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Onstage, he seems a brash, bright young man. But in real life Herman is transformed by
shyness into . . . A HERMIT. Friends report that the smiling-eyed youngster is so shy at times that he will avoid any contact with strangers. In a series of interviews with Herman's boyhood friends, TREND'S London correspondent Peter Bryant tried to find out the reasons for his shyness. He came UP with some startling answers. His first port of call was the drab, little street in Manchester where Herman (real name: Peter Noone) was born on November 5, 1947. Neighbors recalled that Herman was one of the nicest kids on the block. But when someone spoke to him, his face would instantly go beetroot red with embarrassment. A friend from grade school recalled how Herman was one of those unfortunate kids for whom things always seem to be going wrong. He said: "I remember once that a schoolteacher dropped his pen in the school corridor. Always eager to help, Herman rushed forward and bent to pick it lip. Unfortunately, the teacher bent at the same time and their skulls crashed together. You should have heard what he said to Herman!" Other incidents like this made the already-shy Herman keep to himself more and more. |
Often
his mother had difficulty persuading him to go out and play with the other kids. But she realized he couldn't cut himself off completely, so she would arrange Christmas and birthday parties for him and invite lots of kids his own age. But most of the time Herman would slide off into the kitchen and stay alone. But as the years passed, Herman developed the one big passion of his life-music. Because he didn't go out as often as most kids, Herman was able to form one of the biggest record collections anywhere. Each week, he would rush to the record store and buy the new releases. When he met those fab fellows who were eventually to join him as The Hermits. For months they would all talk about forming a group. Eventually they bought instruments and Herman's Hermits were born. Onstage, Herman lost all his shyness and seemed to take on a cheeky air. When the big break came with "I'm on to Some-thing Good," he was a master of the stage. Maybe Herman is looking for a girl to give him the confidence he so badly needs ...someone who will understand that shyness is something you can overcome with help. Would you be prepared to help him? |
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