You Can Shop At The Zoo -- And Meet Herman

      If you want to find Peter Noone when he visits New York, chances are you'll find him in The Zoo. Instead of animals at this zoo, though, there will be clothes.
      The Zoo is the name of a new boutique. Peter, better known as Herman, is opening at 243 E. 60th Street in New York with Steve Lyons, 27. The boutique will feature men's clothes imported from Britain as well as original designs by Lyons.
      "I saw Steve's designs at his home on New Year's Eve," Peter explained. "I thought he had some great ideas and then a few months later Steve suggested opening a boutique together. It took a few months for me to get clearance from the bank in London to get into this venture, but I finally got permission. Actually it's great for Britain to export things over here."
      Peter has always been interested in clothes and was selected as one of the 10 Best Dressed Men in England. In March, Steve flew to London and both he and Peter selected the British imports for the shop. Peter will continue to look for clothes for the shop while he is in Britain.
      According to Peter, "American men just don't know what to do when it comes to clothes. In England, men are more fashion conscious than the

 

women. Also when the Carnaby Street rage developed, there was great competition between the shops.
     "In America, there's just no competition. Also, the clothes are dated. I saw a man wearing a military jacket in New York and that style is two years old in Britain.
      "The new thing in England now - and it's weird because we're stealing from other countries since we've milked ourselves dry - is suits with levi-style jackets in all different colors and patterns. We've stolen from German fashions, too, because antique leather is all the rage."
      Steve says that The Zoo will cater to the man who wants something different without being too crazy or far-out. Steve likes clothes that are well tailored and well put together visually without being freaky. Prices will be moderate.
     If the shop goes over well, Peter and Steve have plans to put a Zoo in every city. They will also sell custom designed clothes for rock groups in the shop.
      Peter says that he will be spending more time in New York and is happy about it because he likes it here very much.

Hermits May Tour U.S. In Summer

      Whether the Hermits do a summer U.S. tour is still not decided. According to Peter it depends on when their movie, which is still not completely edited, is released. At present it's planned for a summer release.
      Peter told GO that John Paul Jones, who has done arrangements for the group, has now joined the Hermits on organ making it a six-man group.
      For their May tour of Britain Peter says that he would like to add saxes to the band too. "We don't play our own songs any more," he said, "we do a whole new act. On stage we do what we want to do instead of just 14 minutes of hits. We want to use Herman's Hermits music as a vehicle to do other kinds of music.
      "We would like to do a rock 'n' roll tour and start off with songs from about 10 years ago that

 

could use sax arrangements. We would work our way up to the present through music and end up with strings onstage since that's what's used today."
      Peter explained further: "I've gone back to being interested in music again. For a time I hated Herman's Hermits and what they meant, but now I think we can get back into music onstage."
     "Sleepy Joe" is the Hermits' new single, and Peter said they they are recording new material for a new album in London. "We have about 40 unreleased tracks in the can. About 14 or 15 are from the movie and they can't be released until the movie comes out. The rest of the tracks are things we did and don't like so I don't think any of that will be released."

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