Dark clouds from Hurricane Isaac threatened the outdoor concert, yet Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits played to a packed audience at Akron’s Lock 3 outdoor amphitheatre. Herman’s Hermits is a British pop band, formed in 1963 that first took Britain by storm and was nearly as popular as the Beatles in their home country. When they crossed the ocean to the U.S., they had so many screaming young girls at their shows that the fans were nick-named the Noonatics.
After an initial cloudburst on Saturday, September 1st, the opening band, Aftermath - Experience the Sixties, played one hit after another, warming up the audience with some hot rock and roll.
When Peter Noone took the stage, the Noonatics started screaming just as in the sixties. I was lucky enough to be literally front and center of the stage and was not three feet away from Peter Noone belting out his songs! Noone and Herman’s Hermits performed many of their hits, including Hold On, What a Wonderful World, Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat, No Milk Today, and their two US Billboard Hot 100 No.1’s with Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter and I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am, (a British music hall song). I must say that Peter Noone still has an awesome voice and is quite the entertainer. He had all of us singing, clapping and laughing in stitches with his humor.
My British husband, Peter Cyngier, first met Peter Noone almost fifty years ago at the Peterborough Palais in England. We were fortunate enough to talk briefly with Peter Noone after the show and both Peters reminisced about the good old days and friends in the music business. The show itself was absolutely awesome and had everyone on their feet. It was truly a terrific night out!
