Peter Langford

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Peter Langford
Peter Langford.png
Langford in 1964
Background information
Born (1943-04-10) 10 April 1943 (age 80)
Durham, England
Genres Pop, novelty
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals
Years active1959-present
Member of The Barron Knights

Peter Langford (born 10 April 1943 [1] ) is an English comic musician, best known for being the guitarist and main songwriter for the group The Barron Knights. Langford remains of the longest serving members of the group, having been in the band since its inception in 1959, as well as being the only original member still in the Barron Knights as of 2007.

Contents

Langford runs the entertainment agency "Templar Entertainment", who have worked with the likes of The Searchers and Ken Dodd.

Childhood

Langford was born in Durham, England on 10 April 1943. He has stated that he should have been born in Tottenham, but his mother had to be evacuated to Northern England due to the Second World War. [2] When Langford was three months old, the Wehrmacht bombed Northern-East England, and Peter and his mother migrated to Leighton Buzzard, and moved in to his grandfathers public house. [2]

After leaving school, Langford would run errands for an elderly man who lived nearby, and one day, he was in the mans residence watching Sunday Night at the London Palladium on his television, when he saw Lonnie Donegan performing the guitar on the show one week, and then Slim Whitman on the show playing guitar the following week; this inspired Peter to start playing guitar. [3] Langford was at work, when he sliced the end of his finger open. With the compensation, he bought his first guitar, and was taught how to play it by Barron Knights member Butch Baker. [2]

Career

The Barron Knights

In late 1959, he and Butch Baker met musician Antony Michael John Osmond (later known professionally as Barron Antony) and the three formed The Barron Knights. [2] Originally a serious band, they took inspiration from The Four Preps, and soon changed to comedy.

The Barron Knights were spotted by Beatles manager Brian Epstein in 1963, and were asked to support the band at their Christmas shows in London. The group became one of few acts to tour with both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. [4] They signed to Fontana Records, and released their first single, "Let's Face It" / "Never Miss Chris". [5] The bands big break came in 1964, with their song Call Up the Groups, a song with the basis of famous 60s pop and rock stars having to enlist in the army of navy. The rewriting of the songs was done solely by Peter, and the track included parodies of songs by The Searchers, Freddie and the Dreamers, The Rolling Stones, The Bachelors, The Dave Clark Five, and The Beatles. After a recording a demo, the band was sceptical about whether or not the song would be released, as many of the acts they parodied denied permission for them to use their songs. Call Up the Groups was an instant smash hit, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart. [6] [7] The youngest member of the band, Langford was also the driving force and main songwriter for the band, and according to Langford himself, he and Butch Baker "have been responsible for 90% of all the bands material." [2] Langford was given the nickname "Peanut" by group members and fans because he used to play the song "Peanut Vendor" on the guitar. [3]

The Barron Knights in 1964 (Langford on left) The Barron Knights live.png
The Barron Knights in 1964 (Langford on left)

Call Up the Groups was followed up with Pop Go the Workers, also mainly rewritten by Langford, which included parodies from new artists, such as The Supremes, Sandie Shaw, and Val Doonican. Pop Go the Workers became a top-ten hit in the UK and was awarded a silver disc by Disc for sales of over 250,000 copies. [8] The third of their medley hits was Merry Gentle Pops, a song themed around Christmas. By the late 1960s, the Barron Knights were slowly fading out the public eye. By the 1970s, Langford began partaking more in singing lead vocals on the majority songs, as opposed to the occasional lead and mainly backing vocals in the 1960s. In 1974, they toured with Petula Clark in South Africa. [9] In 1977, they signed on to Columbia Records, and with it, came a strain of hits which boosted the band back into the public eye again. A Taste of Aggro, which was a medley of parodies of Rivers of Babylon (Boney M.), The Smurf Song (Vader Abraham), and Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs (Brian and Michael) went to number three on the UK charts, and was followed with multiple appearances on Top of the Pops from 1977 to 1980, which included Live in Trouble, A Taste of Aggro, Food for Thought, and Christmas Presents, most of which were in the top 10 as some point. [10] [11] [12] Christmas Presents, released in 1980, became their last charting hit, peaking at No. 23. [13]

Following the departures of Barron Antony on 5 October 1985, Dave Ballinger in the 1980s, Duke D'Mond in 2005, and Butch Baker in 2007, Langford remains the only member of the classic 1960s line up to remain a member of The Barron Knights. Peter penned an autobiography about the Barron Knights titled "Once a Knight: History of the Barron Knights" in 1993. [14] Peter became the bands manager later on in the groups history. [2]

The band announced their last live performance with their The Last & Final Joust tour. [15] [16] The Barron Knights' last performance was on Wednesday, 16 March 2022. Langford spoke about the issue: "It was my decision to pack up the travelling. It was getting really, really tough. We decided that last year was going to be the finale, but because of Covid the shows in 2021 got cancelled as the theatres closed down." [16]

A Song for You

On the official Barron Knights website, Langford runs the "A Song for You" section, where people can send in either the lyrics or the rhythm for a song for a special occasion, and Langford records the song in a one or two minute version in his home studio, and puts the final version on Compact disc. [17]

Other works

Langford released a single titled "Getting Hungry" with the band Big Boy Blue. [18] Peter released the single "Danny's Boy" as a solo artist in 1975 under Penny Farthing Records. [19] He formed and managed a group in the 1970s called Peanut (named after his nickname). Langford runs "Templar Entertainment", an entertainment agency. Templar Entertainment have said to have worked with the likes of Tom O'Connor, The Searchers, Tony Hadley, The Manfreds, Mick Hucknall, Ken Dodd, and Jasper Carrot. [20]

Personal life

Langford lives with his wife in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.

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References

  1. ↑ "Barron Knights". www.45-rpm.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pete Langford". Barron Knights_002. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  3. 1 2 "Gary James' Interview With Peter Langford Of The Barron Knights". www.classicbands.com. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  4. ↑ "Do You Know?". Barron Knights_002. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  5. ↑ "The Barron Knights".
  6. ↑ "call up the groups | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  7. ↑ "November 10, 1980" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "BARRON KNIGHTS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  9. ↑ "Barron Knights_002". Barron Knights_002. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  10. ↑ "The Barron Knights on Top of the Pops".
  11. ↑ "a taste of aggro | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  12. ↑ "live in trouble | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  13. ↑ "Barron Knights' Duke D'Mond dies, aged 66". Digital Spy. 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  14. ↑ "Once a Knight: History of the Barron Knights by Langford, Pete: Good (1993) | WeBuyBooks". www.abebooks.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  15. ↑ "The Barron Knights return to Stevenage for farewell concert as part of the 'Last & Final Joust'". The Comet. 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  16. 1 2 "Leighton Buzzard band The Barron Knights announce last-ever tour". Leighton Buzzard Observer. 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  17. ↑ "A Song for You". Barron Knights_002. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  18. ↑ "Big Boy Blue". Discogs. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  19. ↑ Metason. "Peter Langford". ArtistInfo. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  20. ↑ "Templar". Barron Knights_002. Retrieved 2023-05-29.

See also

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