8 May 1964
Not quite nepo-baby level, but it’s sure handy if in 1964 you’re in a pop group looking for a hit, your sister’s boyfriend is Paul McCartney, and he’s even sharing a room with you in your family home. That’s how Peter Asher, brother of actress and then-Beatle-partner Jane, gets an unused Lennon-McCartney original for him and his bandmate Gordon. ‘A World Without Love’ duly topped the charts in the UK, US and here in Ireland. Nice one, prospective bro-in-law!
So, is ‘A World Without Love’ robbing Paul to pay Peter and Gordon? Well, it’s probably a bit too ’50s-sentimental for raucous moptop-era Beatles, but you can still hear the effortless melodic lilt and striking chord changes of classic Paul fare. The two lads make a decent fist of it too: the song suits their slightly fey Englishness and folk troubadour style. My only gripe is with the bass drum throughout, which sounds like someone hitting an empty suitcase with a wooden spoon yet (on the remaster below at least) is pushed up in the mix. Paul’s largesse clearly didn’t extend to him producing it too, more’s the pity.
