Back in the groove

Not too many Philippine Basketball Association fans know that Rene Pardo, Purefoods’ representative in the Board of Governors, was a matinee idol during his college days.

In the ‘60s, Pardo was the lead vocalist of a popular band called The Griffins, specializing in Beatles and Dave Clark Five songs. The local variety show "Nine Teeners," patterned after the US music programs "Shindig" and "Hullaballoo," often featured The Griffins on TV.

So when Pardo heard that Peter and Gordon are coming to Manila for a reunion tour, he got tickets right away before they’re sold out. And when he learned the British legends’ song list will include the Dave Clark Five hit "Because" (which he used to sing with The Griffins), the more he got excited.

There’s a reason why Peter and Gordon are singing "Because."

Last August, Gordon Waller convinced his long-time singing partner Peter Asher to perform at a benefit concert to raise funds for paralyzed Dave Clark Five vocalist Mike Smith. They hadn’t sung together since the reception at Gordon’s wedding to Georgina Steele in Los Angeles in 1998. And before that, they hadn’t sung since releasing their last single in 1969.

Smith fell from a fence at his home in Spain in October 2003 and broke his neck. He is now a tetraplegic, paralyzed below the ribcage with limited use of the upper body. A month before the accident, Smith and his new band The Rock Engine performed at the B. B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York City and he was a guest on the David Letterman Show.

With little money in the bank, Smith is relying on friends and relatives to finance his rehabilitation. Dave Clark himself is incapacitated although he’s financially stable. Clark is afflicted with a rare muscle disease and according to sources, now looks like "The Elephant Man."

The handsome drummer is driven weekly to a London hospital for treatment in a white limousine.

Letterman’s musical arranger and sidekick Paul Shafer conceived the idea of a benefit and assembled a group of ‘60s British musicians to perform at the B. B. King club. Aside from Peter and Gordon, others who performed at the show were the Zombies (definitely touring Manila this February), Billy J. Kramer and former Wings and Moody Blues singer Denny Laine.

In the benefit show, Peter and Gordon sang "A World Without Love," "Lady Godiva," "Woman," "True Love Ways" and "Because" to prolonged applause. Pat Clark, who witnessed the performance, wrote, "Vocally, they both nailed it. The crowd loved them. We could have listened to them all night long."

With the successful reunion, Gordon then persuaded Peter to embark on a world tour with Manila as the kick-off leg.

Peter eventually agreed to join Gordon in their first overseas concert in 37 years.

Since the pair split up, Peter has concentrated on his work as a record producer. He was the top A&R (artists and repertoire) executive at Apple Records then worked at MGM Records in Los Angeles before forming his own talent agency. In 1995, Peter was appointed senior vice president of Sony Music Entertainment and three years ago, became co-president of Sanctuary Artist Management. Among the talents he has managed are James Taylor, Linda Rondstadt, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, Cher, Diana Ross, Billy Joel and Fleetwood Mac. Peter has won Producer of the Year honors twice at the Grammys.

Promoter Steve O’Neal is setting the stage for Peter and Gordon’s return to Manila. They’re performing at the Araneta Coliseum on Dec. 1 and the Hard Rock Cafe on Dec. 3. The pair sold out a series of shows at the Big Dome in 1966.

Peter and Gordon’s song list is topped by their four million-selling hits "A World Without Love," "True Love Ways," "Nobody I Know" and "Lady Godiva." They’re also singing popular songs like "All My Trials," "Crying In The Rain," "Woman" and "To Know You Is To Love You."

In an e-mail to O’Neal the other day, Gordon promised a show that will bring the house down.

"We will make the show great," said Gordon. "I’ve been working 15 hours constant on various things for it. We will wear suits for the Araneta show and maybe, something casual for Hard Rock. We’ll rock Manila like it never rocked before."

As for Pardo, expect him to sing along with Peter and Gordon during the show because he’s familiar with their songs.

No wonder when the Chunkee Giants lose, you can almost hear Pardo singing "I Go To Pieces." If one of his players fouls out in a game, he’ll sing "Let It Be Me." If a referee makes a bad call, he’ll sing "I Don’t Want To See You Again." If a player from the opposing team commits a traveling violation, he’ll sing "500 Miles" and if Purefoods is on a roll, he’ll rock with "All Shook Up."

By the way, all those songs – and many more – will be sung by Peter and Gordon at the Araneta Coliseum and at the Hard Rock Café. You can’t miss this chance of a lifetime to watch the British pop music icons start their world reunion tour.

Tickets for the Araneta Coliseum concert are now available at Ticketnet, tel. 951-5555 and all SM outlets. Reservations for the Hard Rock Café dinner show may be called in at tells. 8934661 to 64.