Crispian St. Peters . The Pied Piper . folk/psych LP

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Crispian St. Peters . The Pied Piper . folk/psych LP

Born Robin Peter Smith in Kent, England, he'd been a member of a trio called the Beat Formula Three in the early 1960s when manager Dave Nicolson pegged him for stardom, with a new name, Crispian St. Peters, and a new folk-rock sound. His first two singles, an uptempo, harmonium-driven ballad called "At This Moment," and the loud, retro-sounding love song "No No No," failed to attract any attention from the public or the press. Then he covered the Sylvia Fricker-authored "You Were On My Mind," which the quintet We Five had picked up from Ian & Sylvia and turned into a hit in America -- his version, slightly more subdued and brooding (his phrasing of the song's opening line was almost Elvis-like), was issued very hurriedly late in 1965 and languished for a time. Gradually, however, it took hold in England and eventually made the British Top Ten in mid-1966.

By then, as with most pop phenomena, Crispian St. Peters became the object of massive press attention, and that was where the first of his outlandish self-promoting statements achieved notice -- he claimed that he'd written 80 songs that were better than anything John Lennon or Paul McCartney had ever authored, and subsequently described himself as a singer better than Elvis Presley, sexier than Dave Berry ("The Crying Game"), and more exciting than Tom Jones.

Later in 1966, St. Peters' "The Pied Piper" soared into the Top Ten on both sides of the Atlantic, and, with its infectious chorus and beat and flute ornamentation, seemed to captured the glow of the pre-psychedelic era. It proved to be the last of his successes, however, a fact that can only be explained, in part, by the controversy surrounding his statements. (AMG)

Artist:

St. Peters, Crispian

Title:

Label:

London LL-3488

Made in:

Canada 1966

Vinyl (visually graded):

Near Mint

Jacket Condition:

slight ring/corner wear, cut-out hole in top right corner

Side 1 ...

Side 2 ...

1. The Pied Piper
2. But She's Untrue
3. Goodbye to You
4. Willingly
5. At This Moment
6. That's the Way I Feel

1. You Were on My Mind
2. Your Love Has Gone
3. Jilly Honey
4. So Long
5. My Little Brown Eyes
6. It's a Funny Feeling