Digger: How
did you get on with other Manchester
bands such as The Hollies, Freddie & The Dreamers
and Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders?
Have your paths crossed much since?
Peter: I got on very well with all
the Manchester
bands at the time. I considered the whole
Manchester thing to be special and referred
to that in many articles in the press.
I am still close to all the original members
of these bands, at least the ones who are
still around. I see Wayne a lot, and Fred too.
Graham lives here in the States and when Alan Clark
used to spend time here I would hang out with him.
Fred and the Dreamers were with the same agents
as were Wayne and the Mindbenders. I knew Graham
a little, and when we were popular we invited
each of these bands to open for us on US tours.
---------------------------------
Digger: Of
the only four UK bands in the US top
twenty of acts for the entire 1960s, you are
there along with The Beatles, The Stones & The
Dave Clark Five. Can you explain why you were so
phenomenally popular with the American audience?
Peter: We made very good records for teenage
girls.
They were unusual too. HH was a band for teenage
girls. We made records about love and romance.
We were all nice chaps and they knew.
---------------------------------
Digger: Many
1960s groups continue
performing to this day.
Can you see Manchester bands such as Oasis
being equally popular in 2030?
Peter: Not a chance, because they are
crap live.
Attitude-wise. Nonchalance does not play to people
over the long term. See Rolling Stones. Oasis
will not last the next year. One of the requirements
to last in the music business is to be good onstage.
They are absolutely the most boring live act I
have ever seen. They make the Monkees seem bright.
I enjoy their songs , and have bought all their
records. I think musically they are quite wonderful,
but the fact remains that they do not have the
ability to excite an audience. They are crap.
In Los Angeles at the height of their momentary
popularity, they almost cleared the building
by the 7th musical entree. They may need to go
and look at the Stones, The Sex Pistols, or even
the Bay City Rollers to see what the live show
represents. The lead singer was so casual, that I
took it upon myself to go backstage to tell him
what a wanker I thought he was, but their little
manager kept them hidden from the people with
balls. They are a sad bunch of millionaires.
I'll take Freddie & The Dreamers any day
to liven up the party.
---------------------------------
Digger: What
sort of a producer was Mickie Most?
Peter: He was the greatest producer
of his day.
Records are 'of the moment' and he was a producer of
brilliant 'of the moments'. He was the perfect
producer for Herman. We are still best friends.
---------------------------------
Digger: Who
were your favourite songwriters
and who were your favourite performers in the 1960s?
Who are they now?
Peter: Carole King, Barry Mann and
Cynthia Weill,
Lennon and McCartney etc.
Now? The bloke who writes the Oasis songs,
and the Halle orchestra
---------------------------------
Digger: Do
you tire of singing the same songs
( and having to answer the same interview
questions, no doubt! ). Or do you find a way to
keep it all fresh?
Peter: I actually enjoy the fact that
my songs are
remembered, and I am grateful to be able to
still have a following. It is a well-known fact
that show business provides us with many
shallow thinkers, and people who are just simply
ungracious and ungrateful. I do not place
myself in that category. I pity those who are
ungrateful. I love singing my songs and love
it when people recognise them.
---------------------------------
Digger: You
have embraced technology by having two
websites and I am told that you keep in touch
with the world via email on your laptop.
What are your favourite internet sites and
how do you see the www transforming our lives?
Peter: I like
www.cynicalbastards.com
www.neverenough.com/asylum
and
www.drudgereport.com
The whirled has been changed for ever
as it is instant.
---------------------------------
Digger: What
are the best and worst things about
being Peter Noone?
Peter: The best thing is my absolute
charm.
The worst is my absolute nonsense.
I was born without the censor button, and I
am very upfront with my criticism. Sometimes it
makes people angry. Once when I told John Lennon
I thought the booboobooboo bit in Lady Madonna
was crap he beat me up, but I still think the
singer from Oasis is useless, and incredibly boring.
---------------------------------
Digger: Is
touring still a buzz?
Peter: Yes it is my job, and I am not
trained to do
anything else. I do my job better than anyone
else can do it. A working class dream? Life is a
buzz now. I am having the greatest time ever.
---------------------------------
Digger: What
is the strangest gift you have
received from a fan?
Peter: Pictures of a funeral with a
coffin filled with
memorabilia and the unfortunate fan(atic).
There is no such thing as a gift from a fan, unless
it is given anonymously, which is quite rare.
Usually it is a barter.
---------------------------------
Digger: Would
you have liked to have been in any of the
other groups or recorded any other group's
hits and if so which ones?
Peter: Nah. I was in my own group,
and we were fab for
our moment. I am still a bit fab, and carry on
regardless. This year I will make more money than
at any time in my life. Strange isn't it. The internet
reconnected me to my followers in real time.
I would do a great job on all the Oasis songs.
and I can dance too.
---------------------------------
Digger: I
saw you performing on Ed Sullivan's
show the other day ( it was a repeat!!!! ).
What was he like? What were those shows
like? How was the US for you on that first visit?
Peter: Ed loved HH because we were nice boys
and very well mannered, which many of the
English groups of the time were.
---------------------------------
Peter 'Herman'
Noone
