Peter Noone

HERMANIA!

Peter Noone Revisits the American Inspirations of the British Invasion

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

the stuff in that show represents a special WHEN RADIO WAS KING AND rock and roll was made by - and for - teenagers, disc jockeys were some of the most powerful movers and shakers of popular culture. If a DJ played a record, it could become a massive hit and quickly elevate the artist to superstar status. One of the most revered disc jockeys of the early ‘60s was Murray Kaufman, better known as his on-air guise “Murray The K.” He also was nicknamed “The Fifth Beatle” for his influential support of British Invasion acts. Kaufman often presented live concerts featuring a wide slate of his favorite programming at select venues in New time for music. A lot of it is what inspired the British Invaders. That was the time when the disc jockey was not only a host but a trusted tastemaker - and in some cases, more famous than the artists he presented. In those days, the most important person in New York was the DJ. They were immensely popular. People my age, we all had a disc jockey that we listened to in the mornings before we went to school. If he played a record and we liked it, we usually bought it. If he didn’t play it, well we probably never heard it. York City. One of his rock and soul revues, originally held at Brooklyn’s Fox Theatre, was televised on CBS in June of 1965. The special, called “It’s What’s Happening Baby” was initially commissioned by the U.S. Government’s Office of Economic Opportunity to encourage American youth to pursue summer employment. As a recruitment tool, it may or may not have been effective, but the footage of the historic convergence lives on - thanks to Public Television and fellow DJ, producer and obsessive oldies fan T.J. Lubinsky. Featuring some of the greatest rock, soul and R&B artists of the ‘60s, the rare package was recently restored by Lubinsky - best-known for his nostalgic “My Music” specials on PBS. Last month, for the first time in 56 years, the show aired again. Be on the lookout for subsequent re-broadcasts over the next few months because PBS utilizes the presentations as part of their pledge-drive programming. Vintage performances from Ray Charles, Dionne Warwick, Marvin Gaye, The Righteous Brothers, The Supremes, The Ronettes, Johnny Rivers, The Miracles, Herman’s Hermits, The Temptations and Patti LaBelle are interspersed with 2021 interview segments, offering brief recollections of the era. Before the show debuted last month, INsite spoke with Things changed dramatically during 1965 but shows like this one captured the fleeting magic of the times. Things changed very quickly, but this is the time when most of the songs were still romantic songs. Romance and dancing were partners then. Music was what took you out on dates! In those days, pop music was for teenagers. Rock and roll music wasn’t for studious, journalistictype, 50-year old men. It was created by and for teenagers. Somehow that changed along the way and now everybody takes everything so seriously. But it was once sort of naive and fresh. One thing I’ve noticed is - well, for example, my dad didn’t understand “Tutti Frutti.” And that made it much more important to me. So today, I would hope that people like something now because I don’t get it. Originally this music was created for kids to go out and have a good time with, to listen to it, to sing along with it and to just have fun. Things got heavier over the years of course and everything changed - but during the Murray The K period, that was clearly what was going on. It may come back, you never know. But for now, we still have the music and the memories - and thanks to PBS, great shows like this one. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE BEATLES FOR INSTANCE, THEIR INSPIRATION WAS NOT ENGLISH MUSIC, THEIR INSPIRATION WAS AMERICAN MUSIC. Herman’s Hermits leader Peter Noone from his home in Santa Barbara. Born Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone in England, the gregarious entertainer proudly calls the music of America his greatest inspiration. The show presents a good cross-section of what was indeed happening at that time. 1965 was an incredible year for you. Yeah, that was our moment. We sold more records than anybody in the world then. I’d There’s a teaser trailer online but have you have to say, it was not a bad ol’ year for us! seen the entire show yet? I’ve seen the whole show and it’s unbelievable. It’s been around for a long time, but it was always in bits and pieces with little numbers running at the bottom of the screen. But then somebody got the masters and fixed it all up. I was fascinated by watching Little Anthony and the Imperials, just how brilliant At that point, America was hungry for anything British. But for us, we didn’t know there was a British Invasion. I was fortunate because I had an English accent and I sang with that accent, which none of the other people were doing. So we really went to the front of the field. they were and are. There are a lot of fine moments in rock and roll and quite a few of them are in that session. It was very much American music, but you added that British twist and sold it back to us with an English accent. I thought I’d seen every show from that era but this one is a new treat for almost everyone who enjoys historic programming. I think British musicians were far more enthusiastic about American music, probably more than Americans were. There’re not many people still around who saw it the first time. That whole period - things from ’63, ’64 and ’65 - was seen by people who bought 1950’s records so it’s kind of pre-British Invasion in a way. It’s from that time just before the music changed. Things were different six months later, but As was customary at the time, the UK versions of your albums were different than the releases for the American market. But we didn’t really plan it that way. The first album had “Mrs. Brown” on it and a disc jockey in Philadelphia decided to play it. We’d been doing that song for years. It wasn’t really made for America, it was made in England. Then the American disc jockey discovered it and played it - because that’s how powerful they were then. We weren’t over there making records for America. How could we even know what was going on here then? We were in Manchester and knew nothing about America. We were just music enthusiasts and to go play music in America was a big thing for us.

Every British musician tends to agree that America was ‘the goal,’ the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. When you think about the Beatles for instance, their inspiration was not English music, their inspiration was American music. Nobody lists anybody from Germany in rock and roll, you know? They list Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Sam Cooke and then before that, people like The Ink Spots. So when we got the chance, we were happy to be in America.

Do you remember how you felt when you first arrived in America? Of course! Every English person remembers that. I didn’t see the Statue of Liberty but I can imagine what that would’ve felt like. We flew into Idlewild or JFK or whatever it’s called now. We drove past the World’s Fair. They’d sent a limo to pick us up and we’d never seen one before. I think it was one of those with the seats for people to go to the airport, so there were rows of people and it was like ten feet long. But it was still a limo for us.

Great. Everything about it was great. Every English group was taken to see Joey Dee and the Starliters at the Peppermint Lounge. I guess that’s where they thought English people would enjoy themselves. Then they took us to that place where all the drummers would play, sittin’ on the bar. Then they thought we wanted to go to an English pub. But that was the last place we wanted to go. The thing is, Americana is much bigger for people outside of America than you can possibly imagine. I think Americans can never quite understand the appeal of America. All I know is, I got here. Everybody else in every other county, they all want to come to America, too. It’s funny that so many American people want to go somewhere else. I can list 150 countries of people who’d all like to be here. I’m one of the lucky ones. 1964 and 5 were some of the best times to be here. Here I am, all these years later, still living here.

Encore telecasts of It’s What’s Happening, Baby will air soon on most Public Television outlets. Check GPB.Org listings for upcoming showtimes. For the latest Peter Noone news, links, collectible merchandise and all things Herman, visit peternoone.com.