Filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine were relieved when Sir Paul McCartney turned down their request for an interview for their new documentary on the life of Peter Asher. The film, Peter Asher: Everywhere Man, is the definitive account of the 82-year-old's story, from child star to pop star to record producer.
The couple brought the documentary to Liverpool for a special screening at FACT Picturehouse on Sunday (November 1). The San Francisco-based filmmakers insisted on a screening in Liverpool because Peter's contribution to the Beatles story makes him a vital part of the city's history.
Connection to the Beatles
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 Sir Paul 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 Beatles back catalogue as he couldn't keep a straight face after hearing the opening line: "Please lock me away."
Rare McCartney recordings
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. Peter was also appointed the first A&R of Apple Corps when the Fab Four's business arm was set up in 1967.
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'."
While Sir Paul was contemplating giving a rare interview, the filmmakers uncovered something more powerful that 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.
Archive tapes discovered
As part of the research for the 1997 book, Sir Paul sat down with writer Barry Miles to talk about 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 each other since the early 60s."
Influence on pop culture
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 Faithfull.
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. 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. 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'."
A lasting legacy
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."
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 thought 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."
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.
