Crispian St. Peters

Rocker Crispian St. Peters was born Robin Peter Smith in Swanley, Kent, England. He learned to play the guitar as a child. After graduating high school he played with various bands in England and made somewhat of a name for himself. While a member of a band called Beat Formula Three in 1963 he came to the attention of a publicist for EMI Records, who became his manager. In 1964. after using a string of stage names, he settled on Crispian St. Peters and, as a member of Peter and the Wolves, made his first record. His manager convinced him to leave the band and go solo, and got him a contract with Decca Records. His first two singles went pretty much nowhere, but in 1966 he finally had a hit with "You Were On My Mind" (which had already been recorded by a Canadian duo, Mickey & Sylvia, and the American folk singers We Five). Tbe record went to #2 in the UK, but when released in the US it flopped. However, his next single hit the big time: "The Pied Piper", with St. Peter's deep, somewhat Elvis Presley-ish vocals driving the song to the Top 10 in both the UK and the US. His follow-up records, while having somewhat respectable sales, never brought in the numbers that "The Pied Piper" did. In 1970 his contract was terminated by Decca. He continued to record for a variety of labels, however, and had a respectable following in Australia. He toured by himself and in '60s "revival" shows in the '90s, and wrote and arranged songs for others. On January 1, 1995, he had a stroke, which severely curtailed his activities. He had other health problems over the next several years. On June 8, 2010, he died after a long illness. He was 71.