Song:Where Do You Go To My Lovely
Album:The Best Of Peter Sarstedt: Where Do You Go To My Lovely
This is one of those songs that was never a big hit in North America but it was a hit in England and the lyrics of the song mystify people and as a result the song still has life. Peter Sarstedt still records today. He was born Dec. 12, 1942 in Delhi, India. His father was a British civil servant and then he ran a tea plantation near Darjeeling. The family moved back to England in 1954. Peter Sarsteadt followed his older brother Richard into music. Along with younger brother Clive, they formed a skiffle band called The Fabulous Five in 1957. Then Richard won a 1961 talent contest and changed his name to Eden Kane and the three went out on tour. Peter started writing his own material and in 1968 signed with United Artists in England. Where Do You Go To My Lovely topped the British charts and did well in other European countries. World Pacific released it in the US and it only reached #70 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song includes several contemporary references to France and folks try to read some meaning into that. But it seems that Sarstedt wrote the song for a girlfriend who died in a fire in 1966. The French references are a red herring. The musical style seems to have been influenced by the popularity in England of singers like Serge Gainsbourg and Jacques Brel. Sarstedt had one more top ten hit in England and since then he has continued to tour and his latest CD was released last year. This EMI comp has his first two UA albums. Where Do You Go To My Lovely got a big boost when it turned up in Wes Anderson's 2007 film The Darjeeling Limited. Fans of the film should get the soundtrack but it has a lot of Indian film music on it so I wouldn't recommend it to most folks. Here's Peter Sarstedt performing Where Do You Go To My Lovely on Top Of The Pops 1969.
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