Peter Noone | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by Joe Viglione His friend John Lennon sang "Remember remember the fifth of November" in the song "Remember" off of the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album, and on that day in 1947, the eternally young Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone was born in Manchester, England. The son of Joan Blair Noone and Denis Patrick Noone, he was raised in a Roman Catholic family that included five children of diverse ages, brother Damon along with sisters Denise, Suzanne, and Louise. In a multi-dimensional career that garnered respect from his colleagues and millions of fans worldwide, Peter Noone was the professional's professional. As a child, he appeared on the British television shows Coronation Street, Knight Errant, and Family Solicitor, and went on to study acting at the Manchester School of Music and Drama. In 1963, he joined a Manchester beat group, the Heartbeats , whose name was changed shortly thereafter to Herman & the Hermits and eventually shortened to Herman's Hermits . His career with that popular recording act sold well over 50 million records, at times eclipsing the Beatles themselves in sales.

But it was Noone 's voice and personality that distinguished him from the band he fronted; indeed, some of the recordings were Noone 's performance on sessions produced by Mickie Most with other musicians providing the accompaniment. He charted in Britain as a solo act, recording a David Bowie tune with Bowie appearing with him on the U.K. show Top of the Pops. In the years that followed, there were former members of Herman's Hermits touring as well as Noone , causing some confusion, but in 2001 Noone , "the artist formerly known as Herman ," obtained the rights to the name. The hassles with labels illegally putting out product was the kind of thing that befuddled fans and created frustration for the singer, a good example being the Slam release that featured both the band Herman's Hermits on the CD without Noone , along with the unauthorized use of live Noone material tagged on the end to create the illusion that it was Herman's Hermits and Peter Noone .

With the name going back to its rightful owner, the man who sang on all the Herman's Hermits hits could put the voice together with the trademark for the general public not aware of the deceptive practices that sometimes characterize the oldies tour circuit. As stated, his career has been multi-dimensional, from stage performances in two Broadway shows during the 1980s, including The Pirates of Penzance, to roles on the silver screen. He appeared as Herman in two films, 1966's Hold On and 1968's Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter; was one of the few bright spots in 1978's Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; and performed in 1982's Rockin' the Night Away: Life from Palm Springs, 1996's Hullabaloo, Vol. 8, and 2000's The British Invasion Returns. In 1999, he sang the end theme to the Kirk Douglas film Diamonds. Also in the 1980s, Noone fronted a new wave group called the Tremblers before rejoining Herman's Hermits for a time.

The Tremblers ensemble, released on Beach Boy Bruce Johnstone 's CBS-distributed label, was a blending of Herman's Hermits pop with the new wave edge of Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson . Noone was especially proud of the Boston stop on the tour on September 21, 1980, because the fans in that region were more hip to his new direction and showed their appreciation by not calling for Herman's Hermits hits. The show was lively and precise, and had the Tremblers released a half dozen albums or so, they no doubt would have made more of a mark. A Noone solo album from the day, One of the Glory Boys , featured covers of material by Sutherland Brothers & Quiver as well as the Spiral Starecase , and was the Tremblers in reverse, bringing new wave sounds back to a more fully developed pop attitude. He co-produced the album Graham Gouldman Thing in 1968 for the legendary songwriter who would become part of 10cc , and was asked by his friend Baywatch star David Hasselhoff to produce an album for him, but he couldn't because of time constraints.

Noone has produced new recordings on his own No.One Records imprint, a double entendre of " Noone " and number one. The man who hosted VH1's My Generation series (which lasted four years), and who can be serious when he chooses to be, has boundless energy and endless ideas. One of the keys to Noone 's success is his love for his fans and their staunch loyalty to him. Noone and his current version of Herman's Hermits will take the time to sign every autograph sought by those who attend his shows, and he displays genuine enthusiasm for his repertoire. "There's a Kind of Hush," one of pop's undisputed classics, is part of that elite class of timeless songs performed with perpetual enthusiasm. Audience members always join in with Herman on the indelible chorus and become part of the show, bringing new life to a simple standard that doesn't have the usual twists of other pop tunes. Balancing himself precariously on a cement fixture singing at a Rhode Island open air concert in 2001, to the chagrin of the security of that venue, Noone 's ability to charm is a reason his fans come back year after year.

His ongoing authorized biography is as remarkable as his guest appearances on the celebrated soap opera As the World Turns in March of 2002. Noone is one of the few artists from the '60s in control of his artistry and preserving it for future generations, a total entertainer with business savvy, an elusive combination in the world of rock & roll. The man whose face graced the cover of Time magazine in April of 1965 and who has appeared on such diverse television programs as Quantum Leap, My Two Dads, Married with Children, The Ted Knight Show, and Laverne & Shirley, among others, continues to bring his ideas to multiple formats and new media. Don't underestimate someone who can headline a Teen Idols Tour, perform on Broadway, and stay in such close contact with his enormous following. Peter Noone has created a model that other stars who first emerged in the '60s would be wise to study and follow. Herman's Hermits - Official web page Herman's Hermits Biography When the Beatles first soared to the top of the American music charts in early 1964 they opened the gates for dozens of British bands to follow.

But missing from that first wave was a band that would rise to become one of the biggest-selling ï¿½British invasionï¿½ groupsï¿½Herman's Hermitsï¿½initially left behind because of lack of a recording contract. Unlike the Beatles, who did their best to disguise their accents while singing, Herman's Hermits took delight in their decidedly working-class dialect that was evident in their first hit, ï¿½I'm Into Something Good,ï¿½ a Gerry Goffin/Carole King song that had been a minor hit in the United States for Cookies' vocalist Earl-Jean McCrea. The Hermits'single was released August 7, 1964, and quickly reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom, and No. 13 in the United States. American audiences couldn't get enough of this new sound from across the sea, and Hermans Hermits were enamored with American pop music. Capitalizing on their British accents, Herman's Hermits traveled to America for the first time in December 1964.

They had just released in the United Kingdom their first EP (extended play) 45 RPM disc, Hermania , which featured American hits ï¿½I Understand,ï¿½ a song first made popular in 1954 by the Four Tunes and later by Freddie and The Dreamers; Frankie Ford's No. 14 hit in 1959, ï¿½Sea Cruise;ï¿½ and Ernie K-Doe's 1961 No. 1 hit ï¿½Mother-In-Law.ï¿½ While in America, the group was invited to make a cameo appearance in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's (MGM) teen movie When The Boys Meet the Girls, starring Connie Francis and Harve Presnell. Hermits Peter Noone, Karl Green, Keith Hopwood, Derek ï¿½Lekï¿½ Leckenby and Barry ï¿½Beanï¿½ Whitwam joined the likes of Louis Armstrong, Liberace and Sam the Sham and the Pharaohsï¿½who, like the Hermits, had recording contracts with MGMï¿½and introduced their ï¿½Listen People,ï¿½ which hit No.

3 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart in February of 1966. With seven consecutive hitsï¿½ï¿½I'm Into Something Good; ï¿½Can't You Hear My Heartbeat?ï¿½; ï¿½Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughterï¿½; ï¿½Silhouettesï¿½; ï¿½Wonderful Worldï¿½; ï¿½I'm Henry the Eighth, I Amï¿½ (a 1911 music hall song); and ï¿½Just A Little Bit Betterï¿½ï¿½Herman's Hermits records sales in 1965 exceeded record sales by the Beatles' receiving Billboard magazine's award for most sales. Peter Noone was fascinated by the giddy tune ï¿½Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter,ï¿½ written by actor-playwright Trevor Peacock and first recorded and sung by British actor Tom Courtenay. The Hermits featured the song in their stage performances as a novelty number, recording it only reluctantly.

Hermits' producer, Mickie Most, rejected the idea of releasing it as a single, but when advance orders approached 1 million, he relented. Three days after an American DJ began playing ï¿½Mrs. Brown,ï¿½ MGM received 70,000 requests for the single, which was released in early 1965. The song spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, topped Australian charts, and sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Fueled by the success of ï¿½Mrs. Brown,ï¿½ Herman's Hermits selected songs for United States release with a Vaudeville flavor, including ï¿½I'm Henry The Eighth (I Am),ï¿½ distinguishing them from other British Invasion acts of the time. Herman's Hermits began in Manchester, England, as an outgrowth of a group called the Heartbeats, which originally was named the Cyclones and consisted of guitarists Karl Green and Alan Chadwick, bassist Alan Wrigley, and drummer Steve Titterington.

When the group's vocalist failed to show up for a gig, 15-year-old Peter Noone filled in and joined in 1963 using the name Peter Novak. The Heartbeats became Pete Novak and the Heartbeats until Peter changed his stage name to Herman after band members said he resembled Sherman in the ï¿½Mr. Peabodyï¿½ segment of the TV cartoon The Bullwinkle Show . He misheard the name as Herman and adopted it. But that version of the band they called Herman and His Hermits didn't last long. Karl Green recalls, ï¿½Al Chadwick left, because his girlfriend didn't like him being in a band, so Keith joined. Then we went for a couple of recording tests with different people, and everybody seemed to be saying, ï¿½The band's all right except for the bass player and drummer.' But we didn't have enough balls to say to them, ï¿½You're out of the band. We want someone else.' So the whole lot just split up.ï¿½ Harvey Lisberg, who had been manager of the dissolved Herman and His Hermits, decided to salvage the group by consolidating it with another band.

He sought out a group called the Wailers, which included members Barry Whitwam, Derek Leckenby and a bass player who went by the name of Big Wal. ï¿½We said we didn't fancy it, really, because we'd seen the band once before, and we didn't really like them,ï¿½ says Whitwam. ï¿½But then Harvey showed us their diary, their date sheet, and they were actually working seven nights a week. So we thought about thisï¿½ï¿½well, it's not too bad after all.' So then we auditioned for Harvey Lisberg and his partner, Charlie Silverman, in the basement, and we played a few numbers there.ï¿½ One of the songs that impressed Lisberg was the Wailers' version of the Jewish celebratory song ï¿½Hava Nagilah.ï¿½ ï¿½We did a great version of it, slowly started it, then we'd speed it up to a frenzy,ï¿½ says Whitwam. ï¿½So we played this, and they were over the moon. So we got the job. Thank God for ï¿½Hava Nagilah'!

But Big Wal's father wouldn't let him become a professional musician.ï¿½ The group re-formed in the spring of 1964 with Karl Green on bass, rhythm guitarist Keith Hopwood, lead guitarist Derek ï¿½Lekï¿½ Leckenby, drummer Barry ï¿½Beanï¿½ Whitwam and lead vocalist Peter Noone. Harvey Lisberg then booked some time for the reconstituted band in a recording studio. He sent a demo of the recording to Mickie Most, producer of hits for the Animals and the Nashville Teens. Most had previously auditioned the early version of the Hermits and was unimpressed, but he was interested in recording the new group. ï¿½Mickie liked the new sound,ï¿½ said Whitwam. ï¿½It was a lot better musically.ï¿½ The band members decided they needed to separate themselves from the crowd. ï¿½Lek and I suggested we change the name from Herman and His Hermits to Herman's Hermits the day we joined, so the fans would know it was a different band with two new members in it,ï¿½ said Whitwam.

ï¿½Herman's Hermits was a more modern name, because there were a lot of bands at that particular timeï¿½Freddie and the Dreamers, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and so on. And that was the arrangement. I think it was the beginning of April 1964 when we changed the name.ï¿½ When Keith Hopwood first joined Herman and His Hermits, the group was working four or five gigs a week. He recalls, ï¿½Television producer Johnny Hamp of Granada TV in Manchester gave us a TV spot on a little local program. And we did that one, and then he sort of took a shine to us and gave us about four more TV slots. We hadn't had a record at this point. We were still a local band. And not only did he give us the TV slots, but he used to send in an outside broadcast unit to film us. We were playing at the Cavern in Liverpool, and he'd sent the crew down there to film us all day. So we built up a very big following with all this television exposure.

The local shows were going fantastically well, although our name didn't mean anything once you got 50 miles from Manchester.ï¿½ Most, who managed to land a deal with EMI's Columbia label, thought Peter resembled the late President John F. Kennedy and wanted to make him the group's focal point. In July of 1964, Most brought the band into the studio to record ï¿½I'm Into Something Good.ï¿½ In September the song spent two weeks at No. 1 on the British charts, and by October of '64, after its release in the States on MGM, ï¿½I'm Into Something Goodï¿½ earned the No. 13 spot in America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, which was already crowded with ï¿½British invasionï¿½ acts. Herman's Hermits spent most of 1965 in the United States. Karl Green recalls the exhilaration he felt being a young pop star traveling to America for the first time. ï¿½The mayhem of arriving at Austin airport, or Ft.

Worth, or Dallas, and having hundreds and hundreds of people invade the tarmac at the airport, and having to be taken from the airplane straight into cars and taken off to wherever we were going. It was just complete enough mayhem,ï¿½ says Green. ï¿½And for a guy 17 to have all these gorgeous girls after him, it was an unbelievable ego boost!ï¿½ But all of the traveling and exposure had its price, according to Green. ï¿½During the '60s the bands would earn the least money because they were on the road doing all the work while the managers sat in their comfortable offices earning 25 percent with no expenses,ï¿½ he explained. ï¿½I mean, when we were on tour, we were paying for all the airplanes that the managers and agents were traveling on, and paying for all the hotel rooms. They had no outlay. We were paying for everything.ï¿½ While other British groups were striving to sound like Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and other American recording artists, for five years Herman's Hermits turned out hit after hit capitalizing on their heritage and cockney dialect.

ï¿½Herman's Hermits was different from all the other groups,ï¿½ says Peter Noone. ï¿½If you want to know about Herman's Hermits, ask the Beatles, and they'll tell you that it was a great, fun idea that we did the opposite kind of songs of everybody else. Nobody was doing songs with English accents like ï¿½Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter.' We went to a place where no one else wanted to go. So the perception might be that we were just one of those bands from the '60s. Well, we were, but the reason that we sold 50 million records is because we didn't attempt to compete with the Beatles, or the Stones, or anybody else. We made our own style.ï¿½ Herman's Hermits' first visit to the United States in the fall of 1964 coincided with the release of ï¿½I'm Into Something Good.ï¿½ The group spent a week in New York visiting various radio shows, including an appearance on the influential Murray the K show on WINS.

The following spring of 1965, Herman's Hermits joined the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars, a touring ensemble of emerging pop stars on a grueling schedule of one-night appearances. Keith Hopwood recalls, ï¿½It was a bus tour, but not what you'd call a tour bus nowadays. It was like the No. 33 school bus. It was structured so that every other night you got to sleep in a motel, and every other night you had to drive all the way through the night to the next gig. So it was pretty uncomfortable.ï¿½ Barry ï¿½Beanï¿½ Whitwam agreed. ï¿½If you pulled the short straw and had to sit next to Billy Stewart or Round Robin, there wasn't much room, based on the spillover from that seat to yours,ï¿½ he laughed. ï¿½We were so thin in those days, we could actually sleep in the overhead compartments where you put the baggage. We squeezed up in there so we could lay out.ï¿½ Most Caravan of Stars performers had scored only one or two hitsï¿½sufficient to appear on a multi-star bill, but not to draw audiences of their own.

But by the time the Caravan reached Philadelphia, Herman's Hermits had four top-five records on the chartï¿½ï¿½I'm Into Something Good,ï¿½ ï¿½Can't You Hear My Heartbeat,ï¿½ ï¿½Silhouettes,ï¿½ and ï¿½Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter.ï¿½ The tour had been booked months prior when the group had only one hit record. Keith Hopwood recalls, ï¿½So this promoter, in his wisdom, had obviously booked the Dick Clark thing and then got cold feet about filling this theater. Unbeknownst to anybody, he booked the Rolling Stones as well. But he didn't tell anybody. So we all turned up, and it was quite an entertaining afternoon, because backstage and up the stairs you've got us camped out on one side, and on the other side you've got the Stones, and there was this huge argument about who was going to close the show.ï¿½ Accompanying Herman's Hermits on the bus tour were Freddie Cannon, Bobby Vee, Reparata and the Delrons, Billy Stewart, Round Robin, and Little Anthony and the Imperials.

ï¿½The bus was quite full,ï¿½ says Hopwood. ï¿½You've got Round Robin, who was 22 stone [equivalent to 308 lbs.]. And Billy Stewart, who was 22 stone. And Reparata's manager was 25 stone [350 lbs.]. But what prompted us to say that we're not going on the bus anymore was we came out one morning, and there had been a bit of an altercation in the motel and a gun appeared at the front of the bus.ï¿½ So we said, ï¿½Excuse me. I think we're going to travel by car.ï¿½ Whitwam also recalls the incident. ï¿½About halfway through the tour, Billy Stewart and Round Robin had a disagreement over a woman, I believe, and pulled guns out at each other. Billy Stewart was at the front of the bus and Round Robin was at the back. It was like the wild West. They were pointing guns at each other, and we were in between this,ï¿½ he said.

ï¿½So we got off the bus and we rang Dick Clark and said, ï¿½We don't mind doing your tour, but we're not getting involved in gunfights.' So he provided us with a station wagon and a driver. It wasn't much better. There was the six of us and all the bags in a station wagon.ï¿½ While Whitwam enjoyed the excitement of being in a different city every night, at times he found the traveling to be a grind. During a two-week break in the Dick Clark tour, Herman's Hermits performed some shows of their own in Texas, ï¿½Just as we were doing those shows, ï¿½Mrs. Brown' went straight to number 1, and all a sudden we were playing to thousands and thousands of people, overnight,ï¿½ said Whitwam. ï¿½We had to go back and finish the Dick Clark tour. And we still had the overnight traveling in the station wagon. The distances were quite far apart. So we finished that tour, and then we started doing tours of our own.ï¿½ The Hermits continued to churn out hits through 1966 and 1967.

But along with music-hall flavored ditties such as ï¿½Leaning on the Lamppostï¿½ in the spring of 1966 and ï¿½Dandyï¿½ (written by Ray Davies of the Kinks), that fall they began recording more sophisticated material. They made memorable recordings of three ballads by British songwriter Graham Gouldmanï¿½ï¿½Listen People,ï¿½ ï¿½East West,ï¿½ and ï¿½No Milk Today,ï¿½ as well as ï¿½This Door Swings Both Ways,ï¿½ a mature portrait about contrasts in lifeï¿½the jubilance and agony of life and the choices that must be made. But the band members were perhaps at their best in 1966, when they recorded the lovely Geoff Stephens-Les Reed ballad ï¿½There's a Kind of Hush All Over the World.ï¿½ The song, which rose to No.

4 on the American pop charts, earned the Hermits their third and final gold singleï¿½a double-sided hit backed with ï¿½No Milk Today.ï¿½ Peter Noone has many fond memories of performing in the '60s. ï¿½The whole thing was actually quite a very good time. We were young guys, so everything was a new experience. We played in Hong Kong, Israel, America, the Philippines, France. Every day was a new experience,ï¿½ he says. ï¿½We had some of the greatest experiences that any kid could possibly have. So whether we got paid or not, the experience is worth billions of dollars, and I'm grateful for it. If money is the item in the music business, then you'd never make it anyway. If it had been for money, we'd have never been in show business. We would have become doctors.ï¿½ Peter Noone left the group in late 1970 and starred in numerous stage, TV and film productions, during which time he had met David Bowie. Bowie had written Noone's first British solo hit ï¿½Oh You Pretty Thing,ï¿½ and played piano on the recording.

During the '80s, Noone fronted a new-wave band called the Tremblers, and released a solo album called One of the Glory Boys . Following Peter's departure, Green, Leckenby, Hopwood and Whitwam carried on as Herman's Hermits. Says Green, ï¿½And then we were offered to get back with Peter for a tour in the states with Gerry and the Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, the Searchers, and various other bands. And we said, ï¿½yeah.' And it was good fun at the time.ï¿½ But then things began to sour. Following the reunion tour, Noone decided to form another band and call it Herman's Hermits. Karl, Lek and Barry, who had been performing as Herman's Hermits throughout the 1970s, filed a lawsuit to gain legal ownership of the name. The initial judgment came on behalf of Green, Leckenby and Whitwam. Even though a legal settlement had been handed down, the disagreement at the root of the lawsuit continued to generate animosity among the Hermits and Peter.

After performing for three decades with the Hermits, Derek Leckenby died on June 4, 1994, of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer. He left his wife, Leonie, who was at his side when he died, and their two children. Two version of the band: Whitwam's Hermits and Herman's Hermits with Peter Noone continue to perform concerts worldwide. Herman's Hermits has sold more than 60 million records since 1964. singles by HERMAN'S HERMITS 1/68 22 I Can Take Or Leave Your Loving MGM 5/68 61 Sleepy Joe MGM Epilogue: Barry Whitwam Barry ï¿½Beanï¿½ Whitwam is proud to say that one of his finest achievements has been ï¿½staying powerï¿½ï¿½the ability to remain with one band through all of its trials and tribulations for well over three decades. And one of the bonuses he recognizes is the realization that audiences today are as excited about seeing Herman's Hermits as they were during the 1960s.

With all those years of experience under his belt comes excellence in his craft. His precision drumming reflects the refinement of all those years of practice. Barry picked up his nickname ï¿½Beanï¿½ in 1950. ï¿½I was always inventing and building silly things, so a close friend of my father's, Frank Evans, christened me Billy Bean after a cartoon called ï¿½Billy Bean and His Funny Machine.' A few years later, it was shortened to ï¿½Bean.'ï¿½ Barry recalls becoming interested in music at about the age of 10, after hearing Buddy Holly records. ï¿½A friend of mine had the records, and he played a guitar and he sang,ï¿½ recalls Whitwam. ï¿½At about 12, I had the opportunity to join a group of local boys playing in a band. But they wanted a drummer with a drum kit, and I couldn't play the drums and they didn't have a drum kit. And so I persuaded my mother to buy me a secondhand drum kit, which came to about $60 in those days, which was quite expensive.

And I joined the band, but I couldn't play the drums. Eventually after about six months I got some kind of rhythm together. After struggling for about two years I took some lessons for 18 months when I was about 14.ï¿½ Eager to learn popular music, Barry would listen to a record and copy the drumming in it the best he could. ï¿½It worked out pretty well in the end,ï¿½ he says. ï¿½It's like riding a bike, really. Once you've got your balance and you can separate your feet from your hands, it becomes a lot easier. It's just getting over that first barrier, separating your limbs.ï¿½ His drum lessons proved to be a very valuable experience, especially in discipline. ï¿½Most of the time I played just on a rubber pad. I wasn't on the drum kit. I was studying the Buddy Rich snare drum rudiments. And that was very good, indeed. I still use that book. I've still got the original I had.

It's real beat up, but I've still got it, and I go back to it every now and again, just for fun, because it is enjoyable playing these patterns on a rubber pad.ï¿½ Barry's first band was a five-member group called the Demons. ï¿½We first started playing instrumentalsï¿½songs by the Ventures and the Shadows and things like that, and old classical instrumentals revamped. Then we got a singer, and we were called Danny and the Demons, and we were doing copies of American singersï¿½Elvis, Buddy Holly, and Dion. Fifteen-year-old Whitwam was performing two to three days a week with the Demons for youth clubs and workingmen's clubs. ï¿½Nobody ever asked us how old we were,ï¿½ he laughs. The band, which retained the same members, changed its name from the Demons to the Hellions, and then to the Wailers. Born Jan Barry Whitwam on July 21, 1946, in Prestbury, Cheshire, Barry says, ï¿½Prestbury is in the country.

It was sort of a place used in the war so no babies were born in Manchester in case they were bombed. It's a very nice house. It's still there.ï¿½ He grew up in Didsbury, a suburb of Manchester, and graduated from Ladybarn Secondary Modern in Manchester. He then entered into a college for women's hairdressing in the center of town. ï¿½I didn't want to go into a factory or be like everybody else. I wanted to try to get into a career where there was hardly any competition. My mother fancied me going into it as well because she could get free haircuts,ï¿½ he laughed. Barry took a six-month course in hair styling. The owner of the college, who had several shops in Manchester, thought having a male hair stylist would help to increase his business since there weren't many men in that profession at the time. ï¿½He took me aside, and I was supposed to be the whiz kid in the shops. So he gave me an extra three months' training at no cost. But Whitwam's hair styling career proved to be short-lived.

He worked as a stylist at a shop in Manchester for almost two years, before deciding it wasn't a career he wanted to continue. ï¿½It was hectic, really,ï¿½ he says. ï¿½It's like cooking seven different meals at the same timeï¿½one woman's got the color on, another one's got the perming lotion on, another with bleach. If you get the timing wrong, you can lose somebody's hair.ï¿½ Whitwam decided he'd much rather pursue a career in music and asked his father if he could spend some time concentrating on becoming a professional drummer. ï¿½My father said he'd think about it, and I didn't know this 'til 20 years later, but he'd had a word with my boss. He asked him if I could take some time off to get this drumming out of my system. And if it didn't work, could I have the job back? So the two of them made an arrangement,ï¿½ says Whitwam.

ï¿½There was one condition: When my father went out to work at about 8 o'clock in the morning, I took practice for four hours, had a good lunch, and practiced for another four hours. So I wasn't just sitting at home. I was actually practicing the drums for eight hours a day. The next-door neighbor didn't like that, really.ï¿½ Barry's father George Vincent, who died in 1985, had made a living as a refrigeration engineer. His mother Elsie, who had worked as a seamstress, died in 1992. Both parents were very proud of Barry's musical success. His only brother, two years his senior, died of electrocution at the age of 14. He had been playing a record while taking a bath. In coping with stardom, Barry recalls, ï¿½We were sort of brought down to earth very quickly with our second record. It only got to No. 20 in the charts in England, and the press really went to town on us.

You know, ï¿½we're a flash in the pan,' ï¿½one-hit wonders,' ï¿½you will never see Herman's Hermits again.'ï¿½ But the band carried on, and it wasn't long after the negative publicity the Hermits returned to the studio and recorded ï¿½Silhouettes,ï¿½ which quickly reached No. 2 in England and No. 5 in the United States. The next four years would be spent touring the world. ï¿½Stardom really doesn't affect you individually;ï¿½ says Whitwam. ï¿½It affects your friends more than anything. You go back into the local bar and have a drink and your friends all seem to be saying ï¿½you've changed' because you can afford to buy a drink and they expect you to buy them one. Your friends sort of disappeared slowly. And you really didn't make any, because you were always on the road.

You'd make friends with other bands, then, who were in the same situation.ï¿½ Some of Barry's fondest memories of performing with Herman's Hermits during the 1960s include a Royal Command Performance show in London in front of the Queen Mother and Royal Family, and meeting and talking with Elvis Presley while in Hawaii. ï¿½We had just finished one of our U.S. tours in Hawaii, in 1966 or '67. Elvis was making a film, Paradise Hawaiian Style. We were due to fly out, and the night before Elvis' manager, Col. Tom Parker, phoned us and said Elvis was filming, did we want to meet him. And we said, ï¿½dead right, yeah!' But three of the boys went home, and just Peter and I stayed behind. And that was something the rest of the boys truly regretted,ï¿½ he says. ï¿½We talked with Elvis about nostalgia music, the different way our hair was, and how we liked his songs and films. He was real cool.

I have a picture of myself and Elvis on my wall of fame, as it were, at home.ï¿½ Today, Whitwam tours with his Herman's Hermits band for about 12 weeks a year in America and around the world, including Japan and the Middle East. The rest of their time is spent touring Europe and Scandinavia. Whitwam's Hermits include Gary Powell, Graham Lee, and Geoff Foot, who wrote the first single for the band after Peter Noone left in 1971. ï¿½Geoff Foot joined the band in the '80s after the Hermits recorded one of his songs ï¿½She's a Lady.' Geoff toured with the Hermits in the U.S., Germany and Scandinavia before leaving to raise his family, and now he's been back in the band,ï¿½ says Whitwam. Foot had been a member of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, and Mike Sweeney and the Thunderbirds. A friend of the band for more than 30 years, Graham Lee played lead guitar with Herman's Hermits on a five-week tour of Sweden in 1992 while Derek Leckenby was undergoing chemotherapy.

Lee had been a member of the Scorpions in 1965 and moved to Holland where the band had a No. 1 hit with ï¿½Hello Josephine,ï¿½ and went on to make four albums and seven chart hits. Whitwam's Hermits regularly tour the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Holland and Scandinavian countries, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Although a large part of their show is made up of the ever-popular ï¿½oldies' tunes, they throw in a few of their more recent creations. Barry has made Herman's Hermits his sole career since 1964; however, he says, ï¿½Business slowed down in America after about 1969, when MGM was putting out the records, and we got into a litigation with them. During that 18 months of litigation the Monkees replaced us. Our fans were young teenagers. They got straight stuck into the Monkees. They liked them. I liked them too. But we carried on doing songs and tours in Europe, up until Peter Noone left.

Then we continued onwards without him, and we've never stopped.ï¿½ Whitwam believes that Herman's Hermits fared financially better than most '60s bands, whose profits were mishandled or scooped up by greedy managers. ï¿½Our money wasn't handled by management. It came in when we did a tour and it was just split up into individual bank accounts. They had managed projects or investments. Management helped organize insurance and endowment policies and introduced us to people in very reputable companies, and we invested our money with them,ï¿½ he said. ï¿½Once we made a bit of money, we all bought our parents houses.ï¿½ Whitwam lived with his parents for about three years while the band was touring. ï¿½But I was hardly ever there. I was always on the road, traveling,ï¿½ he said. ï¿½We upgraded the house. We used to live in a semi, which is sort of a house you add on to another one. We bought a big detached house, about a six- or seven-bedroom house. And then I got stuck into cars. I used to love cars. I'd buy a car for three months and change it.

I think up to now I've had about 60 cars, but between 1964 and '70 I must have had about 30 cars. We used to say, when the ashtrays were full, you'd change it and get a new one. I used to have Jaguars, Aston-Martins, Daimlers, sports cars. I used to love them.ï¿½ Barry was married to his first wife in 1967. His daughter, Emma, was born in 1969, and son, Richard, was born in 1974. Both of his children are married and have children of their own. Emma has two sonsï¿½James was born on Christmas 1998, and Harry was born January 2001. Richard has a daughter, Meghan, who was born during the summer of 1996, and a son, Sam, who was born in 2000. When Emma was born, Barry was on the road a lot.

ï¿½I remember coming home and my daughter was sort of hiding behind my wife's legsï¿½you know, like, ï¿½Who's this man?' ï¿½It's your father.' After you've been away three months, it was a strange feeling. I had to sort of break the ice again.ï¿½ Both children have dabbled in music, but made their careers in other areas. ï¿½Richard plays the drums but he is also manager of a Quick-Fitï¿½a big exhaust and brake franchise. My daughter is a teacher, and she played the violin and piano very well as a teenager,ï¿½ said Whitwam. Barry met his current wife, Patricia Prendergast, when their children were going to the same school. The couple has been married since 1987. ï¿½I had a golden retriever and she had a big German shepherd. And we'd take the kids to school. On my way back there's a big park, and I'd take the dog for a run, and the two dogs met first fighting. So we separated them, and got to know each other.

Then eventually I got divorced and married Patricia.ï¿½ Patricia, who has a son named Jonathan, born in 1974, owns her own air cargo business, arranging for air shipment of animals worldwide. ï¿½We have two cats,ï¿½ said Whitwam. ï¿½We didn't have any animals after the dogs passed away. Then we had a house cleaner and she got sort of involved with distressed and abandoned animals. And she said, ï¿½I've got this fabulous cat,' so she brought it 'round, and it was the ugliest thing you've ever seen. It had obviously been badly treated, so we took it on. It was about two years before you could even stroke the thing. It was wild. It's good now, though. And we've got another one from a rescue center. They're great. But I think we'll end up with another dog, though, a German shepherd. Cats are a bit distant. They only come around when they want some treat. And they don't fetch sticks or anything. You can't take them for a walk.ï¿½ When he's not on the road, Barry enjoys playing golf.

ï¿½I've just joined a club for the first time,ï¿½ he says. ï¿½I've been playing for many years, but I've never been around long enough to join a club.ï¿½ Patricia accompanies Barry when the band plays resort areas or when he expects to be away for a week or more. ï¿½Patricia came to San Diego when we were playing there for two weeks. In 2001, she actually won the air travel on a TV show phone-in. She was asked to pick a number between 1 and 5, and that represented how many you think the panel will score, and I think she picked none. The panel was hopeless,ï¿½ laughs Whitwam. ï¿½We also went to Death Valley, and that was fabulous!ï¿½ Whitwam still hopes to achieve another hit record. He says, ï¿½We're still writing new songs, and we've had one released in Europe in early 2000.ï¿½ The group members collaborate on songs while they're on the road. ï¿½It works well,ï¿½ he says. ï¿½We've written some great songs together.

It's difficult getting a record company to back Herman's Hermits, but we're hopeful.ï¿½ Herman's Hermits made two films during their career. The 1966 movie Hold On! was filmed in America. Barry explains, ï¿½The space program, NASA, decided to let the children of America name the next rocket to go up, and the kids chose the name Herman's Hermits. So then the FBI and special agents had to follow the group around to make sure we were worthy of our name going on a rocket.ï¿½ The group also made a movie in England in 1968 called Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter. ï¿½Basically, we had to act like ourselves. The director said, ï¿½here's your lines. Just do them the best you can,' and we had a good laugh with it.ï¿½ said Whitwam. ï¿½ Mrs. Brown was probably better than Hold On! It was about a greyhound dog. The dog was called Mrs. Brown. And the puppy was Mrs. Brown's daughter. I get the movies out for a laugh every now and again. Basically MGM wanted to make the films.

It was in the contract so they'd sell more records, soundtracks.ï¿½ Barry says he feels his greatest enduring talent is playing the drums. ï¿½It's probably the best thing I do. I think my best ability is to look at the world and take it with a pinch of salt. Don't take it too seriously, or you'll worry yourself to death in this business.ï¿½ Any misperceptions? ï¿½No. Everybody knows that Peter Noone is not in the band. People who come see us expect not to see him, because Peter's done a good job saying he left the band by 1971, especially when he did his VH-1 TV show. So everybody knows that Peter's not in the band and everyone has a great time enjoying the music.ï¿½ Barry says the individual who made the biggest influence on his musical career was Elvis Presley. ï¿½When I saw Jailhouse Rock, the video clip of that was incredible. That changed my whole way of looking at music. It was incredible. It was like three rows of cells, and they were dancing along it.

That was brilliant.ï¿½ Whitwam observed there are three generations of Herman's Hermits fans. ï¿½When we do a state fair, where there's no alcohol served and kids can go in, we get a lot of young kids, from 5 years old, upwards.ï¿½ With them are their parents, who are typically the children of baby boomers. ï¿½And then we obviously get the old fans who want to see us again. But it's really good to see like 5-year-olds that know the words to ï¿½I'm Henry VIII, I Am.'ï¿½ When asked ï¿½What kind of person would you say you are?ï¿½ Barry responds, ï¿½I'm a typical Cancerian, I think. I was born on the 21st of July, so I'm nearly a Leo. So I'm a bit of an extrovert. I think I approach excess with caution, shy sometimes. My wife would say I'm a safe old dog. Always by the side. I don't cause any trouble.

I have a wonderful sense of fun.ï¿½ (excepted from the book Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone, 2011, by Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March, ) If you wish to know more information than you can find shown on this site please e-mail me at whitwam@hermanshermits.co.uk Herman's Hermits - Music on Google Play Herman's Hermits About the artist Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1964. Originally called Herman & The Hermits, they were discovered by Harvey Lisberg, who signed them up to management. Lisberg sent a return plane ticket to Mickie Most so that he could come up from London to see the band play in Bolton. Most became the group's record producer, controlling the band's output. He emphasised a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers. This helped Herman's Hermits become hugely successful in the mid-1960s but dampened the band's songwriting; Noone, Hopwood, Leckenby and Green's songs were relegated to B-sides and album cuts.

Their first hit was a cover of Earl-Jean's "I'm into Something Good", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 13 in the US in late 1964. They never topped the British charts again, but had two US Billboard Hot 100 No.1s with "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am". These songs were aimed at a US fan base, with Peter Noone exaggerating his Mancunian accent. 1 $6.99 The Hold On! EP by Herman's Hermits is the band's fifth EP and was released in the United Kingdom by EMI/Columbia In the US and Canada it was released as a full album. It was the third album releas... 1 The Hollies 0 The Hollies are an English pop/rock group known for their pioneering and distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. The Hollies became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the m... 0 Gerry & The Pacemakers 0 Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene.

In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded b... 0 The Searchers 0 The Searchers are an English beat group, which emerged as part of the 1960s Merseybeat scene along with the Beatles, the Hollies, the Fourmost, the Merseybeats, the Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry a... 0 Peter and Gordon 0 Peter and Gordon were a British pop duo, comprising Peter Asher and Gordon Waller, who achieved international fame in 1964 with their first single, the million-selling transatlantic No.1 smash "A W... 0 Peter Noone 0 Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor, best known as Herman of the successful 1960s pop group Herman's Hermits. 0 The Turtles 0 The Turtles are an American rock band led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band had several Top 40 hits beginning with their cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965. ...

0 Manfred Mann 0 Manfred Mann were an English rock band of the 1960s, named after keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two different lead voca... 0 The Lovin' Spoonful 0 The Lovin' Spoonful is an American rock band, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and well known for a number of hit songs in the 1960s including "Summer in the City", "Do You Beli... 0 Jan & Dean 0 Jan and Dean were an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence. In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles populariz... 0 The Dave Clark Five 0 The Dave Clark Five was an English pop rock group. Their single "Glad All Over" knocked the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the UK Singles Chart in January 1964; it peaked at num...

0 The Everly Brothers 0 The Everly Brothers were American country-influenced rock and roll singers, known for steel-string guitar and close harmony singing. Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly were elected... 0 Ricky Nelson 0 Ricky Nelson was an American actor, musician and singer-songwriter. He starred alongside his family in the television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as well as co-starring alongside Joh... 0 The Troggs 0 The Troggs are an English rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in 1964. They had a number of hits in the United Kingdom and the United States. Their most famous songs include the US chart-toppers... 0 Herman's Hermits Starring Peter Noone - British Invasion 01/20/17 Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone in New York, NY at B.B.

King Blues Club 01/21/17 Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone in Merrillville, IN at Star Plaza Theater 01/22/17 Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone in Richmond, KY at EKU Center for The Arts 01/29/17 Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone in Catoosa, OK at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino 02/06/17 - 02/11/17 Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone in Tampa, FL at Busch Gardens 02/26/17 - 02/27/17 Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone in Venice, FL at Venice Theatre 03/03/17 Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone in Lorain, OH at Lorain Palace Theatre 03/04/17 Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone in Pittsburgh, PA at Benedum Center Buy Tickets 03/05/17 Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone in Forsyth, GA at Monroe County Fine Arts Center Buy Tickets 03/09/1

7 - 03/12/17 Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone in Park City, UT at The Egyptian Theatre I'm Into Something Good by Herman's Hermits Songfacts Songfacts The prolific songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote this bubbly song, which is about meeting someone new and falling into puppy love.

Goffin and King wrote popular songs for The Monkees, Aretha Franklin, The Crystals and many others. This was originally recorded by Earl-Jean (real name Ethel McCrea), who had been the lead singer the R&B vocal group The Cookies. Her version, titled "I'm Into Somethin' Good," peaked at #38 in the US in August 1964. The song became a British Invasion hit when producer Mickie Most heard Carole King's demo and decided to cover it with a new British group, Herman's Hermits. The band was fronted by 16-year-old John F. Kennedy lookalike Peter Noone, who had already appeared in the British TV soap Coronation Street. Released as the group's first single, it went to #13 in America in December 1964, but proved wildly popular on their home turf, reaching #1 in the UK in September. The youthful exuberance on this track is very real, as the band was very excited to be cutting a single. "On the record you can hear the enthusiasm of this band who believe that they were going to be heard on the radio," lead singer Peter Noone said in his Songfacts interview .

"When the record was on the radio, we thought we'd made it." Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, both future members of Led Zeppelin, played on some Herman's Hermits songs, but not this one. Someone outside the band played the piano on this track, but other than that it was the actual band. This was Herman's Hermits' only song to reach #1 in the UK, where it remains their best-known song. After it hit, the band went on tour in America with Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars and made inroads in that country, where they were welcomed as part of the British Invasion. In 1965, they had two American #1 hits: " Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter " and " I'm Henry The VIII, I Am ." Peter Noone recorded a new version of this song for the 1988 movie The Naked Gun. Herman's Hermits recorded for Cameo/Parkway Records, which was bought by Allen Klein, who as a result owned the rights to the songs Herman's Hermits recorded for the label as well as tracks by The Animals, Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell and many others.

Klein rarely allowed the songs he controlled to be used in movies. Before Allen Klein's death in 2009, Peter Noone explained to the Forgotten Hits newsletter how this song ended up in The Naked Gun: "They wanted to use the song in the movie. Klein declined because he knew he would have to account to somebody (e.g. Paramount). As he hates to account to anyone, because he can't cheat and lie, he had to say no. The producers and writers contacted me with their story and I said, 'I can make a copy exactly like the original and nobody will be able to tell the difference.' When it was done, we decided you couldn't tell the difference so we took off the guitar and replaced it with a whahhoo machine so Klein wouldn't say it was the original. It's a tragedy that Klein and his witless children stop all the product they control from being in movies so they can steal ALL the money. A question: Have any songs under the Klein families' control ever been used in movies, commercials, TV shows? Doesn't anyone ever wonder why? Surely there would be one Herman's Hermits song, one Animals song.

One song from a Cameo / Parkway artist, one Sam Cooke song, just one, that would work in a motion picture?" The hand claps on this song were done into the same microphone where Peter Noone was recording his vocal. They aren't always in time to the beat, but that's part of the appeal of the recording, as it's unrefined, but jubilant. Donny Osmond recorded this when he was 13 for his second album To You With Love, Donny in 1971. Other artists to record it include Graham Parker and The Surfaris. In late 2005, this was used in a commercial for Yogurt Blast Cheerios. >> Suggestion credit:

Question: Who originally fronted Herman's Hermits?
Answer: Peter Noone