Interview with Peter Noone
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Q: Peter, does it still excite you to think about the year 1964?
A: Oh yes...an incredible year. I left school that year. I had a hit record!
A: My father negotiated one year off for me to get out of school to travel for
A::the record..and I never went back!
A: By September of 1964 I was hanging out with The Beatles and the Stones!
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Q: You were 15 at the time?
A: Yeah. I lived in Manchester.
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Q: Was there really a band HERMAN's HERMITS?
A: Yes...
A: There was a road band...and then in 1965 we would use other musicians
A: on our records--people like Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones
A: It wasn't that the Hermits were bad players...its just that they were very
A: talented...and because we toured so much...we needed others
A: to help on the recordings.
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Q:Was the road band the Heartbeats?
A: The HEARTBEATS was in 1961 and 1962...
A: THE HEARTBEATS became Herman's Hermits...
A: It was Pete Novack and The HEARTBEATS and I was Pete!
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Q: Why the name change?
A: We needed what we thought was a hipper name!...
A: We were watching the Bullwinkle show and we thought it was
A:Herman and Mr. Peabody"...
A: Somebody suggested that we looked like "bloody Hermits" so we took the
A: Herman and the Hermits and put it together!
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Q: Are you 5' 6"?
A: No ...I am 5 foot 11 inches.. You are thinking of Davy Jones!!!
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Q: Peter, you were a bigger hit in the U.S. than England.
Why do you think that was so?
A: That's not true...
A: We had many more hits in England...
A: I think Rolling Stone wrote that and they got it ALL WRONG...
A: and now it's a part of history!
A: I just did a 60-day tour in England and we were completely SOLD OUT!
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Q: Henry the 8th... there is a story behind that...
Was it an accidental hit?
A: It was purely accidental...
A: We decided we needed an English Music Hall kind of song...
A: My grandfather used to sing it at parties when he got drunk...
A: I made up "secomd verse same as the first"...
A: there were actually NUMEROUS verses to this song!
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Q: Were you surprised at how Americans reacted to it?
A: No...I knew they would like it!...
A: I was 16 at the time and I liked it!
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Q: I've always liked the song "East West"...any thoughts on it?
Or morrissey's cover?
A: Very interesting...
A: The first "on the road again" type-song...
A: The second song that was putting down being a rock and roll band...
A: But it didn't do well....
A: It was very complimentary that he did a version of it!
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Q: How come we can't find your movie "Hold On" on video?
A: I bought all the copies so nobody could see it.
A: It was made in the Presley genre...let's try and make a movie in 10 days.
A: Well..we only shot 9 days and that's why there is no ending.
A: Same producers and writers as the Elvis movies!
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Q:As long as we're on movies...how about "When the Boys Meet the Girls?"
A: YIKKKES!!!
A: Another Elvis-type production...
A: The same story as "Hold On" except Connie Francis was
A: my love interest!
A: Every shot in the movie is done in profile because I had a wisdom tooth
A: making my face too big on one side!...
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Q: Did you enjoy making films?
A:Loved making them.
A: Thousands of kids were hanging outside of the studio.
A:They thought we were the next Cary Grant!
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Q:Why didn't you go on tour with the Monkees in '86
with the rest of the Herman's Hermits?
A: They didn't ask me.
A: I left the band in 1972...and they were the Hermits for a while...
A: and then they renamed themselves Herman's Hermits...
A: It isn't the Herman's Hermits without me...just as it wouldn't be
A: the Stones without Jagger!
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Q: Any plans for doing stage shows or sitcoms?
A: Well...not this minute...this year is dedicated to touring and setting up
A: a new album. I've been working on it for 5 years. I have four songs done. ...
A: Pop music like Herman's Hermits. It will be a solo album.
A: If there is such a thing these days!
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Q: Any unreleased stuff that can now come out?
A: Alan Klein owns the masters to the original hits.
A: Some great BBC stuff!...
A: It will eventually come out!
Q: What are your favorite Hermit's songs?
A: "I'm Into Something Good"..."Kind of a Hush"..and the work I did
A: in a band called the Tremblers in the 80's.
A: In a live show I do Hermits songs and other people's songs!
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Q: How did you get that unique sound on "Mrs. Brown" ?? Is that a guitar?
A: It was a Gretsch Country Gentleman...with a damper on it...under the
A: pickup... you turn it on and you get that sound!
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AUDQ:I guess you liked doing the concert on the mall in Washington in May?
A: A fantastic concert!...
A: It was a family audience aged 3-63!!!
A: It's nice to play for 100,000 people!
A: I hope we will return!
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AUDQ: With all the different types of music and ages that are covered now,
do you feel that the "Oldies" have taken a back seat?
A: My 9 year old daughter discovered The Beatles so I guess not!
A: Her record collection is TLC, Beatles, Jeff beck...many different interests!
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Q: Besides Music... what are your interests?
A: 100% music...all my hobbies are music based...
A: I like to hang out with musicians and other actors as well!