Herman's Intimate Life Story

Five little Hermits, all in a row! And they can't wait till you hear
all about Herman! Okay guys, we're listening!

This is an exclusive! For every Herman fan - here's every Herman detail that everyone should know!

    PETER Blair Denis Bernard Noone was so-named because his parents couldn't decide which name they liked best! But they could have saved themselves the trouble of even trying to decide. Their multi-talented little boy was destined to grow into a teenage idol called Herman!
    You've heard plenty of stories about the "overnight success" who's really just a homebody at heart. Peter "Herman" Noone is just a homebody at heart, but his success was hardly an overnight one. In fact, you might say it started way, way back.
    Peter was born in the Davyhulme Hospital, in Manchester, on November 5, 1947. His daddy was happy to see tht even at the tiny age of two, Peter had a curious mind.
    "I used to explore the grass in our huge back garden," Peter tells us. "And just as quickly as I found the cabbages, the caterpillars found me."
    When Peter was four, he said goodbye to Norfolk Gardens, about seven miles from Manchester. Peter was a very busy little boy at that time. In fact, he could read when he was five - and loved it then as much as he does now.
    "Our house in Flixton was the center of some of my most cherished memories," Peter said, with a far-away look in his big eyes. "For instance," he continued, "Dad built a swing for me in the doorway between the diningroom and the hall. On rainy days, I used to swing and think of what I'd be when I grew up."
    Up, up in the air he flew, never thinking that some of his boyish dreams would someday really come true. He thought about how he'd be Peter Noone, "King of All the Television Stars." And somewhere between the dreaming and the swinging, he landed T.V. roles in such widely-watched British programs as "Knight Errant" and "Family Solicitor." After these two roles, Peter got an even bigger part in England's most popular series, "Coronation Street," a program which can be easily compared to our "Peyton Place."
    As he rode on his swing, Peter also had dreams of being Peter Noone, "Big Movie Star!" But when he had a chance to audition for the Swinton and Pendlebury Amateur Dramatic Society, he got there late. Only the job of prompter was still open.
    "I accepted it," blushed Peter. "But half-way through the play, I didn't feel well, so I asked them if I could leave."
    Peter felt terrible about the whole thing. After all, the prompter is the one who whispers the lines to forgetful actors. He'd left a vital theater job when he'd just begun! He'd never get another job!
    All was lost, or so he thought! So Peter gave up his "Hollywood career," and thought about another. Peter Noone, "King of All the Television Stars," Peter Noone, "Big Movie Star," decided that he wanted to be a priest.
    Peter had a long talk with the head master of St. Bede's Catholic School. The man was very understanding, and suggested that Peter go to a seminary and see some of the training for the priesthood. Excited and hopeful, Peter visited his uncle, a monk, at a place near Basingstoke. But, again, Pete changed his mind as to his vocation.
    "The life he led was just too hard for me," says Peter seriously.
    He asked his father to put him in a non-Catholic school, but he didn't leave St. Bede's before he and his mates had some harmless boyish fun.
    "The music master, Mr. Frost, wore a marvelous wig," Peter recalls. "And we used to take turns going up to him and 'chatting.' But while one fella talked to him, we others got behind the sweet old man and blew gently on the wig."
    We can just picture Peter and his friends watching wide-eyed as the wig was blown up, off one ear.
    "We all though he was a smashingly good sport," Peter chuckles. "And I suspect that he knew about our antics all the time."
    But while fun played a big part in Peter's life, he was also a very good student, and a talented young man. As soon as he started attending school at Stretford, music began to play an important role in his life.
    The last time Peter had had any contact with music he was eight years old. He played the cymbal and the triangle in the school band. He was in the choir, and in a talent contest he sweetly sang:
    "Tinkety, winkie, winkie, winkie,
    Tinkety, winkie, wink,
    I l-o-v-e you ..."

       It was a song his Mum used to sing to him at bedtime and he won a "fiver" for his little performance. Yet his visions of becoming a famous actor had taken his mind away from music. He didn't rediscover his own talent until he was fourteen.
    It was at this time in his life that Peter began to discover not only music, but girls as well. He became very clothes-conscious and interested in football. Peter began to realize that he had many friends and was one of the best-liked boys in his crowd. Though he didn't know it himaelf, Peter's sister Denise explained one of the reasons to us.
    "He's what we call, up North, a fellow who's extremely 'hard-faced.' In other words, hardly anything bothers him, and he's very calm, a good mixer, loves crowds, and isn't at all shy.
    Another secret of Peter's success is that he always thinks that he can do a better job than he's already done.
    All of these qualities contributed to the getting together and success of The Hermits, the next and most important cross-road of Peter's life.
    You've already met the adorable two-year-old Peter who played in the garden, at the beginning of this story. But you don't know that Keith Hopwood, one of The Hermits, lived only three doors away on the other side of the road. Peter didn't know this at the time. But as fate would have it, the two boys met again, this time as teenagers, both interested in forming a pop group.
    Originally, the group was called Pete Novack and The Heartbeats. For their first public appearance, they learned eight numbers and played for an Urmston Football club social evening. The group played for two hours, but since they'd only learned the eight particular songs, they had to play them over and over again!
    It wasn't long till the boys were playing numbers The Beatles had made popular, and built up their own little bunch of teen admirers. They were discovered soon after by their manager, Harvey Lisberg, who heard them play at the Hertford Youth Club, near Peter's house.
    "After engagements at many teenage clubs," Herman recalled for us, "we went to several record companies with our songs - but nobody would buy."
    Herm confided that once the group was even told to "go back to Manchester and get jobs before they wasted their lives away!" Well, it was back to Manchester they went - but not to give up! Only to work harder and harder. Finally, a record producer agreed to let them record "I'm Into Something Good." And if you're a Herman's Hermits fan, you know the rest!
    Remember how we told you Herman's a real homebody at heart? Well, even though he's toured all over the world, he gets terribly homesick for his Mum's cooking, and the long talks with his older sister. He still reads in bed, stays up till all hours, sleeps till all hours and sings in the bathtub. He also still thinks Peter Noone is a "big-headed nit," when the truth of it is he's one star who's still as modest as can be.
    As a result of Herman's success, the Noone family was forced to move in order to escape the screaming fans. But they don't mind! They're all too proud of their Peter to care. And the main thing they love is the fact that despite all his successes, and the many more he can look forward to, Peter Blair Denis Bernard, and now Herman, Noone, never forgets his friendship or love for anyone.
    He still has his dreams, just like that little boy on the swing. His silly little teasing and pranks seem to be never-ending, too. And maybe that's just a pretty big reason for his success in the first place! What do you think?




Who can resist this cuddly singer?
Specially when he turns on that cute
smile of his? "Noone," that's who!

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