Peter Noone

British singer, guitarist, actor, band leader and songwriter. He used the professional name of Herman when working with his group "Herman and the Hermits." Big in the U.S. in the mid-'60s, they went on to England where they continued to perform to appreciative audiences. As Noone began doing more solo work, in mid '71 the group disbanded. During the following decade he never approached the success of the Hermits days, but Noone kept busy in a variety of enterprises.

Noone started his career as a child star in TV. In his teens, he became more interested in music than acting and in the early '60s, started a Manchester band called the "Cyclones." The group morphed into "Herman's Hermits" in August 1964. Their single came out, "Can't You Hear My Heart Beat," and provided the group with their first sizable success. "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter," reached #1 in Billboard the week of 1 May 1965 and stayed there for two more weeks. The week of 7 August 1965 they had their second and last monster hit single, "I'm Henry VIII I Am." There was never another year as great as 1965, though they had a number of respectable hit songs. In mid-1965, the group went to Hollywood to work on a film, "Where the Boys Meet the Girls." Altogether they had 22 hit singles and world sales of 40 million records.

"Peter Noone," his first solo single was released on 30 April 1971, however his solo career never really took off. In good grace, he and his wife moved to France later in the '70s where he concentrated on songwriting, turning out songs that were sung by other artists.

In the late '70s he moved again, to New York City where he opened a clothing boutique. In the early '80s he performed with a new wave band, "The Tremblers." They put on a good show but did not build up a convincing following. Noone also acted in an unreleased film and played a stint in "The Pirates of Penzance" in London.