Luan Peters
Encyclopedia
Luan Peters also known as Karol Keyes, is an English
actress.
Born as Carol Hirsch, she made her stage debut in a pantomime aged four, then went on to win a drama scholarship at aged 16 after a performance of Twelfth Night. She started singing in a band for two pounds a night as a way of earning extra money while attending drama school. Her singing career began in Manchester
, where under the name Karol Keyes (named after her management Keystone Promotions), she fronted “Karol Keyes and The Big Sound”, a band previously known as “The Fat Sound”. One of her first records was an Ike & Tina Turner
number called "A Fool in Love
" on Columbia. She split from that band in June 1966; a year later she joined Joan Littlewood
’s drama school at the Theatre Royal Stratford East
. She continued to sing in nightclubs, leading to a recording contract offer from EMI
. Gordon Mills
who had given stage names to Tom Jones
and Engelbert Humperdinck
, suggested she call herself "Delilah Jackson" to capitalize on Jones’ 1968 hit Delilah; however, she chose the name Luan Peters instead.
In 1970, she starred in the 13 part TV series Go Girl, as a go-go dancer who finds herself involved in action oriented story lines. The series was beset by problems, which included the financiers backing out, the production running out of money, and the actors union closing the production down. The series was never broadcast. The pilot episode only saw the light of day more than a decade after it was made, when it was released twice on UK video in the early eighties once under the title Give Me a Ring Sometime (which is actually just the pilot episode title) and another time as Passport to Murder.
She is known for her appearances in Hammer horror film
s of the 1970s such as Lust for a Vampire
and Twins of Evil
. Other film credits include: The Flesh and Blood Show, Vampira
, The Wildcats of St Trinian's
and Pacific Banana.
Her stage work includes A Man Most Likely To (1969, with George Cole), Pyjama Tops (1969), Decameron 73 (1973), playing Linda McCartney
in John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert (1974), Tom Stoppard
’s Dirty Linen (1976), Shut Your Eyes And Think Of England! (1978 with Donald Sinden
and Frank Thornton
) and Funny Peculiar (1985).
She was also active on television
in series such as: Z-Cars
, Public Eye, Doctor Who
, Target, The Professionals
and the Fawlty Towers
episode The Psychiatrist
playing Raylene Miles, an Australian tourist. Her last known television role was in an episode in The Bill
in 1990. In 2005 she was interviewed for the documentary Fawlty Towers Revisited.
In 1975 she fronted the band 5000 Volts
and appeared on Top of the Pops
singing their hit song “I’m on Fire”, however the actual vocalist was Tina Charles Peters continued to release singles (mainly in Europe) throughout the decade.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress.
Born as Carol Hirsch, she made her stage debut in a pantomime aged four, then went on to win a drama scholarship at aged 16 after a performance of Twelfth Night. She started singing in a band for two pounds a night as a way of earning extra money while attending drama school. Her singing career began in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, where under the name Karol Keyes (named after her management Keystone Promotions), she fronted “Karol Keyes and The Big Sound”, a band previously known as “The Fat Sound”. One of her first records was an Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner were an American rock & roll and soul duo, made of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner in the 1960s and 1970s. Spanning sixteen years together as a recording group, the duo's repertoire included rock & roll, soul, blues and funk...
number called "A Fool in Love
A Fool in Love
" A Fool in Love" is a soul single released as the debuting single for Ike & Tina Turner, released in 1960 on the Sue Records label.-Production history:...
" on Columbia. She split from that band in June 1966; a year later she joined Joan Littlewood
Joan Littlewood
Joan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
’s drama school at the Theatre Royal Stratford East
Theatre Royal Stratford East
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
. She continued to sing in nightclubs, leading to a recording contract offer from EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. Gordon Mills
Gordon Mills
Gordon William Mills , was a successful London-based music industry manager and songwriter who was born in Madras, India and grew up in Trealaw in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales...
who had given stage names to Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
and Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)
Engelbert Humperdinck is a British pop singer, best known for his hits including "Release Me " and "After the Lovin'" as well as "The Last Waltz" .-Early life:...
, suggested she call herself "Delilah Jackson" to capitalize on Jones’ 1968 hit Delilah; however, she chose the name Luan Peters instead.
In 1970, she starred in the 13 part TV series Go Girl, as a go-go dancer who finds herself involved in action oriented story lines. The series was beset by problems, which included the financiers backing out, the production running out of money, and the actors union closing the production down. The series was never broadcast. The pilot episode only saw the light of day more than a decade after it was made, when it was released twice on UK video in the early eighties once under the title Give Me a Ring Sometime (which is actually just the pilot episode title) and another time as Passport to Murder.
She is known for her appearances in Hammer horror film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s of the 1970s such as Lust for a Vampire
Lust for a Vampire
Lust For a Vampire is a 1971 British Hammer Horror film directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Yutte Stensgaard, Michael Johnston and Barbara Jefford. It is the second film in the so-called Karnstein Trilogy loosely based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla...
and Twins of Evil
Twins of Evil
Twins of Evil is a 1971 horror film by Hammer Film Productions starring Peter Cushing, with Damien Thomas and the real-life twins and former Playboy Playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson....
. Other film credits include: The Flesh and Blood Show, Vampira
Vampira (film)
Vampira is a 1974 comedy/horror film spoofing the vampire genre. It stars David Niven and Teresa Graves. Following the success of Young Frankenstein, Vampira was renamed Old Dracula for release in the United States in an attempt to cash in on Young Frankenstein's success.-Plot:Count Dracula is an...
, The Wildcats of St Trinian's
The Wildcats of St Trinian's
The Wildcats of St. Trinian's is the fifth British comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School, released in 1980.It poked fun at the British trade union movement which had been responsible for the recent wave of strikes that culminated in the Winter of Discontent.The film was not a...
and Pacific Banana.
Her stage work includes A Man Most Likely To (1969, with George Cole), Pyjama Tops (1969), Decameron 73 (1973), playing Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
in John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert (1974), Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
’s Dirty Linen (1976), Shut Your Eyes And Think Of England! (1978 with Donald Sinden
Donald Sinden
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...
and Frank Thornton
Frank Thornton
Frank Thornton is an English actor who is best known for playing Captain Peacock in Are You Being Served? and its sequel Grace & Favour and as Truly in Last of the Summer Wine.-Early life:...
) and Funny Peculiar (1985).
She was also active on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in series such as: Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
, Public Eye, Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, Target, The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
and the Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
episode The Psychiatrist
The Psychiatrist
"The Psychiatrist" is the second episode of the second series of BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.-Synopsis:Sybil flirts with a young male guest named Mr. Johnson . Meanwhile, two doctors arrive at the hotel, and Basil becomes concerned when he realises one is a psychiatrist...
playing Raylene Miles, an Australian tourist. Her last known television role was in an episode in The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
in 1990. In 2005 she was interviewed for the documentary Fawlty Towers Revisited.
In 1975 she fronted the band 5000 Volts
5000 Volts
5000 Volts is the name of a British disco recording act that achieved success throughout Europe during the 1970s. The group consisted of vocalists Tina Charles and Martin Jay, with a changing group of session musicians.-Career:...
and appeared on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
singing their hit song “I’m on Fire”, however the actual vocalist was Tina Charles Peters continued to release singles (mainly in Europe) throughout the decade.
Singles
- "The Good Love The Bad Love" "Gonna Find me a Substitute" (Karol Keyes & The Big Sound, Unreleased Abbey Rd. EMI audition Recording)
- "No One Can Take Your Place"/"You Beat Me To The Punch" (Fontana TF517 December 1964) (as Karol Keyes)
- "Can't You Hear the Music"/"The Sweetest Touch" (Fontana TF 846 July 1967) (as Karol Keyes)
- "One in a Million" (1964) (as Karol Keyes)
- "A Fool in Love/The Good Love and the Bad Love" (1966) (as Karol Keyes)
- "Crazy Annie/ Colours" (1970)
- "Everything I Want to Do/Billy Come Down" (1973, Polydor)
- "Love Countdown/Beach Love" (1977, CBS, Germany)
- "Dolphin Dive" (1979)
- "It's Me Again Margaret/Henhouse Holiday" (1980, Precision)
- "Trouble" (1981, from the film ‘Pacific Banana’)