Is the British Invasion back? Peter Noone and Herman’s Hermits will play Lexington
When informed that Turner Classic Movies was a day away from airing “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” the third of three 1960s pop-centric films he made during the commercial heyday of Herman’s Hermits, Peter Noone offered a quick assessment.
“Ah, the classics.”
His name may be Peter, but from the moment the bright-eyed Brit-pop of “I’m into Something Good” hit the top of United Kingdom charts during the summer of 1964, Noone was forever “Herman.” With Herman’s Hermits, he would become one of the most visible faces of the British Invasion, the ongoing wave of English pop groups that gained massive followings in the United States following the global eruption of The Beatles.
Noone was in his teens for most of Herman’s Hermits hitmaking era. He is 75 today, but still cheers on the music of his youth through adventures on radio, television and vigorous levels of concert touring. The Invasion has long since settled, but the reach of the songs Noone and his contemporaries fashioned nearly 60 years ago remains considerable.
“Everything started small,” he said. “We played at the Cavern (the famed Liverpool club where many British Invasion bands, including The Beatles, performed early in their careers). We used to play there three times a day. There would a girl that would come to every one of our shows. Her name was Margaret. I don’t know anything else about her because she was just a fan who sat on the stage and looked at us, looked at me, three times a day. Then, six months later, three girls – Margaret and two of her friends - would sit there. Bit by bit, everything became more and more. Then we had 100 people.
“Then one day we were on a tour with Dusty Springfield and pulled into the parking lot of the Liverpool Empire where a thousand girls were screaming ‘We love you, Herman.’ Not Dusty Springfield. But Dusty didn’t let that offend her in any way. She said, ‘All these people are here to see you tonight. Well done.’”
A string of Mickie Most-produced hits fortified that popularity, many of which came from earlier pop sources. The career making “Something Good” was penned by the immortal songwriting duo of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The 1965 single “Silhouettes” was first a hit for the doo-wop troupe The Rays nearly a decade earlier. One of Herman’s Hermits biggest singles, “I’m Henry VIII, I Am,” actually dates back to 1910, when British dance hall star Harry Champion first popularized it.
But the pop climate so favorable to British acts in the mid-1960s would never have been so pervasive had the world not already embraced the vibrancy, invention and especially appeal of The Beatles. Noone readily acknowledges how important that breakthrough was.
“We came to America under the shadow of The Beatles, who were charming, funny, very talented and good looking. And we knew we were none of those things. We just knew we were under that shadow. Then we made those movies, stuff like that. We thought that was a lark. We did all those movies with the tongue firmly planted in the cheek. None of the Hermits were actors. They had no training as actors, but we developed personalities that could be manageable on the road.”
As the ’60s gave way to the ’70s, the popularity of bands like Herman’s Hermits began to wane. But discovery of other performance platforms and media opportunities began at the onset of the ’80s. Noone took over the role of Frederic in Joseph Papp’s London, U.S. and touring productions of “The Pirates of Penzance” in 1982. By the end of the decade, he was appearing in living rooms weekly as host of the VH-1 music documentary series “My Generation.” Today, Noone can be heard sharing stores and songs on “Something Good,” a weekly program on Sirius XM’s ’60s Gold channel.
“Herman’s Hermits went from doing two concerts a week to three concerts a week to four concerts a week to five concerts a week. That was the natural progression, thinking it would all be over in two years. Management, for sure, thought that. And, of course, in the ’70s, I languished, worrying about when my phone was going to ring. And then in the ’80s it started to ring again. Every year, it’s been ringing more and more, so I’m kind of in a second run at it.”
One of the more intriguing sagas Noone offered on a recent “Something Good” broadcast concerned his family’s milkman, one Freddie Garrity. Moonlighting in skiffle groups, Garrity eventually became the astoundingly physical and often comic frontman for Freddy and the Dreamers. The Manchester band’s popularity predated Herman’s Hermits, but Noone fondly recalled how the neighborhood spirit that rallied around Garrity as his career escalated was indicative of the grassroots support many British bands were shown at home.
“That’s how it worked in those days. We were all these working-class people, The Beatles included, who had a hobby. Sometimes the hobby became their career. Some people had a stamp book. Some people watched trains. Some people got a guitar. But we were all just working-class people. Freddy was mom and dad’s milkman for years.
“All these players — bands, solo singers, whatever they were — all knew each other. B-groups, we called them. We didn’t necessarily like each other’s music, but there was a common thing going on where we were all supporting each other. The Beatles were never afraid of Herman’s Hermits. The (Rolling) Stones were not afraid of Herman’s Hermits. The Who weren’t afraid of Herman’s Hermits. That’s because all those bands were completely unique and different. Freddy and the Dreamers, they were different from everyone. No other band jumped around like that. They were never discounted and they were all admired for making it through the minefields of their careers.”
This weekend, two avenues of Noone’s expansive career converge. He will take the stage at the Opera House for a 7:30 pm concert on Saturday — the same time, coincidentally, his “Something Good” show will air on Sirius XM.
“These days, when I do a concert, kids come up to afterward and say, ‘I discovered you on VH-1 and that show ‘My Generation.’ Somebody else might see ‘Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter’ on TV and go, ‘Ah, they’re playing in Lexington tonight. Let’s go and see them.’ There are all these things keeping me ... well, not in the spotlight, but the limelight. However dark or light that limelight is, I’m in it.”
Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone
When: Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Lexington Opera House, 401 W. Short St.
Tickets: $28.50-$62 through ticketmaster.com.
