Peter Noone

Peter Noone

Noone, performing live June 2007.
Background information
Birth name Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone
Also known as Herman
Born (1947-11-05) 5 November 1947
Davyhulme, Lancashire, England
Genres Rock, pop
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, actor
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 1962–present
Labels RAK, Philips, Bus Stop (UK)
Bell, Philips (US)
Associated acts Herman's Hermits
Website www.peternoone.com
Herman (Peter Noone) in a Dutch dairy factory, after the handing over of a gold record for No Milk Today in the Netherlands (1966)

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

Early life

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

Career

Herman's Hermits

Early in his career, he used the stage name Peter Novac. At the age of 15, he became the lead singer, spokesman and frontman of Herman's Hermits, who were discovered by Harvey Lisberg.[2] As "Herman", the photogenic Noone appeared on the cover of many international publications, including Time Magazine's cover collage showing new faces in popular music.[3]

His classic hits included: "I'm into Something Good", "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter", "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am", "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", and "Dandy". Herman’s Hermits sold over sixty million recordings, with fourteen gold singles and seven gold albums. The Hermits were twice named Cashbox's "Entertainer of the Year".

As Herman, Peter Noone also performed on hundreds of television programmes and appeared with Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Dean Martin and Danny Kaye. 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 M-G-M: Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter, Hold On! and When The Boys Meet The Girls.

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.[4] It was written by David Bowie, who also played piano on the track. 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 the New York Shakespeare Festivals' Broadway Production of Pirates of Penzance. He also toured the USA in the National Production and appeared in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, West End Production. He also appeared in the National touring company of Romance /Romance.

The Tremblers

Noone led a short-lived new wave 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 and Dave Clark.

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

SiriusXM

Noone now has a programme on SiriusXM's 60s on 6 station entitled "Something Good" after Herman's Hermits' hit song, "I'm into Something Good".

Personal life

Noone is married to Mireille (née Strasser), a Strasbourg-born Frenchwoman.[5] They were married on 5 November 1968,[6] Noone's twenty-first birthday.[7] The couple have one daughter, Natalie (born 3 July 1985), who is also currently a singer-songwriter. Peter Noone is a naturalized, U.S. citizen and currently lives in Santa Barbara, California.[7]

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. "Peter Noone". Washington Post. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  3. "Time Magazine Cover". Time. 21 May 1965. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 397. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. Toner, Barbara (June 1971). "Peter Noone and his wife, Mireille". Herman's Hermits. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  6. James, Dawn (January 1969). "Herman and how it feels to be married!". Rave. p. 3. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Peter Noone: Noone Wedding Pics". Photoplay. 1968. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
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