Eric Singer

Boulevardier, journalist, architect

By Fiona Green

I first met Eric Singer, aka Eric Ling,aka HVL Singer (real name Hermann Peveling) in 1967 when he was drinking in the Fitzroy Tavern near his flat in Newman Street.Always a supreme gentleman, Eric was immaculately dressed, with cane,a carnation & a silk cravat; he was a mystery until after his death. He had a wife & several mistresses & always appeared cheerful even when he had no money.My friend,ballet dancer, Johnny MacDonald, kept him alive financially & they worked on a scheme for a marina in Brighton which was - in the early 60's - a project, way in advance of its time. Eric's early life was characterised as a politico within the communist Marx/ Engels Institute in Berlin.He was later imprisoned by the nazis; but sprung from prison in Prague, he went on to work as a journalist there.Eventually, he was forced to flee, & came to Britain where he worked for years in intelligence. He died in a car accident on his favourite street in Soho, when a drunken driver hit him.He was survived by three children that I knew of. One, the film maker Andre Singer, works in Soho. It was he who took this photo of his father at the famous Charlotte Street Festival in 1976.The obituary is from the Times for 29 June 1976 & written by my husband Martin Green.