a Movie" | "Take Off Your Clothes" | United Artists UP 35041 | -- | -- | ||
| 1970 | "Without Darkness" | "Step into the Candlelight" | United Artists UP 35075 | -- | -- | |
| 1971 | "You're a Lady" | "Useless" | United Artists UP 35301 | -- | -- | |
| 1972 | "Every Word You Say" | "What Makes One Man Feel" | United Artists UP 35369 | -- | -- | |
| 1975 | "Tall Tree" | "Mellowed Out" | Warner Bros. K 16575 | -- | -- | |
| 1978 | "Beirut" | "Hollywood Sign" | Ariola/Hansa AHA 517 | -- | -- | |
| "You'll Never Be Alone Again" | "Waitress in the Whiskey" | Ariola/Hansa AHA 531 | -- | -- | ||
| 1979 | "Mulberry Dawn" | "I Am No Longer" | Ariola/Hansa AHA 537 | -- | -- | |
| "The Far Pavilions" | "Juli's Theme" | Monarch MON 04 | -- | -- | ||
| 1981 | "English Girls" / "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" | "Frozen Orange Juice" | Liberty BP 396 | -- | -- | |
| 1982 | "Love Among the Ruins" | "Don Quixote" | Peach River BBPR 2 | -- | -- | |
| 1984 | "Other People's Lives" | "You'll Never Be Alone Again" | Audiotrax ATX 4 | -- | -- | |
| 1986 | "Hemingway" | "Don Quixote" | Filmtrax FRAME 102 | -- | -- | |
| 1987 | "Suzanne" | "Stress" | Trax PTS 1 | -- | -- |
Albums
Sarstedt issued 15 albums in his 50-year-long career.
| Year | Title | Label | UK Albums Chart | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Peter Sarstedt | United Artists ULP 1219 | 8 | |
| As Though It Were a Movie | United ArtistsUAS 29037 | -- | ||
| 1971 | Every Word You Say Is Written Down | United Artists UAS 29247 | -- | |
| Another Day Passes By | Evolution 2022 | -- | ||
| 1973 | Worlds Apart Together | EMI SRZA8516 | -- | (credited to "The Sarstedt Brothers") |
| 1975 | Tall Tree | Warner K56129 | -- | |
| 1979 | Ps... | Ariola/HansaAHAL8006 | -- | |
| 1981 | Up Date | Festival Records D 19106 | -- | |
| 1986 | Colors: Asia Minor | Music Maker CMMR923 | -- | (credited to Peter and Clive Sarstedt) |
| 1987 | Never Say Goodbye | TRAX PETER/_IMS/POLYGRAM | -- | |
| 1997 | England's Lane | Roundtower Music RTMD89 - BMG | -- | |
| 2004 | Singer/Songwriter | EMI 5762632 | -- | |
| 2006 | On Song | RMS Studios | -- | (credited to Peter Sarstedt with Clive Sarstedt on guitar) |
| 2008 | The Lost Album | Singer SING 204 | -- | |
| 2012 | Highlights – the Demos | -- | ||
| 2008 | Restless Heart | Singer | -- |
