Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone (5 November 1947,
Davyhulme,
Lancashire) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor, best known as Herman of the successful 1960s rock group
Herman's Hermits.
Early life
Herman's Hermits
Early in his career, he used the stage name Peter Novak. At the age of 15, he became the lead singer, spokesman and
frontman of Herman's Hermits. As "Herman", the photogenic Noone appeared on the cover of many international publications, including the
Time Magazine's cover collage showing new faces in popular music.
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.
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 "I'm into Something Good" from the film
The Naked Gun. In the 1980s Noone released a solo album,
One of the Glory Boys. Assuming the part time role of business manager he formed NoOne Inc and became the first multi-millionaire product of the
British invasion. Noone currently does 100 plus concerts a year as Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone, mostly in the USA and Canada. Noone currently has a large
following for his weekly show, "Something Good" on Saturdays on 60s on 6 Sirius Xm.
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.
Family
Noone has a brother
Damon Noone who is also a musician and a parliamentary candidate for
United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). Peter Noone is married to Mireille (née Strasser), a
Strasbourg-born Frenchwoman.
They were married on 5 November 1968,
Noone's 21st birthday.
Because Strasser was Jewish, the Catholic Noone needed a special dispensation for the couple to be married at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in London's
Mayfair.
They have a daughter, Natalie.
Film, television and stage
He was the host of
VH1's
My Generation from 1989 to 1993, and in 2001 he was voted 'VH1's Sexiest Artist. The Viewers' Choice award'. In the '80s he appeared in several versions of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival productions of
The Pirate of Penzance, in all the touring companies, on Broadway and at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the West End in London. He now lives in
Santa Barbara, California, United States. One of his neighbours is
Dennis Miller, and Noone occasionally appears on his radio programme. In 1992 he starred in episode 9, season 7 of
Married With Children alongside
Richie Havens,
Spencer Davis,
John Sebastian,
Robby Krieger and
Mark Lindsay.
Recent