Peter Noone offers look into his performance philosophy ahead of Herman’s Hermits show at Fallsview

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Herman’s Hermits frontman Peter Noone has been performing for over 60 years, and in that time, he has developed a unique wisdom on how to put together a show — from taking cues from stage plays and musicals, to listening to the advice of friends in the comedy world and borrowing a few tricks from other musicians as well, Noone and his band have built a performance that hits all the right notes.

Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone will be taking the stage at Fallsview Casino’s Avalon Theatre three times between Feb. 4 and 5, with a 3 p.m. matinee each day and an 8:30 p.m. show on Wednesday.

Noone spoke with WIVB ahead of the shows.

Getting into something good

Noone, who played a show with Herman’s Hermits in North Tonawanda this past October, remarked on his style of performing, which involves walking through the crowd for a large portion of the Herman’s Hermits set.

“It’s kind of old-fashioned show business to interact one-on-one [with members of the crowd],” he said. “Over the years, I realized that I wanted the audience to be in the same room as me and have the same experience as me.”

Noone said he made the decision to push the “fourth wall” back to the end of the room, in an effort to make his fans feel included in the show. He said if he is having a good time, he believes the audience will too.

“I try to include those people upstairs [in balconies] as well,” he said. “It’s hard to get to them, but at least I can play to them; like the gods — it’s called in English theatre ‘playing to the gods’ — which was invented by David Garrick and old English actors.”

Along with the musical entertainment at Herman’s Hermits shows, Noone likes to keep performances light by integrating humor into the act.

Noone referred to entertaining as “the only thing [he] can do really well” and said because he feels that way, he concentrates very hard on his craft, which includes studying comedian friends of his who do lots of localized research on the areas they play in.

“They knew how to hit the spots in the audience that make sense, and the audience would understand what they’re talking about,” Noone said. “You can tell the same joke, but bring the name of a local river into it, every night. There’s always a river and there’s always a funny-sounding place nearby that everybody in the room knows about.”

Storytelling

Noone said he’s learned a lot in his decades of performing and has adjusted the Herman’s Hermits set accordingly.

“Rather than have a guitar solo with the guitar player looking at the floor, trying to be cool, I make the guitar player dance — and it’s fun,” he said. “Nobody cares how good or bad the guitar solo is. When Herman’s Hermits first started, we made a pledge amongst the guys in the band that we would concentrate on never trying to impress other musicians, because that would be fatal to a band.”

He added that bands that try too hard and “spend nine minutes noodling” on a solo may lose their audience in doing so.

Rather than having a lull in the show — or as Noone refers to it, an “I’ll go and get the car” moment, the band focuses on telling a story.

“It’s a package of entertainment — it has a beginning, a middle and an end,” he said. “George Burns once said to me, ‘It’s how you get on and how you get off; they’ll forget the middle.’ I don’t believe they’ll forget the middle. I believe that you’ve got to get on well, get off well and have a good middle — like a play.”

Noone said that because concerts don’t have a structured plot like a musical would, he has to make up the plot to his show as he goes along each night, with each show telling a different story, due to his idiosyncratic nature.

The art of others

In addition to Herman’s Hermits classics like “I’m Into Something Good” and “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am” and humorous parody songs about the area the show is performed in each night, the show includes a number of covers. Noone does an impression of Johnny Cash that most people with an American accent couldn’t pull off, and performs hits by other U.K. acts, such as The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and Elton John.

The set also contains a superb cover of “Daydream Believer” by The Monkees. Despite the fact that he was never a diehard fan of The Monkees, Noone described the record as “incredible” and noted that “it means something to everybody in the audience.” He said that the covers help hit the audience’s sweet spot, as they’re songs the people know and love, but they can’t hear live anymore because many of the artists have died or retired.

Not only do other artists contribute to the set through the cover songs, but Noone also said he trusts that the sound and lighting crews for each show to know the rooms he plays better than he ever will, meaning he trusts their artistic talents to be able to make him look and sound good while performing.

To help himself envision the show from an audience point of view, Noone likes to walk around the venue ahead of the show if possible and sit in a variety of seats, to understand what the show looks like from their perspective.

Under the radar

Having released the responsibility of lighting and sound to the professionals at the venues, Noone says there’s “hardly anything” he doesn’t look forward to on tour anymore.

“I enjoy the adventure of going to the airport, the adventure of seeing how long TSA and all that stuff takes and being treated like a big shot on the plane,” he said.

Noone explained that he has “millions” of miles banked with United from touring, and puts those miles to good use.

He noted that he isn’t often recognized on planes, but enjoys that he stays under the radar, so he can do everyday tasks like go shopping with his wife and take his dog to the vet without being noticed.

“Nobody knows who I am,” he explained. “I’m ‘that Peter Noone guy’ — ‘Who is he?’ So I say, ‘Yeah, I’m one of The Monkees, I’m the dead one.’ And it used to work better because there weren’t so many dead Monkees. But I don’t mind that people don’t know who I am.”

Noone said that because his job is so unreal, he prefers being lowkey in real life.

“When I go out in the real world, I’m fine to stand in a line and complain at Starbucks like everyone else does and go, ‘Oh look, they’ve got donuts,'” he said. “And all those things that ‘being normal’ requires you to do.

He said Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney are inspirations to him, as they also operate in this fashion, opting to try to maintain anonymity and live real life experiences, foregoing red carpet appearances and the like.

Noone said he does not like to do red carpet events, that he only wants people who know who he is taking his photo, rather than photographers asking “who was that” after he passes through.

Fans of Noone may have this opportunity at Fallsview Casino next month, when he takes the stage in front of the Niagara Falls, Ont. crowd on Feb. 4 and 5. Tickets to the Herman’s Hermits shows can be purchased at this link. The full interview can be watched below.

Adam Duke is a digital contributor who joined WIVB in 2021. See more of his work here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo.