Luan Peters (18 June 1946 – 24 December 2017), also known as Karol Keyes, was an English actress and singer.
Biography
Born Carol Ann Hirsch, she made her stage debut in a pantomime aged four, then went on to win a drama scholarship at the age of 16 after a performance of ''
Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
''.
She started singing in a band for £2 a night as a way of earning extra money while attending drama school. In
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, 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 were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocal ...
song called "
A Fool in Love
"A Fool in Love" is the debut single by Ike & Tina Turner. It was released on Sue Records in 1960. The song is Tina Turner's first professional release although she had been recording with Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm since 1958. It was the ...
", released on Columbia. She left that band in June 1966; subsequently, as Luan Peters (a name she adopted in the late 1960s), she succeeded Tina Charles as frontwoman of 5000 Volts. A year later, she joined
Joan Littlewood
Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...
’s drama school at the
Theatre Royal Stratford East
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...
. In 1971, she starred in ''Not Tonight, Darling'' a drama directed by Anthony Sloman.
Peters is known for her appearances in
Hammer horror
Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic fiction, Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of thes ...
films of the 1970s such as ''
Lust for a Vampire
''Lust for a Vampire'', also known as ''Love for a Vampire'' or ''To Love a Vampire'' (the latter title was the one used on American television), is a 1971 British Hammer Horror film directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Barbara Jef ...
'' (1971) and ''
Twins of Evil
''Twins of Evil'' (also known as ''Twins of Dracula'') is a 1971 British horror film directed by John Hough and starring Peter Cushing, with Damien Thomas and the real-life identical twins and former ''Playboy'' Playmates Mary and Madeleine ...
'' (1971). Other film credits include '' Man of Violence'' (1969), ''
Freelance
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
'' (1971), ''Not Tonight, Darling'' (1971), ''
The Flesh and Blood Show
''The Flesh and Blood Show'' is a 1972 British slasher film directed and produced by Pete Walker, and starring Ray Brooks, Jenny Hanley, and Luan Peters. It follows a group of actors being stalked and murdered by an unseen assailant while re ...
Land of the Minotaur
''Land of the Minotaur'' (UK title: ''The Devil's Men'') is a 1976 horror film directed by Kostas Karagiannis and written by Arthur Rowe. The film is also known as Minotaur and The Devil's Men.
''Land of the Minotaur'' is actually the name of ...
'' (1976), ''
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. Directed by Frank Launder, it was released in 1980.
The film pokes fun at the British trade union movement which had been responsible ...
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...
),
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
's ''
Dirty Linen
''Dirty Linen'' was a bi-monthly magazine of folk and world music based in Baltimore, Maryland. The magazine ceased publication in the spring of 2010. The magazine offered extensive reviews of folk music recordings, videos, books, and concert ...
'' (1976), ''Shut Your Eyes And Think Of England!'' (1978) and ''Funny Peculiar'' (1985).
In 1972, she starred in the unbroadcast television series ''Go Girl'', as a go-go dancer caught up in thriller situations. The pilot episode, possibly the only one made, was released twice on UK video in the early 1980s, first as ''Give Me a Ring Sometime'' (the pilot episode title) and later as ''Passport to Murder''.
Other series were: ''
Z-Cars
''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...
Public Eye
Public Eye or The Public Eye may refer to:
* ''Public Eye'' (TV series), a British television series that ran from 1965 to 1975
* ''The Public Eye'' (TV series), a Canadian television public affairs television series which aired on CBC Televisio ...
'', ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'' (playing series regular Lorna Shawcross in 1971), ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' (in the serials ''
The Macra Terror
''The Macra Terror'' is the completely missing seventh serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 March to 1 April 1967.
In this serial, ...
'' in 1967, and ''
Frontier in Space
''Frontier in Space'' is the third serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The serial was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 24 February to 31 March 1973. It was the last serial to ...
'' in 1973), ''
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
Fawlty Towers
''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television ...
'' episode " The Psychiatrist" in which she played Raylene Miles, an
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n tourist. Her last known television role was in an episode of ''
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983.
The programme focused on ...
'' in 1990. In 2005, she was interviewed for the documentary ''Fawlty Towers Revisited''.
Death
Luan Peters died on Christmas Eve 2017, aged 71, but her death was not made public until June 2018.
Discography
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)
*"One in a Million" (1964) (as Karol Keyes)
*"A Fool in Love/The Good Love and the Bad Love" (1966) (as Karol Keyes)
*"Don't Jump" (1966) (as Karol Keyes)
*"Can't You Hear the Music"/"The Sweetest Touch" (Fontana TF 846 July 1967) (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'')
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...