Peter Noone

Peter Noone
Noone (2007)
Noone (2007)
Background information
Birth namePeter Blair Denis Bernard Noone
Also known asHerman
Born (1947-11-05) 5 November 1947 (age 77)
Davyhulme, Lancashire, England
GenresRock, pop
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
  • guitarist
  • pianist
  • actor
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1962–present
LabelsRAK, Philips, Bus Stop (UK)
Bell, Philips (US)
WebsiteOfficial website

Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone (born 5 November 1947)[1] is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor. He was the lead singer "Herman" in the 1960s pop group Herman's Hermits.

In 2019, Noone won the “Entertainer of the Year” award at the Casino Entertainment Awards in Las Vegas.[2]

Early life

Noone was born in Davyhulme, Lancashire, England,[1] the second of five children, the son of two accountants,[3] and attended English Martyrs (Urmston), Wellacre Primary School (Flixton), Stretford Grammar School, and St Bede's College, Manchester. In an interview, Noone made this comment about his early years: "My parents had zero input in my career other than to teach me to be independent and to always be honest, steadfast and true and I was steadfast often. I was able to have a perfectly normal teen life ..."[3]

Noone studied voice and drama at St. Bede's College and at the Manchester School of Music,[4] where he won the Outstanding Young Musician Award.

Career

Herman's Hermits

Early in his career, he used the stage name Peter Novac. At 15, he became the lead singer, spokesman and frontman of Herman's Hermits, who were discovered by Harvey Lisberg.[5] As "Herman", the photogenic Noone appeared on the cover of many international publications, including Time Magazine's 1965 collage showing new faces in popular music.[6] The Hermits consisted of Noone, Derek “Lek” Leckenby and Keith Hopwood (guitars), Karl Green (bass) and Barry Whitwam (drums).

The band's hits included: "I'm into Something Good", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter", "Silhouettes", "Wonderful World", "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am" (in the U.S.), "There's a Kind of Hush", "Just a Little Bit Better", "A Must to Avoid", "Listen People", "The End of the World", "Dandy", and "No Milk Today". Herman's Hermits sold more than 60 million records and had 14 gold singles and seven gold albums. The Hermits were twice named in the U.S. trade paper Cashbox as "Entertainer of the Year".

As Herman, Noone performed on hundreds of television programmes and appeared with the Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Dean Martin and Danny Kaye television programs. He starred in ABC's musical version of The Canterville Ghost, Hallmark Hall of Fame's presentation of the classic Pinocchio (in which he played the title role), and three feature films for MGM: Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter, Hold On! and When The Boys Meet The Girls.

Noone at a dairy in the Netherlands, after his gold record for "No Milk Today" in 1966

They were the opening act of the 1970 Royal Variety Performance from the London Palladium performing a medley of their hits to date followed by their rendition of If I Were a Rich Man, Where is Love? and Old Henry's Fish and Chips. They ended with their recent hit There's a Kind of Hush.[7]

Solo work

After Herman's Hermits disbanded in 1971, Noone recorded four singles for UK RAK Records, one single for UK and US Philips, and several singles for the small UK record label, Bus Stop Records. His first RAK single, "Oh You Pretty Thing", peaked at No.12 in the UK Singles Chart[8] and No. 100 in Australia.[9] It was written by David Bowie, who also played piano on the track. In 1973, Noone made a guest appearance on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour television show.[citation needed]

In 1974, Noone scored a No. 15 US AC and No. 33 Canadian AC([10]) success with "Meet Me on the Corner Down at Joe's Cafe" on the Casablanca Records label. Earlier in the year, his "(I Think I'm Over) Getting Over You" had reached No. 63 in the Canadian AC charts.[11] In 1989 he had a No. 19 US AC hit with his solo recording of Goffin and King's "I'm into Something Good" from the film The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!. In the 1980s, Noone released a solo album, One of the Glory Boys.

In the 1990s, Noone hosted a television programme, "My Generation", on VH1 (British and Irish TV channel), featuring retro music; the programme lasted four years.[12]

As an actor, Noone played a number of roles on television, including that of Stanley Fairclough in the soap opera Coronation Street, leaving that role in 1961.[3][13] Noone also starred as Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance on Broadway in the 1980s, and later, at the Drury Lane Theatre in London’s West End.[14][12] He reprised that role again during a US tour and international touring productions.[15] He also appeared in Romance/Romance as Alfred Von Wilmers in the U.S. National Tour of the Broadway hit.[12]

The Tremblers

Noone led a short-lived group called the Tremblers that toured in 1980 and released one album, Twice Nightly. Along with Noone, the members of the band were Greg Inhofer (keyboards), Robert Williams (drums, formerly with the Pop), George Conner (lead guitar), and Mark Browne (bass). According to the liner notes of the album, several musicians provided "licks & tricks," including members of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, Elton John's backing band, Daryl Dragon, Phil Seymour and Dave Clark. Modern Recording magazine reviewed the album unfavorably, maintaining that the music bogged down in "power pop careening into bubblegum" songs that were not different enough from each other: adolescent lyrics delivered at the same fast tempo, recorded with an uninteresting, barely stereo sound field.[16]

Noone sings "Henry the VIII" on The Danny Kaye Show, as Kaye appears in the king's portrait.

SiriusXM

As of January 2023, Noone hosted a weekly, three hour programme of 1960s music and reminiscences on SiriusXM's 60s Gold station titled "Something Good", titled after the hit song, "I'm into Something Good".[17]

Herman's Hermits revived

Since the 1980s, Noone has performed under the name Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone.[18] In 2023, the group was scheduled to perform 108 concerts "mostly in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Some UK, some France."[17]

Personal life

Noone married Mireille Strasser on 5 November 1968, his twenty-first birthday,[19][20] and has one daughter, Natalie.

References

  1. ^ a b Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1838. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. ^ "Herman's Hermits singer Peter Noone named Entertainer of the Year at 2019 Casino Entertainment Awards". KTLO. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "FORGOTTEN HITS INTERVIEWS PETER NOONE". Forgotten Hits. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  4. ^ "HERMAN'S HERMITS STARRING PETER NOONE-AA+A". Mary Winspear Centre. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Peter Noone". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Time Magazine Cover". Time. 21 May 1965. Archived from the original on 12 February 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  7. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "The Royal Variety Performance 1970 Part 2" – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 397. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 220. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "RPM Top 50 Pop – October 5, 1974" (PDF).
  11. ^ "RPM Top 100 Pop – February 23, 1974" (PDF).
  12. ^ a b c "man's Hermits Starring Peter Noone and The Grass Roots". Mayo Arts. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  13. ^ Nown, Graham ed.(1985). Coronation Street 1960–1985: 25 years, CBC Enterprises, 1986. ISBN 0-88794-231-8 photo with brief description of 1961 cameo role p. 209
  14. ^ "At 72, Peter Noone remains an entertainment stalwart". Goldmine Magazine. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  15. ^ Fink, Anne. "Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone Comes to the MAC Oct. 23", Chicago Tribune, 6 October 2015, accessed 18 April 2019
  16. ^ Steve Row (February 1981). "Groove Views" (PDF). Modern Recording and Music. Vol. 6, no. 5. pp. 88, 90.
  17. ^ a b "Interview: Peter Noone Talks Touring with Herman's Hermits". Broadway World. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Peter Noone – Herman's Hermits Starring Peter Noone". Peternoone.com. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  19. ^ James, Dawn (January 1969). "Herman and how it feels to be married!". Rave. p. 3. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  20. ^ "Peter Noone: Noone Wedding Pics". Photoplay. 1968. Retrieved 8 March 2011.