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The day we met Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits
I’m into Something Good, No milk Today, my Sentimental Friend, There’s a Kind of Hush, A must to Avoid, and Henry the Eighth, I Am - just some of the hit records of ’60s pop band Herman’s Hermits. Formed in 1964, the manchester five-piece was fronted by Peter Noone and consisted of Keith Hopwood on rhythm guitar, Karl Green on bass guitar and harmonica, Jan Whitwam on drums and Derek Leckenby on lead guitar. The group disbanded in 1972.
I interviewed the charismatic Peter Noone on two occasions; once at the Bristol Hippodrome in 1971 where he was appearing in the pantomime Dick Whittington, and again in 2019 before he took to the stage of the Playhouse in Westonsuper-mare. This interview is a combination of both...
It’s two years shy of half a century since I first interviewed you at the Bristol Hippodrome, I remarked to the youthfullooking ’60s pop pin-up Peter Noone, 71, front man of the legendary manchester pop band Herman’s Hermits.
“Forty eight years, that’s a long time ago. What a great time that was in Bristol. Cary Grant came to see me there, later I rented his house in Beverley Hills when Herman’s Hermits were playing in America,” Peter remembered vividly, recalling fondly his time in the pantomime Dick
Whittington, which was something of a departure for him as he and the Hermits had only recently disbanded. From pop to panto, I quipped.
“Yes and I’m enjoying it very much. All those happy faces loving every minute of it. Pantomimes are for kids and their families; they’re such a great British tradition which just happen to work year after year,” he said with a big smile.
Now that the band have gone their separate ways, does Peter feel he might be able to step out of the shadow of Herman and reveal his real self in the way that Cliff Richard did after The Shadows?
“It’ll take a long time. It’s early days because I haven’t made or done much yet since we went our own ways, but I am doing alright thank you. As for Cliff Richard, I don’t think anyone can do the same as him - and nobody can do the same as me either. We’re individuals.”
A singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor, what made one of the biggest pop stars of the ’60s music scene decide to forge a music career for himself in the first place?
“I never really decided to do it. It was a bit of an accident. I joined the group for fun and that was it. And I enjoyed every minute of it,” he said, telling me also that he only left the band because he felt he was getting too old to carry on as Herman.
No milk Today, my
Sentimental Friend and There’s a Kind of Hush, just a few of the great records produced by Herman’s Hermits. Does Peter have a favourite?
“I like I’m Into Something Good and There’s a Kind of Hush, but I especially loved singing My Sentimental Friend. It’s a good one. The highlight of any show for me is when I sing that one. To be honest, I like all our songs.”
So how does Peter define the group’s catchy music?
“All our songs are about romance: about falling in and out of love; about happy endings and not so happy endings. There was no politics, no point of view and no opinionated thought. Girls were safe dancing around their handbags on the floor. And people used to dance with each other.”
He continued: “Back then music was created to go on right after the BBC morning news because people had got to hear about so much trouble in the world. Music was used to distract you from it. Things like Sunshine Girl and Something’s Happening all made you feel better,” Peter said breaking into a short but melodious rendition of each of those top 10 Herman’s Hermits hit songs.
“Historically, in the Second World War, music was used in comedy slots. When we were kids our parents and grandparents had songs like Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mr Hitler. They were songs about the war, but they were making fun of it. Making light of it.”
Great fun being a young pop idol I suggested, rather peeved that I had missed my chance! Peter laughed. “Yes it was. And it still is fun being up there on stage,” Peter answered with the same zest for life that he exhibited when I first interviewed him almost 50 years ago.
“I’m lucky because I always had a pretty good sized selfesteem. I knew what I was good at. I knew I could only do certain things. All of my ambitions needed lots of work; if I wanted to be on Broadway I had to go and take lessons for years to get on it. But I was really good at being Peter Noone,” he said, adding that he still gets a buzz from performing today as he did in his glorious heyday.
“Even more now because it’s very rewarding when an audience knows the music. You don’t have to introduce anything new to them. Like Brian Poole [The Tremeloes] who sings Someone, Someone and the whole audience sing along with joy.”
A famous star now. Is there a downside to fame?
“The part on stage is the only bit that is fun. All the rest, like travelling, is hard work. If you like, you choose your medicine every business has things about it that you could do without. If you become an entertainer there are bits that aren’t nice. Some days things are fun and sometimes they are horrible. The public only sees the glamorous bits when you’re on stage.”
Travelling around the country in the halcyon days of pop music’s finest decade, were all the bands ‘best of mates’ or was there a more competitive edge and rivalry between them?
“As much as there was camaraderie among the British bands, everybody in those days was different. Britain’s a very small country so you can meet a lot of people in a career. The Beatles weren’t like The Kinks and The Kinks weren’t like The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones weren’t like anyone else. None of those people were like each other at all so everybody was allowed a spot to do their thing,” Peter explained.
“Herman’s Hermits were kind of unique. We chose pop and happy endings as our vehicle so nobody competed with us. We liked the Stones of course but we didn’t want to impress them with our music. We made music for people, not other groups.
The end of the British music business was when bands started to try and impress each other.”
How does Peter compare today’s music with that of the ’60s?
“I don’t want to sound like an old man because my grandfather probably said that he thought The Beatles weren’t very good. So to answer your question I’m not sure. I’ve seen lots of new things I like. I like Bruno Mars. Sadly I don’t know much about English music now because I live in America so I only hear what’s on the radio there. I’m from a renaissance music period that hasn’t been replaced. It’ll be a couple of hundred years before you get another Beatles. You’ve got a Mozart and then you’ve got a Beatles. I don’t really know what’s going on now. I hope some band playing in a pub will change the music business like The Beatles did.”
There seems to be a resurgence in the ’60s, in vinyl and also in nostalgia shows, I remarked.
“Yes. People are fascinated by the ’60s in general. It draws on university students and people like that who want to go and see what that time was about. It’s like a study,” Peter replied.
“People have been bringing their children to concerts because the music from that time is safe. There’s no drug dealers or bouncers on the door telling you that you can’t come in. They know what to expect. They know there’s not going to be any alcohol, drugs and fights and stuff. We draw in families because Herman’s Hermits have family values.”
And, I added, you have made legions of fans happy with your music.
“That’s only momentary happiness. It makes someone happy for three minutes. But that’s OK.”
A hectic lifestyle for sure. How does Peter relax?
“We work and travel a lot so we don’t have a lot of spare time. When we are not working we go away somewhere. You see I’m only Peter Noone the performer when I’m on stage. Off stage I’m me again. A private person who likes his privacy.”
As I left Peter’s dressing room, he smiled and said: “It was nice talking to you Jeffrey. See you again in 48 years time!’
Back then music was created to go on right after the BBC morning news because people had to hear about so much trouble in the world. Music was used to distract you from it.
Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits