One member of the well-known band Herman’s Hermits from the 1960s was Peter Noone.
One could easily compare him to a modern-day Harry Styles or Justin Beiber due to his boyish charm and thick head of hair.
But this former teen idol differs greatly from those of today in one important way.
As the frontman of Herman’s Hermits, Peter Noone shot to fame in his teens because to his endearing voice and adorable visage. The band gained famous after touring in both America and Britain.
In 1964, the band’s song “I’m Into Something Good” became their first number one success in England.
“Millions of records were sold by Herman’s Hermits before anyone saw us, which is simply not the case these days,” Noone stated.
“My stage persona was a shy little boy, which is basically what I was, and I had no idea what I was doing.”
In 1965, Noone and his band outsold the Beatles and put out over 20 successful records. I’m Into Something Good, No Milk Today, and There’s A Kind of Hush (All Over the World) were some of their greatest hits.
By the time they were 17, the band had landed a million-dollar record deal. One of the high points of Noone’s career was when Elvis Presley took the stage in 1965 to play one of their successes, “I’m Henry the Eighth, I Am.”
“He was mocking me, but it doesn’t matter,” Noone says. “It was Elvis!”
Noone was already leading the stereotypical rocker lifestyle at this young age.
He insists, “But without the drug bit.” “I never liked that.”
However, what about all the other common rock ‘n’ roll habits?
Yes. We could easily stay up all night, go on the rampage, and then wake up the next morning to go to gigs and do interviews because we were sixteen and seventeen. It was an amazing period.
Noone is back on the road at the age of 64 as a member of Britain’s Solid Silver 60s Show. Other musical icons of the time, such as Brian Poole of The Tremeloes (“Do You Love Me” and “Twist And Shout”) and Brian Hyland (“Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”), will accompany him in place of his fellow Hermits veterans.
“The excitement of touring never gets old,” Noone adds, adding that it’s encouraging to know we can still draw crowds. I’m never quite sure how to react when someone approach me and start singing all the old tunes in my face.
People who have lived in California since the 1970s have swiftly adapted to the state’s healthy lifestyle.
“I feel very fortunate and try to take care of myself because not many people survived the debauchery of the sixties,” he says. There weren’t many people left at Mickie Most’s funeral nine years ago. Most was the band’s producer and a panelist on the TV talent show New Faces. It does cause you to pause and reflect.
He recalls visiting a Moody Blues member’s home, which was regarded as a true den of iniquity. I used to hang out with the girls since none of them smoked marijuana. The fly on the wall was me.
Noone chuckled, “I did enjoy drinking — I used to go out with Richard Harris and try to drink more than him.”
Despite the fact that they were roughly seven years older than me, I used to adore the Beatles and the Stones and would always want to hang out with them.
“John Lennon would pay for my drinks when we went to the Ad Lib club in London because he knew I was only sixteen and wouldn’t get intoxicated and try to beat someone up.”
Noone, who was raised in Manchester, has acknowledged that he drank primarily to blend in with the others because he didn’t find them very “interesting.”
The musician chose to go to his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with his father, who also drinks heavily, when he was 19 years old.
“I wouldn’t consider myself an alcoholic, but you have to be able to perform on stage and be sensitive to people’s sentiments, so I made the decision to cut down after that. I haven’t touched a drop in around 16 years, and I had to do it for me.
“I wouldn’t stop others around me from drinking, but I insist that my wife continue to do so if she so chooses.”
For forty-three years, the multi-talented entertainer has been wed to his wife, Mirielle. Noone was still hanging around with other ladies when they first met, at the age of 20.
He acknowledges, “I think it was probably lust at first sight with Mireille.” After I discovered how kind she was, it developed into love.
She continued saying no, but I booked the apartment next to them while she and her mother were on vacation in Ibiza. Respect was one of the reasons her mother liked me. Mireille was worn down by me.
After getting married in 1968 and having a daughter named Nicole, Noone left the band in 1971 when he was just 24 years old.
“Although the band was close at first, by the end we had been together for a long time and wanted to do different things.”
After his failed solo career reached a standstill, he took to the stage again in the 1980s, hosting the American television music program “My Generation” and performing in a Broadway version of “Pirates of Penzance.”
He was a voice coach and mentor on American Idol only a few years ago.
He stated throughout the show that the Beatles would have most likely lost if they had competed on television. To be honest, I believe Simon Cowell is a secondhand Mickie Most, despite his seeming kindness.
“I was probably going to be a clerk at the local NatWest,” Noone said, referring to the present tour once more. How fortunate am I to be 64 years old and still doing this? Now, I also know what I’m doing. I’ve grown out of that timid youngster.
Regardless of age, Peter remains incredibly charming and adorable!
He still has a wonderful voice and looks AMAZING at 77.
