By Karen Wolitzer
I'm talking, of course, about Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits. Born in Manchester, England, Peter studied singing and acting at the Manchester School of Music and Drama. At 12, not only was he on television, he was playing in a band. We weren't very good, he laughs. We'd change our name after every concert.
In 1963, at the age of 15, his band was called Pete Novac and the Heartbeats. We wanted a name that didn't sound like a teen band, he explains. We wanted a name that was hip and ugly, so the girls wouldn't scream at us.
One day we were watching The Bullwinkle Show' and there was a character on there named Sherman, but I thought his name was Herman and I said Look I'll call myself Herman,' and the barman said Call yourself Herman and the bloody hermits...you look like bloody hermits.' And we said wow, what a great name Herman and the Bloody Hermits and we dropped the bloody. That's how I became Herman.
During their pop reign, the band sold 52 million records and performed to sold-out audiences throughout the world. Peter/Herman graced the cover of every national and international magazine, including Time in April 1965. A real teen pop idol, Peter appeared on hundreds of national television programs and in three major motion pictures.
It was pretty good being a teen idol, he says. I had a pretty good sense of reality. I didn't feel like a teen idol or act like one. I think teenage girls like vulnerability in guys, so I was always very charming and nice. I meet people thirty years later and they say, My girlfriend and I got into your room in Detroit and we were really disappointed because you were really nice. You ordered room service and we chatted until 5 a.m. We were hoping you'd jump on one of us.'
But I wasn't a rock and roll star who joined a band to meet chicks. That is so lame. We were the opposite of that...charming gentleman...so we never took advantage of anybody.
37 years later he's still a gentleman and girls are still wishing that he'd jump on them. Not only that, he still looks so young. I only go out late when the lighting is good, he laughs. I've got the Davy Jones formaldehyde makeup kit. And I've got an old album cover up in the attic getting gray and wrinkled, he jokes.
Peter's favorite song, I'm Into Something Good, was also the band's first number one recording, which was followed by Silhouettes, Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter, Henry VIII and many other popular songs.
In the 70s, he pursued a solo career and appeared on many TV shows. In the 80s he starred in two Broadway shows. The 90s found Peter beginning a 4-year stint as host of My Generation, and in 2000, VH1 named him their viewer's choice for Sexiest Artist. Not bad!
You can see him at Westbury Music Fair on October 5. I enjoy playing at Westbury; I like to run around the room a lot. I'll do all the Herman's Hermits hits, in the order that they came out. It shows you how the band got it together. Sometimes I'll tell the audience that we're not going to play any old songs, just 11 new songs that we wrote that day. They hate that! he laughs.
After the concert I'll go out and meet all my fans, sign their albums, CDs or T-shirts. It keeps me young. I meet with the people in my fan club before the show. Everybody has fun. I like to make people laugh. I do a lot of comedy on stage...not standup, just things relating to the moment. My jokes aren't very good, but my singing makes a lot of people laugh.
See Peter Saturday October 5 at 8 p.m.
Also appearing will be Paul Revere & The Raiders, and The Buckinghams.
Paul Revere and The Raiders have had 25 consecutive hit singles and have recorded 26 albums. They're best known for Louie, Louie and their hit Indian Reservation has sold nearly 3 million singles, making it one of the biggest selling records in the history of Columbia Records.
The Buckinghams have a fresh approach to their music that fuses their classic sound with a punch and rhythm for today.
Tickets are $35; available at Westbury Music Fair's box office, and online at cc.com and musicfair.com. To charge tickets by phone call Ticketmaster at (631) 888-9000.
Also check out Peter's web sites: www.peternoone.com and
www.hermanshermits.com
