It all began what seems like centuries ago with a publishing deal with one of the leading music publishers of the time “Linn Music, also publishing contracts with “Orange Music” (Harold Keller) and Ember.

Asher formed an early songwriters association in London to assist up and coming songwriters. He was discovered by chance by David Keller, one of the most renowned vocal trainers in the U.K. who taught many stars from the acting and singing stages.

Asher developed a reputation as a talented songwriter and this came to the attention of Georgio Gomelsky, manager of the r & b band, The Yardbirds (Eric Clapton/Samwell Smith/Keith Reiff) commissioning Asher to compose tracks for the Yardbirds forthcoming album and singles.

Around the same time due to David Keller’s encouragement and influence, Asher started gigging with a backing band in various venues in the south of England. This resulted in him being spotted and he landed a single track recording deal with Jupiter Records (Germany) of which Alex North (Unchained Melody) wrote one of the songs and the other written by Ralph Siegel (Eurovision song contest winner).

Asher then landed a major contract with an Eastern European Theatrical Agency to tour clubs and stadiums around central and Eastern Europe with his backing band along with supporting acts for the next 2 years.

Due to the success of this Asher’s international reputation in Europe as a rock and pop artist with attitude led to appearances on both in TV spectaculars and in top venues creating a large fan base, especially among the student youth culture.

After this Asher returned to the UK with a wealth of entertainment industry knowledge and experience and was hired by an entertainment theatrical agency in the north of England to be their general manager. 

This involved looking after and assisting artists, actors and singers for advertising and TV etc. and talent spotting along the way. This developed his knowledge and abilities across the whole field of the industry. 

Asher then returned to his earlier singing career, appearing in various clubs in the north of England rediscovering his stage presence and new techniques to add to his performance along the way. After ‘gigging’ around for about a year Asher was offered a promotion managerial position in Scotland. He accepted but still continued composing and writing. His style by now was evolving into something unique, which sparked him into going forth to record, write and produce for local talented musicians.

Asher himself initially sung many of these vocals and then brought in other singers to cover fresh versions of key songs. Before long Asher had formed his own creative production company recording across the board genres of music.

These productions were presented to various major UK record companies for possible further promotion, and licensing deals. This further enhanced the popularity and content of the productions of GREEN PEPPER JUNCTION.

The company gained notoriety for its exceptional productions and recordings and Asher gradually stepped out of the limelight to utilise his sharp business sense and knowledge to fully focus on the management the company and its music, allowing new artists to take the stage and record his songs. Some of the artists went on to become stars within a few years!

The company by then was very much geared towards SHOWCASING the song writing talents of Asher. This naturally progressed to Asher participating at music conferences, particularly international Midem etc. It was during one of these that he was persuaded by a colleague to turn Green Pepper Junction into a label during the mid-nineties. Asher then began signing international music products under licence for release in the UK along with UK artists and bands.

Throughout this time Asher continued writing and composing. Due to his innate business sense and experience he has continuously been commissioned to handle countless projects over the years both domestically and internationally. As a result GPJ is renowned, regarded and respected throughout the global music industry.

The nineties were drawing to a close and the millennium was almost upon us when Asher decided to re-record two songs he had composed many years before, “Mambo Jambo In Blue (early 70’s) and “Games Lover’s Play” (80’s). It was late summer and Asher was on holiday on the Mediterranean when he spotted a very talented American female soul singer from New York. She had an ideal voice for both these projects. Mambo had had originally been written and demoed in the vein of KC and The Sunshine Band and Games Lover’s Play in the style of Gloria Gaynors “I Will Survive”.  Both productions were intended to be ready to promote at the annual music conference Midem in Cannes.

After hearing the demo’s the artiste agreed to cover both songs but during the recording was called back to the states, so the original artist Asher had in mind for the projects, Klari Katona a Hungarian singer was called in, but unfortunately she was unable to record at that time due to a throat infection, so the project was put on the back shelf for a while until Asher came across Linny (Holland) in 1999. She had the kind of voice he had been looking for but he was also considering another local artist Ch’velle from Glasgow. He slept on this finding it hard to make a decision between the pair of them meanwhile looming weeks away was Midem and the stage on which he intended these products to appear, so the clock was ticking! It was Chrismas Eve and the decision had to made between a local 16 yr old singer for whom the lyrics of “Games Lovers Play” were a little too adult and Linny all the way over in Holland!

Eventually Asher made up his mind on Christmas Day of all times and made the call to Linny in Amsterdam telling her over a personal call that she had been chosen for the project, which she was overjoyed to hear. Linny was then flown to Glasgow on 27th December 1999, given a cassette of both songs to learn overnight while preliminary backing tracks were being laid down simultaneously in Cava Studios by the Robin Rankin and Asher himself, ready for the vocals to be recorded and laid down the following day. Linny rose to the challenge of managing to not only record both songs in English but also in Spanish (an unknown language to her) before she had to return to Amsterdam to perform at a gig on New Years Eve, showing her professional ability to be second to none. A translator had to be flown specially to Glasgow from London to work with Linny to get her phonetics up to scratch, coaching her prior and during the recording process. The tracks were completed and mastered over the next few days and the product was ready in time for Midem as had been originally planned.

The millennium and early years following saw Asher sign a number of products to Green Pepper Junction, including:

Vinnie Cutro, a jazz trombonist from New York and the “Paradise” album

Kitto, a rock singer from Australia with her “Oversensitive” album

Andrea Terrano Band’s super cool laid back jazz album “Old School New Comers”

Tightest, a US hip-hop artist

Barbara Norris (New Jersey) an eminent song writer/composer, pianist of film and TV themes who worked alongside numerous international music products that hit the European music market, the US and beyond.

Asher was also licensing out products to Holland (Toco), China(EMI), Russia (Star), Korea (Remix), Europe (BMG) etc. and gaining a growing reputation for ‘placing’ product for other companies, negotiating and mediating deals between and on behalf of various international labels and artists. He became very much in demand for his astute, unique and witty approach to the way he presented and conducted his business.

In 2003 he did a deal with top London venue and restaurant “Mezzo’s” in Wardour Street to put on a live showcase extravaganza for big names in the music industry allowing the VIP’s to enjoy dinner and some top class international acts performing live on stage from Sweden, Holland, Germany and the US. Dancers were choreographed to enhance the performances and two film companies were brought in to cover the event which was an amazing success in spite of all the dressing room drama’s that were going on backstage! For this and other reasons the slogan for Green Pepper Junction “The Smallest Major Label In The World” was gaining a reputation and credibility.

Even with the onslaught of the digital market and collapses of many labels worldwide Asher Halle and Green Pepper Junction is still living on and Asher has now founded his American company and label “Shake The Moon”, who’s first products are due for release toward the end of 2010 with the first album “The Inner Mind Of Green Pepper Junction” an anthology spanning a 36 year period of songs and productions never before released. Shake The Moon had its first press coverage in the January 2009 edition of the Midem magazine.

Apart from all of this involvement that Asher has and has had in music and its various sectors, he works closely with young people in music, offering them a source of knowledge, expertise, advice and often counselling support. He serves annually on the Brit Awards voting academy and is the senior judge of the largest “real” talent competitions “UK Live and Unsigned” and “UK Open Mic” which along with judging gives the opportunity to spot emerging talent from all corners of the UK that compete. 

He is a character that is loved and known wherever he goes especially by young people due to his easy and approachable manner combined with his crazy sense of wit and humour. He continues to do his best to inspire new music and artists by offering them placements within his business structure as opportunities for learning and contributing to the music industry.

One of Asher’s strongest emotional motivations is to the keep real creative melodic music alive in all genres! What more is there to say? Well to quote Asher “As the music makes the song, so the song makes the music, and it comes to life in sound when if falls on the ears that hear!”

Its logo has become over the 40+ years, a symbol, not only of the company but of the quality it manufactures, creates, produces and represents and as a result, is known worldwide – from Australia, China, India, Europe, The Americas and many countries in between. Its image seems to have a positive effect on people of all ages and backgrounds and puts a smile on just about everybody’s face. Bearing in mind the originality of the design, it seemed, a natural progression to use “Sydney” to market products or represent companies in a cross selection of most industries- including toys, travel, fashion, food, drinks, household goods, soft furnishings – including children’s, ornamental (interior or exterior) and television etc etc. I have included a more detailed list for your perusal. The whole “idea” of using the logo is because everybody is looking for something new and different in all aspects of life, both in business and socially including entertainment, and Sydney provides just that. He is both “eye catching” and different – most importantly he makes people of all ages smile when they see him. So, yet again he is most definitely a commercial viability, and can-and will- catch the imagination of many “captains” in the industry.

Like any innovation, I have included him graphically and known form. I’ve also included Sydney in his more physical form, as he may appear (looking ahead) in the musical for the theatre at a later. Why the name? Well he was named for a (never released) Green Pepper Junction album during the “nineties” – it worked then – and seems to have worked since. As it does one (and the most important) thing, along with the logo, makes everybody without exception – smile!

As you read and even re read this, give this brief summary some thought and see if it captures your imagination too!