Peter Sarstedt
Peter Eardley Sarstedt, 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 ?", 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 group known 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 ?", 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 .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, 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 who himself topped the UK Singles Chart in 1961 with "Well I Ask You," under the stage name Eden Kane.
- Robin Sarstedt, the youngest brother, who made his recording debut as "Wes Sands", and then continued as "Clive Sands". He had a hit in 1976 with the Hoagy Carmichael cover "My Resistance Is Low."
Discography
Singles
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 | |
| 1969 | As Though It Were a Movie | United Artists UAS 29037 | -- | |
| 1971 | Every Word You Say Is Written Down | United Artists UAS 29247 | -- | |
| 1971 | Another Day Passes By | Evolution 2022 | -- | |
| 1973 | Worlds Apart Together | EMI SRZA8516 | -- | |
| 1975 | Tall Tree | Warner K56129 | -- | |
| 1979 | Ps... | Ariola/Hansa AHAL8006 | -- | |
| 1981 | Up Date | Festival Records D 19106 | -- | |
| 1986 | Colors: Asia Minor | Music Maker CMMR923 | -- | |
| 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 | -- | |
| 2008 | The Lost Album | Singer SING 204 | -- | |
| 2012 | Highlights – the Demos | -- | ||
| 2008 | Restless Heart | Singer | -- |