What would have happened to Peter Noone if he hadn't stopped by a local youth club in Manchester, England, five years ago? What if Peter hadn't been at that club on the night the lead singer of one of the performing groups, the (throb) Heartbeats, couldn't perform? What if he hadn't had the courage to go on stage and fill-in, thus marking the birth of a new group, Herman's Hermits, and thus also marking the beginning of a new career for Peter Noone?
It is hard to imagine this world without Herman in it, but try to imagine the various paths his life might have followed if he hadn't happened to stop by that particular night club on that particular night.
FADE OUT. FADE IN
It's the biggest game of the season and Peter Noone knows it. Sitting in the locker room, he can feel the tension in the warm Sunday afternoon air. If his team wins this one, they'll be in the first place, they'll win the coveted National League Pennant! From there, they'll go to the World Series. Gosh, to be the number one team in the nation . . .
"Okay, boys, get out there and win!" Peter hears the husky voice of his team's manager interrupting his thoughts. He's trying to cover his anxiety with a false cheerfulness.
The team files out and as they enter the field, they hear the screams of thousands of fans excited to the point of near frenzy.
The game is too close. Both teams fight hard, as if for their very lives. At the bottom of the eighth, with two out, the score is 8-7 in favor of the other team. The bases are loaded, and our hero (Peter, of course) is up at bat. It's up to him to save the game. He steps up to the plate and the crowd goes wild. Peter swings at the first pitch. "Strike one." There's an electrifying hush over the audience. The second pitch comes and there's a loud crack. Peter begins to run to first base when he hears the humming of a kazoo. "Hmmm, not a bad melody," he thinks and immediately his mind is far removed from the ball game and he's off in a daydream. "Not a bad rhythm, either." He begins to do a little jig between home plate and first base.
He is returned to reality when he hears the bellow of the umpire, "Out!" Well, perhaps something else . . .
FADE OUT. FADE IN
"Peter, I vill be out for vun hour. Ven I come back, I vant that the place should be clean."
Peter had only been with Mr. Swenson one week. It would be two years before he would
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be a full scale printer.
He got out the broom and began to sweep. He was thinking about the drudgery that lay ahead of him in the next two years. Even the broom seemed bored. Why not, "swish-a-swish-a-swish." Yes, that was better, less tedious! Peter was lost now to the dull routine that surrounded him. He was in a large dance hall, dancing with a beautiful girl and singing softly in her ear.
"You are the vurst apprentice I have ever seen," Mr. Swenson screamed at him, jolting him back to the print shop. "I am glad now that I forget my pipe and come back and catch you fooling around. You are fired! Go home! You make a no good printer, anyhow!"
FADE OUT. FADE IN.
"Yes, sir, we have some lovely jewelry boxes. Is it a special occasion?" Peter leads the graying gentleman over to the counter on which there's a large variety of jewel cases. There are satin-lined leather boxes, velvet-lined boxes, and some beautiful ivory boxes, painted with delicate little figures and oriental scenes. "Let me show you something really wonderful," says our Peter. He opens the beautiful case and a melody begins to play. After a few moments, Peter pictures himself on a stage in a large concert hall, with the attention of thousands focused on him. The orchestra begins to play and Peter begins to sing.
"What are you, some kind of nut?" The man jolts Peter back to reality and the department store. "I think I'll take my business elsewhere! Really!"
FADE OUT.
Ouch and double ouch! These things COULD have happened. How many thousands of paths Peter Noone could have followed on that fateful night just five short years ago! But lucky, lucky, he made a decision which catapulted him into the top of show business. Lucky, lucky, lucky!
And say, how's your imagination? Are you good at the daydream bit? Could you come up with a real groovy idea about what might have happened to Peter Noone if he hadn't gone up on that stage that night in Manchester, England? Send your idea of what might have heppened to Herman to HERMAN'S OTHER LIFE, 8383 Sunset Strip, Hollywood, California 90069. We'll print the ten best "stories" here in MOD and send each winner a copy of Herman's newest album!
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