TRY THIS FOR SIZE: "Ian Anderson is more 'showbiz than me - and I'm trying!' OR, HOW ABOUT: "Led Zeppelin are the Shadows of the '70s." AND: "The teenybopper bands are splitting because there's no demand for them." 
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DESPITE RUMOURS to the contrary Peter Noone alias Herman affirmed that his group will remain together until at least the end of 1970 in accordance with the wishes of Mickie 'Stromboli' (Waddya mean who was 'Stromboli' read yer 'Pinocchio' - he was the wicked puppet master!) Most and MGM Records. "The rumours about our splitting were the result of the Hermits expressing their wish to do some appearances on their own," said Herman. "Unfortunately for them, it would not be accordance with our contract to act separately - anyway it would be rather like putting on Brooke without Bond or Marks without Spencer! "You see it's not Herman and his Hermits, it's 'Herman's Hermits' - I feel as though I am a part of a group. Really the dispute has arisen because I said that I did not want to do any work for three months after March 31st. That means we will not be playing live during that time and I can sympathise with their frustration but i feel it is in both our interests to have this break. We've got 48 tracks owing to MGM for a start so we are going to be quite busy recording." Perhaps the most important aspect to bear in mind while trying to assess Herman is that he is 'showbiz' as opposed to pop - the youngest 'ham' in the business. "I admit it," says Peter. "I want to be Billy Mr. Showbusiness. I don't even want to be a Tommy Steele. I want to be Danny Kaye but I wish a few others would own up as well. I look at Ian Andersen in Jethro Tull. I'm sure not many people think of him in the same way but he's more showbusiness than me - and I'm trying!  At the ripe old age of 22 Peter has matured far beyond his years to a point where the so called 'sophistications' of music and the snobbery of 'progressive Pop' make little impression upon him. "I'm not ashamed of what I am or do," grinned Peter. "As Herman I go out there on stage and do the face and smiles to try and sell my product. The first time I heard 'Years May Come And Years May Go' I thought it was a joke. Mickie Most sent it to me a demo record with just a trumpet playing the melody - I collapsed. 'Go on Mickie,' I said, 'That's a good 'un'. 'That,' he said, 'is your next single!' "Now I dig it - I mean yeah - whahay! What's wrong with a good catchy tune? Listen, some of the best times I had was in a German beer Keller with Norrie Drummond and Richard Green. Everyone got smashed and sang the old songs - 'Please Release Me' - all that stuff. Everyone likes a sing song - own up. "Take Led Zeppelin, now that single of theirs in the States, 'Whole Lotta Love' - that's the most contrived commercial material I've ever heard but that doesn't mean you're not supposed to like it. I can remember the days when Jimmy Page played sessions for us and John Bonham came on a tour of Germany playing organ with the Hermits. They are good musicians and like all good musicians they might |
be playing on 'Sugar Sugar' for all we know. "I've seen some so called 'heavy' groups in clubs who had only their volume to recommend them but because people had conned themselves into believing they were something else, they listened to groups who were probably not capable of playing FBI like the Shadows. The Led Zeppelin are the Shadows of the '70s in that sense. "I went through a phase where I wanted to 'do my own thing' and produce records under another name. I used to go into recording studios and throw ping pong balls into a grand piano - I really thought I was doing something valid. That's all vanity and ego. It's no good me trying to be a super-musician because I'm not - I'm more like Max Bygraves and those are the people I want to be like. "This current 'progressive' kick is not so different in its sense to the days when I was a kid. We used to have a boy turn up at school with a Stan Getz album inside which he would have a disc like 'Robot Man' by the Spotniks. Why people should feel embarrassed or even think there is anything degrading now about an out and out pop single I just cannot understand.  Herman's Hermits were and perhaps still are regarded as epitomising the 'teenybopper group' but their appeal now is considerably wider and Peter notices with some bewilderment that the 'teenyboppers' have mostly disappeared from in front of the stage. "They're just not there," admits Peter. "The real reason so many of the 'teenybopper bands' are breaking up now is that there is just not the demand for that kind of act anymore. Our audience now varies from six to sixty. It's more of a family appeal. "The test of a hit single now for me is to be able to sell it to Mickie Most - he is our market. He is the old dear in Clapham or the bird in Wigan or the fella down the road. If you can't sell it to Mickie Most it isn't a hit! "It was interesting that I complained to him about 'Temma Harbour' in as much I thought it was more me than Marv Hopkins and she apparently wanted to do 'Years May Come And Years May Go'. He probably knows better than both of us.  "I think fan clubs should not exist," said Peter. "I remember writing up for a Superman badge from some American comic and failing to get it. I was really up tight about it for weeks. They often cause more anguish than good will. I don't think 'fans' really exist anymore." 'There's novelty' - as Eric Morecambe might put it. |