Peter Noone and his Hermits take Hiawassee by storm

HIAWASSEE, Ga. — What makes British pop icon Peter Noone think he’s still got it? Well, good news—he does. The leader of “Herman’s Hermits,” age 78, appeared at Anderson Music Hall at the Georgia Mountain Fair with his band Friday night, and won over the hearts and ears of anybody who was skeptical coming in. They were true believers when they left.

Not a single original “Hermit” other than Noone remains in the group, whose peak years were 1964-1970, but these men, whose names were only barely mentioned, perfectly reproduced the sound and flavor of the original fivesome to a tee, playing most of the band’s memorable, tuneful hits over the course of a 70-minute set.

They were all here, starting with “I’m into Something Good“, “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat,” “Silhouettes,” “A Must to Avoid,” “Dandy,” “No Milk Today,” and far too many verses of “”I’m Henry the Eighth, I Am,” with the second, third, and fourth verses, the same as the first.

The Hermits’ American counterparts, the Monkees, got a shout-out with a stirring rendition of “Daydream Believer, and of course, late in the show, we got the long-awaited crowd-pleaser, the unforgettably dopey (and catchy) “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” rendered with the reminiscent original sound of the original plunking, muted guitar.

No one, certainly not Noone, would call him anything but a charmer. He worked the crowd like a seasoned stand-up comedian, walking the aisles, teasing audience members, throwing t-shirts around to the few kids (grandkids, I surmise) in the audience, and joshing and dancing with adoring women amidst the crowd of several hundred.

He was enjoyably self-deprecating, making fun of his failing eyesight as he peered at a sheet of lyrics, and pronouncing it an accomplishment when he bent over “without making a sound.”  At another moment, he lamented the band’s supposed deafness, meaning they relied on the audience to know when to sing the lyrics (“so if we get them wrong, you know whose fault it is.”)

But for all his joking about his nearly eight decades on the planet, Noone remains sprightly, delightfully light on his feet, and melodious, with a full-throated, harmonious vocalization when it mattered most, notably on the tearjerker “The End of the World.”

He must love touring—he certainly doesn’t need the money—and keeps busy, with some 13 concert dates around the country over the rest of August and September alone. He flatters the crowd, devoting an entire song to the “Georgia Mountain Fair in Hiawassee, Georgia,” which he drawled amusingly in his approximation of our local accent draped over his own Manchester, England pronunciation. He had fun mispronouncing “Dahlonega,” more than once, as well.

I’ve rarely seen a world-famous artist take himself less seriously. At one point in his back-and-forth with the fans, he muttered a fake apology for not spending more of his precious time onstage at the mic, adding, “we’ve really only got about 20 hits, anyway.”

The Mancunian (fancy for “Manchesterian”) poked fun at other musical icons, first in a Johnny Cash tribute, belting “Ring of Fire” in a surprisingly convincing bass, way below Noone’s usual tenor range and then, later, after claiming to be the love child of Mick Jagger and Elton John, prancing a bit as he delivered a solid imitation of the Rolling Stones’ own rooster. For a moment, he could have been mistaken for the real thing.

The audience sang along throughout, with the band’s encouragement, and left the hall to the dulcet tones of “There’s a Kind of Hush“, many of them hearing the “sound of lovers in love.” With Noone, certainly, if not that special someone they’d hoped to meet.

The evening opened with a set by an Atlanta band, The Vintage Vixens, who sang other ‘60s and ‘70s mainstay hits in a manner somewhat less compelling than the Hermits. But the drummer wowed us on “Wipeout” and the rhythm of “Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)” suitably whetted our appetites for the main event.

Herman, come back soon, and bring your Hermits with you.

Now Georgia’s Joshua Peck is a self-professed Herman’s Hermits fan, having launched his own middle-grade school knockoff band “Herman’s Hermits Jr.” in the 60’s.