If music keeps you young then I say play on. This year I have been re-visiting the entertainers of my adolescence and I feel like a kid again. There was Flo and Eddie of the Turtles, Bobby Rydell, Gary Puckett, Judy Collins, Gary Lewis, The Monkees, Jay Black of Jay and the Americans and now Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits.
Peter appeared at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, N. J. and has aged extremely well for his 68 years. Backed by two guitars, drums and keyboards he opened with his hit song from the 60’s ”I’m into Something Good,” followed by Sam Cooks’s “What a Wonderful World This would be.” What followed was a super trip down memory lane with fantastic renditions of songs like his imitation of Tom Jones doing “It’s Not Unusual” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” I didn’t think Peter could make his voice go down that low. 😀 Peter also went into songs like the Monkees “Daydream Believer” and Dave Clark 5’s “Because” before going into another Herman’s Hermit song “Leaning on a Lamp Post.”
Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone (born 5 November 1947) is an English singer- songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor, best known as Herman of the successful Herman’s Hermits. His Wikepdia page lists him this way :Noone was born in Davyhulme, Lancashire, the son of an accountant, and attended Wellacre Primary School in Flixton, St. Bede’s College in Manchester, and Stretford Grammar School, Stretford, nearManchester. He played a number of acting roles on television, including that of Stanley Fairclough in the soap opera Coronation Street.[1] Noone studied voice and drama at the Manchester School of Music, where he won the Outstanding Young Musician Award.
When performing Peter exudes plenty of charismatic and boyish energy and light heartedness while dancing around and telling humorous stories about New Jersey and Englewood. He said his father was a musician also and he said to him, “Dad John of the Beatles never performed in Englewood” to which his father replied,’ “Neither have I which is why we both never will be there.” 😀
Peter also told hilarious stories of landing in Newark Airport saying, “When you leave the airport you never really leave the airport it’s so big.” Peter told of hailing a taxi cab to take him and the band to Englewood to which the cab driver said (in an Indian accent) ‘there is no sucha place in America.” He then had a hard time with other cabbies mis-pronouncing places like “the Frogs’s Neck bridge” 😀 (really Throg’s Neck bridge).
Peter said he came from a family of musicians saying, “My mother was Elton John and my father was Mick Jagger.” He then threw off his blazer and went into a hilarious version of Mick Jagger doing “Jumping Jack Flash.”
Peter then did a series of other great oldies such as “Silhouettes,” “A Must to Avoid” ‘Can’t You Hear My Heart Beat” both Herman’s Hermit songs and “I’m telling You Now” by Freddie and the Dreamers. Peter went into “Ferry Cross the Mersey” by Gerry and the Pacemakers changing the words to “Ferry Cross New Jersey on Lake Hopatcong.” People from New Jersey will understand. 😉
The first set lasted one hour and went by very fast. After a 15 minute break the band came back and did a fabulous encore of their best songs, “These were our No.1 hits,“ Peter said, “The others were No. 2.” He then sang “There’s Kind of a Hush” and the classic “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” before going into the crowd pleasing “I’m Henry the Eighth I Am”. Peter dragged this song out to what seemed like a fast ten minutes getting the audience to sing along joyously. This set lasted about a half hour.
After the show Peter was signing autographs in the lobby if you brought a CD, picture or t-shirt. My wife brought a t-shirt and I asked him, “Peter if someone told you in 1968 that you’d still be doing these songs in 2014 what would you say?” to which her replied, “Gee I hope so if I’m still alive.” We both laughed and I said thanks for signing my wife’s t-shirt.
For a joyous time and trip down memory lane a Herman’s Hermit concert starring Peter Noone is fun and up there with the best that leaves you in a good mood.”
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