Peter Noone

Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone (born 5 November 1947) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor. He is best known as "Herman" of the successful 1960s pop group Herman's Hermits.

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

Early life

Noone was born in Davyhulme, Lancashire, the second of five children, the son of an accountant, and attended English Martyrs (Urmston), Wellacre Primary School (Flixton), Stretford Grammar School, and St Bede's College, Manchester.

Noone played a number of acting roles on television, including that of Stanley Fairclough in the soap opera Coronation Street.[1] Noone studied voice and drama at the Manchester School of Music, where he won the Outstanding Young Musician Award.

Peter Noone's last name is pronounced in the same way as 'noon', not 'no-one'.[2]

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.[3] As "Herman", the photogenic Noone appeared on the cover of many international publications, including Time Magazine's collage showing new faces in popular music.[4]

The band's hits included: "I'm into Something Good", "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter", "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am" (in the U.S.), "Silhouettes", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", "Just a Little Bit Better", "Wonderful World", "There's a Kind of Hush", "A Must to Avoid", "Listen People", "The End of the World", "Dandy", and "No Milk Today". Herman’s Hermits sold more than 60 million recordings 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.

Peter Noone in a Dutch dairy factory, after the handing over of a gold record for "No Milk Today" in the Netherlands in 1966

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 Things", peaked at No.12 in the UK Singles Chart[5] and No. 100 in Australia.[6] It was written by David Bowie, who also played piano on the track. In 1973, Noone made a guest appearance on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour television show. In 1974, Noone scored a No. 15 US AC and No. 101 US Bubbling Under success with "Meet Me on the Corner Down at Joe's Cafe" on the Casablanca Records label. 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. Noone appeared as Frederic in Joe Papp's Broadway, London, US tour and international touring productions of The Pirates of Penzance.[7] He also appeared in the touring company of Romance/Romance. Peter duets with Carla Olson on the Searchers hit Goodbye My Love on her 2020 album Have Harmony, Will Travel 2.

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 negatively, saying 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. The album was said to represent a throwback to "the worst of the British Invasion groups" of 15 years earlier.[8]

As Noone sings "Henry the VIII" on The Danny Kaye Show, the king's portrait comes to life.

SiriusXM

As of 2 September 2019, Noone has a programme on SiriusXM's 60s on 6 station titled "Something Good" after Herman's Hermits' hit song, "I'm into Something Good".

Herman's Hermits revived

Since the 1980s, Peter Noone has performed under the name Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone.[9]

Personal life

Noone married Mireille Strasser on 5 November 1968[10] - Noone's twenty-first birthday.[11], and has one daughter, Natalie.

References
  1. 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 p209.
  2. "Noone". Wiktionary.org.
  3. "Peter Noone". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  4. "Time Magazine Cover". Time. 21 May 1965. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 397. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. 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.
  7. Fink, Anne. "Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone Comes to the MAC Oct. 23", Chicago Tribune, 6 October 2015, accessed 18 April 2019
  8. Steve Row (February 1981). "Groove Views" (PDF). Modern Recording and Music. Vol. 6 no. 5. pp. 88, 90.
  9. "Peter Noone - Herman's Hermits Starring Peter Noone". Peternoone.com. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  10. James, Dawn (January 1969). "Herman and how it feels to be married!". Rave. p. 3. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  11. "Peter Noone: Noone Wedding Pics". Photoplay. 1968. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
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