Crispian St. Peters (5 April 1939 – 8 June 2010) was an English pop singer and singer/songwriter best known for his work in the 1960s, particularly his 1966 hits, "The Pied Piper" and "You Were On My Mind".

Early career

He was born Robin Peter Smith in Swanley, Kent and attended Swanley Secondary Modern School. He learned guitar, and left school in 1954 to become an assistant cinema projectionist. In 1956, he gave his first live performance, as a member of The Hard Travellers. Through the late 1950s and early 1960s, he was a member of The Country Gentlemen, Beat Formula Three, and Peter & The Wolves. In 1964, as a member of Peter & The Wolves, St. Peters made his first commercial recording.

Decca label

St. Peters was signed to Decca Records in 1965. His first two singles on this record label, "Invecto Show" and "At This Moment", proved unsuccessful on the charts. He made two television appearances in England in February of that year, featuring in the shows Scene At 6.30 and Ready Steady Go!

In 1966, St. Peters' career finally yielded a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart, when "You Were On My Mind" entered the listing, eventually hitting #2. The single was then released in the U.S. on the Philadelphia-based Jamie label, but it did not chart at first. However, his fourth release, "The Pied Piper", became forever known as his signature song, reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #5 in the UK. No subsequent release would ever match the success of "The Pied Piper", although the latter's success helped boost "You Were On My Mind" into the U.S. Top 40.

In 1967, St. Peters released his first LP, Follow Me, which was followed by his first EP, Almost Persuaded. But by 1970, he was dropped by Decca.

Square label

Later in 1970, he was signed to Square Records. Under this new record deal, St. Peters released a second LP, Simply, that year. Later still they released his first cassette, The Gospel Tape, in 1986, and a second cassette, New Tracks on Old Lines in 1990. His third cassette, Night Sessions, Vol. 1 was released in 1993.

Several CDs also came from this record deal, including Follow Me in 1991, The Anthology in 1996, Night Sessions, Vol. 1 in 1998, The Gospel Tape in 1999, and, finally, Songs From The Attic in 2000.

Personal life

From 1969 to 1974, St. Peters was married to his wife named Collette. The marriage produced a daughter, Samantha, and a son, Lee.

On 1 January 1995, at the age of 56, he suffered a major stroke. His music career was severely weakened by this, and in 2001, he announced his retirement from the music industry. He was hospitalized several times with pneumonia since 2003.

He died on 8 June 2010, after a long illness, at the age of 71.

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