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By Lookout Staff

August 21 -- The British are coming! Again. Peter & Gordon and Gerry & the Pacemakers are headed to the Santa Monica Pier for a free Twilight Dance Series concert Thursday night.

After following The Beatles across the pond in the early sixties, the two bands remain exponents of the Mersey sound that combined rocking rhythms with soaring harmonies.

In June 1964, Peter & Gordon became the first British Invasion act after The Beatles to take the number one spot on the American charts with "A World Without Love."

Dubbed the "Everly Brothers of the British Invasion," Peter & Gordon scored Top 40 hits with "I Don't Want to see you Again," "Nobody I Know" and "Woman" -- all written by Paul McCartney -- plus "Knight in Rusty Armor," "Sunday For Tea," "I Go to Pieces," "Lady Godiva," "To Know You is to Love You" and "True Love Ways."

After Peter & Gordon broke up in 1968, Peter Asher became a successful producer, first as the director of A&R at Apple Records, where he worked on James Taylor's first album. After relocating to Los Angeles, he became one of the principal architects of Californian rock in the 1970s, producing Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor and others.

In 2005, after more than 35 years, Peter Asher and Gordon Waller reunited for a special benefit. Thursday will mark their first concert appearance in Los Angeles since the '60s!

Gerry & the Pacemakers came from the same Liverpool scene at the Cavern that spawned the "Mersey Beat." Part of the "British Invasion" of 1964, the band is remembered for such hits as "I'm The One," their biggest U.S. hit "Don't Let the Sun Catch you Crying" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey."

Gerry & the Pacemakers were TV regulars on The Ed Sullivan Show, Hullabaloo, Shindig, Ready Steady Go! and featured in the legendary TNT/T.A.M.I. Show concert.

Featured on PBS music specials, Gerry Marsden is in great demand in the UK, where he is booked for months at a time at seaside resorts, making his U.S. appearances quite rare.