With permission from Kent Kotal/ Forgotten Hits/the60sShop here is part three of the interview with Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits. To subscribe to FORGOTTEN HITS, which is a great newsletter if you are like me and into music of the 60's, you can e-mail them at The60sShop@aol.com . Here is part three of the series.
FORGOTTEN HITS: As I recall, prior to HERMAN'S HERMITS, you were fairly well-known as a child actor from a British Television Series. How did your joining HERMAN'S HERMITS come about ... were you approached by them or was this whole singing thing something that you had already aspired to and you actually auditioned for the band?
PETER NOONE: I was in a British TV series called CORONATION STREET and I played the son of one of the leads so I got lots of attention. The show was Number One in the UK and incredibly still is, without me in it since 1961.
FH: Tell me a little bit more about your role on CORONATION STREET ... How were you first signed on to this series? Had you done other acting or commercials prior to this? Was making it as an actor a goal for you at such an early age? What role did your parents play in your career at the time ... and on through the early days of HERMAN'S HERMITS?
PN: I was at Manchester School of Music trying to become a musician. One day someone (?) came to visit the school looking for some kids to be on the telly in Knight Errand (????) I was chosen and then again for another show ... Family Solicitor (I think) and so on and so on and then Coronation Street. I played Stanley Fairclough and remember little other than the incredible professionalism of the assembled cast and when I forgot my lines (often) one of the old crew would say them in their speech and off I would go looking like an actor. This has stood me well.
FH: You never really said how you came to join HERMAN'S HERMITS ... was this something that you AUDITIONED for ... or was the band built around your wanting to expand your career into music? Did the "core" band already exist? Had you ever sung on the television series prior to joining the band? Was music ALSO an early aspiration?
PN: I was looking for a band. I was in a band called The Cyclones and we were crap. I saw The Heartbeats. They were a whole level above crap so I ingratiated myself into the band then took it over and fired all the crappy players using skills I still haven't learned. I have never successfully auditioned for anything in my career and do not recommend it for anyone who has a spirit, a soul or two balls. They get lost.
FH: Being at such an early age when all this success started, you must have been obligated to succumb to things like Parental Consent and / or advice from Advisors and Managers ... How much input did you personally have early on regarding your own career? What were some of the decisions that were made for you that you've come to regret ... and did you have negative premonitions about them at the time? Were there ever directions or opportunities that you personally wanted to pursue but felt that, in some way, your parents and/or advisors held you back?
PN: 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 and to never overestimate my worth...
FH: You had a distinct advantage over some of the other British Pop Stars that were invading America at the time, being as young as you were at the time. Even today, while your biggest hits are now 40 years old, you're a mere babe of what, 35???
PN: My advantage was that everybody underestimated me. Being 15, everyone thought I was just a schoolboy hottie and that I would have 2 hits and then go away like the Ryan Twins, but I kept at it and now I am good. My body is 57 but my brain is 17 and I am about 31 ... in the dark.
FH: You were right there at the beginning of the British Invasion, which influenced the next several generations musically ... what were some of YOUR early musical influences?
PN: The Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Adam Faith.
FH: You personally also had a MAJOR cross-section of fans ... the kids loved the music, the moms thought you were cute and adorable ... even the GRANDMOTHERS loved you!!! How did you react to that at the time ... and, in hindsight, what do you feel was the reason for such a universal, cross-section appeal? (The mental image of PETER NOONE groupies, aged 12-83 is NOT a pretty picture!!!)
PN: The music was honest and made for 13 to 14 year old girls. Some of them still get to feel happier at my concerts as they recall their youth and the young girls understand because we are selling songs, not thigh wobbling.
FH: I remember my OWN mother loving your music ... and feeling betrayed when cute little PETER NOONE went and had his teeth fixed!!!
PN: Peter Noone never had his teeth fixed! This was a story invented by Rolling Stone because they couldn't figure out what we were. I still have ALL my original teeth thanks!
FH: Your music holds up EXTREMELY well today ... these are finely crafted pop songs and they've stood the test of time. How much input did you have into selecting your material for recording? I know that MICKIE MOST gets a LOT of credit (and deservedly so, I might add) for the British acts he was producing at the time ... but what was the "screening process" for new material that was being presented to the band?
PN: WE selected the music. WE is Peter Noone and Mick Most. He was a genius and I had good taste.
FH: You've mentioned several times that magazines like 16 and ROLLING STONE fabricated (or embellished) stories at the time to make good press ... did you cooperate with these publications at the time? It is said that ALL press is GOOD press ... anything to fuel the publicity machine.
PN: Rolling Stone never interviewed me. Being a very independent and far more intelligent member of the British Music Scene, I avoided it and treated it with the contempt it deserved and now deserves, although my Mum gets it now and seems to enjoy it. I never bought it and had the occasion to see the Publisher's Office (Jann something) and there was a smashed Who guitar and, of course, that was the closest he ever got to the music business. I liked the writer who wrote the Michael Douglas / Sharon Stone movie because he knew it was about nothing to do with real life, and I bet he has a guitar at his home and not a broken one.
FH: I know that 16 MAGAZINE probably ran contests offering things like "Win A Date With Peter Noone," etc, etc. What were your thoughts on all this at the time? Did you feel that you had to cooperate with these teen magazines in order to succeed? (I also just read that you were once on the cover of TIME MAGAZINE ... and didn't even know it until YEARS later when a fan showed you a copy ... is this a true story???)
PN: I think 16 was more important than anyone realized. Gloria Stavers was probably responsible for the success of The Beatles, The Stones, The Dave Clark Five and, of course, Herman's Hermits. She loved the players and she loved the fans, too. And I do mean loved! She thought of her readers as lovely young girls and was protective to the point that she often changed answers so as not to spoil someone's side of who the band member was. She was my friend because I appreciate people who like people and she liked and loved her audience. She had a reputation for being a bit of a battle axe but the truth is she was a very nice and lovely person, and I will box anyone who says otherwise. Being a part of an important press tool for anyone with a new act, she had lots of friends and I even remember some of their names ... Danny Fields was one. When she was sick and almost over in this world, I made it my job to have her treated with the respect she deserved and had limos take her to the hospital so she would feel special and my wife and I went often to make her laugh as showbiz turned their backs on her brilliant but now useless (to them ) career. I am proud to have been there when she worked her genius.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: I mentioned several times to PETER that I would be happy to offer FORGOTTEN HITS as the "soap box" to finally "set the record straight" regarding any mis-truths that have been repeated throughout the years regarding HERMAN'S HERMITS ... I don't know that we ever got deep enough into our interview to accomplish this ... it was tough with responses like "I didn't know this was going to be a book" ... but I think that we DID give PETER NOONE the opportunity and forum to get a few things that have been bothering him off his chest!!!)
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More to follow ... but first, here are a couple more of my favorite HERMAN'S HERMITS B-SIDES.
HERMAN'S HERMITS had a number of hit records covering songs by American artists. I'M INTO SOMETHING GOOD, their first U.S. chart hit (#7 in Cash Box, #13 in Billboard ... and #1 here in Chicago!!!) had just been on the charts four months earlier for EARL-JEAN (ETHEL McCREA of THE COOKIES, who had a couple of Top 20 Hits with some other songs written by CAROLE KING and GERRY GOFFIN, namely CHAINS (#17, 1962 ... and later covered by THE BEATLES) and DON'T SAY NOTHIN' BAD ABOUT MY BABY (#7, 1963). THE HERMITS' version eclipsed EARL-JEAN's original chart showing (which only peaked at #38) and soon they were on the way, riding the wave of THE BRITISH INVASION to become one of the most popular British bands to hit here in The States.
The following year, they hit The Top 5 (and #1 again here in Chicago) with their remake of THE RAYS' hit SILHOUETTES. WONDERFUL WORLD, a Top Ten Hit for SAM COOKE in 1960, went all the way to #4 when HERMAN'S HERMITS recorded it ... and I'M HENRY THE VIII, I AM, a National #1 Hit Single, dated all the way back to 1911!!!
The other day we featured the HERMAN'S HERMITS version of the BOBBY VEE track WALKIN' WITH MY ANGEL, the U.S. B-SIDE of SILHOUETTES. In 1965, they cut a version of the 1959 FRANKIE FORD hit SEA CRUISE, and stuck it on the back of their Top Ten smash JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER. It's a rockin' little record that the disc jockeys just didn't play ... and that's too bad 'cause it deserves a listen. It's today's featured HERMAN'S HERMITS B-SIDE!!!
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