Steve Dacri sits down with legendary rocker, Peter Noone.

I recall watching Ed Sullivan with my parents when I was a little tike, and seeing Herman's Hermits for the first time. I was hooked. My beloved Beatles paved the way for others from Britain, including the Hermits. I have since had the pleasure of seeing Herman's Hermits live many, many times over the years, and in recent years, have met Peter and had the chance to chat with him about his remarkable career.

Last month, we had this chat after his show in Primm.

SD: I'v been a fan of yours since the early days of your career, watching you on "Ed Sullivan" more than once. I'll bet you hear that sort of thing a lot.

PN: Thanks alot, yes I do. Loyal fans, I love it. Makes it all worth while.

SD: What was it like to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show?

PN: I hardly remember it, I was 16 years old, and totally nervous, wondering if I was going to split my trousers or something equally embarrassing.

SD: Were you friends of the Beatles?

PN: Oh yes, we all hung out a lot, back in the days of Liverpool, before the boys got big and famous.

SD: Still friends?

PN: Oh yes, great mates. I see Paul once in a while, and Ringo, too. They are all older than me, so when we were hanging out in those early days, they tried to keep me from all the bad habits.

SD: Did they succeed?

PN: I believe they did, I don't do drugs or drink. That's why I'm still alive.

SD: Where were you born?

PN: Manchester, England, to the north of London.

SD: I've visited there many times, performed there, too.

PN: It's a lot different there now, all grown up and big.

SD: Do you get back there a lot?

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PN: Sure. My mum still lives there, and all my friends. We do a concert there every year to raise funds for a children's charity.

SD: I have also appeared on the stage of the Cavern Club in Liverpool, where you played many times in the early days. WHat was that like?

PN: You played the new Cavern Club, that was not the original.

SD: Same stage and brick wall, though, right?

PN: Yeah, they saved the brick wall, the one we all signed, and parts of the stage, but the original club was buried over, don't know why.

SD: Did you enjoy playing there?

PN: Awfully hot and sweaty, and stuffed with people, not the greatest place to play, to tell the truth. But it was the place to be seen and heard, if you could hear anything. It was, like it is now, a long, narrow tube, with bars at one end, and the stage at the other, very noisy, some people didn't even know we were playing.

SD: What about when the Beatles played there?

PN: They owned the place, that's for sure, because they played there all the time. In the beginning, they played every day, for hours on end, around lunch hour. You couldn't get near the door. We came in and performed a set right after them, and to my surprise, the crowd stayed on and cheered along for us, it was great.

SD: Saw you last year in that great outdoor stage in Boulder City with Micky Dolenz.

PN: That was fun, and I was always a big fan of the Monkees. We even played with them once when they came to England.

SD: You play Vegas now pretty regularly. You like it here?

PN: We love it. So many fans follow us, they come to Vegas every time we play, we get to see a lot of the same friendly faces, it's like playing for the family.

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SD: You played at the Silverton, where we first saw you here, then the Cannery, and now Whiskey Petes. Any favorites?

PN: Well, this is a fine concert hall here, isn't it? Great sound and acoustics. But it is a bit out of the way, sort of in the middle of nowhere, right? We love the stage at the Cannery, too. Another intimate room.

SD: You return there soon, right?

PN: Yes, June 30 with Flo and Eddie, the Turtles. It wil be a really fun show.

SD: Do you ever get tired of singing "Henry the Eighth"?

PN: Never. The fans come to hear the hits, so as long as they keep showing up, I will keep doing them.

SD: You always seem to be having so much fun up there. Is that part of the act?

PN: What you see is what you get, we love the songs, the energy of the crowd, the band is really tight, they love the songs, too, so we do our best to give it everything we've got, for the people. It is a lot of fun. I have the greatest job in the world.

SD: Any band members original Hermits?

PN: None of them are that old. No, just great mates, though, and they sound perfect, don't they?

SD: Yes they do. Do you ever hear from the other Hermits?

PN: Once in a while, but really, there were no actual Herman's Hermits, they just threw me into the studio in the early days with 4 guys and said, "here you go, these are your Hermits". I didn't know any of them before the recording sessions.

SD: When you toured, were they the same guys?

PN: Sometimes.

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SD: Did they ever go on to play without you?

PN: Yes, they did, and I was not happy about that. Fans were angry, they expected to see me there, and when someone other than me tried to sing the songs, it was not a pretty thing. We finally got the lawyers around and forced them to stop calling themselves Herman's Hermits. It wasn't right. It would be like going to see the Stones without Mick.

SD: Exactly. Your dad.

PN: Correct. Although we do like to keep that a secret.

SD: It's safe with me.

Read about Herman's Hermits here.

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