Pop Music

The song “Lady Godiva” by Peter and Gordon is a music-hall-style song about a modern-day (well, modern for the 1960s). The song went to #6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #16 in the U.K., and #1 in Australia in 1966. Poor Lady Godiva. She’s hoodwinked by a Hollywood director, who turns out to direct porn. The song sold more than one million copies and earned an RIAA gold record.

The story goes that the mayor of Coventry tried to stop local airplay of the song because it insulted the city and the legend. Peter Asher (the Peter of Peter and Gordon) said, “I don’t know if some record company press hack dreamed that one up or if it was real.”

Peter Asher and Gordon Waller formed in the early 1960s. They were school friends at Westminster, one of the top private schools in Britain. Peter and his sister Jane Asher were child actors in the 1950s, notably for appearing as siblings in an episode of the TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood. Jane dated Paul McCartney, and that liaison turned out to be good fortune for Peter and Gordon. Paul gave them the song “World Without Love,” which sky-rocketed to #1 in the U.K. and U.S. in 1964. They had other big hits with “Nobody I Know,” I Don’t Want to See You Again,” “I Go to Pieces,” “True Love Way,” and “To Know You is to Love You,” among others. They broke up in 1968. Gordon went solo, and Peter became head of A&R for Apple Records.

Here are the lyrics to “Lady Godiva” by Peter and Gordon:

“Seventeen, a beauty queen
She made a ride that caused a scene
In the town

Her long blonde hair
Hangin’ down around her knees
All the cats who dig striptease
Prayin’ for a little breeze
Her long blonde hair
Falling down across her arms
Hiding all the lady’s charms
Lady Godiva

She found fame and made her name
A Hollywood director came into town
And said to her
“How’d you like to be a star?
You’re a girl that could go far
‘specially dressed the way you are”
She smiled at him
Gave her pretty head a shake
That was Lady G’s mistake
A-hey-hey-hey
Lady Godiva

He directs certificate ‘X’
And people now are craning their necks
To see her ’cause she’s a star
One that everybody knows
Finished with the striptease shows
Now she can’t afford her clothes

Her long blonde hair
Lyin’ on the barber’s floor
Doesn’t need it long anymore
Lady Godiva”

If you are interested in reading about and listening to other songs by Peter and Gordon: “The Knight in Rusty Armour” and “A World Without Love.”

Check Out The Groove Pad for More 1960s Music

The Pass the Paisley Groove Pad is a resting stop, a place to chill out and listen to the featured song on the stereo. If the mood strikes you, click on the juke box to access and listen to the 50+ commercial free online songs there. The TV has several channels, with selections updated twice a week. Every now and then, Pass the Paisley hosts an all-request of 1960s and 1970s songs for a Be-In at the juke box in the Groove Pad. Keep on truckin’. Hope you enjoyed “Lady Godiva” by Peter and Gordon.