60s pop icon Peter Noone is being ‘harassed’ by fans after bizarre kidnapping hoax
'I am not being held captive.'
A 1960s pop icon has pleaded with fans to stop ‘harassing’ him after online scam artists tricked dozens of social media users.
Peter Noone, 77, rose to fame in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of Manchester-based beat band Herman’s Hermits – he was just 15 when the band formed.
He was 17 when Herman’s Hermits landed their first and only UK number one, I’m Into Something Good, which also reached number 13 in America.
After the success of I’m Into Something Good in 1964, the group secured another six top 10 hits between 1964 and 1968 before Peter left the group in the early 1970s.
60 years on from the pop group’s heyday, Herman’s Hermits fans have apparently fallen victim to online scammers, posing at Peter online.
Conmen pretending to be Peter are reaching out to dedicated fans on social media, claiming that Peter’s life in danger and that a ransom is required to save him.
Peter hopes his fans will stop responding to scammers (Picture: Jeremy Chan/Getty)On some occasions, these dedicated fans are being swindled out of hundreds of pounds, if not thousands, with some even calling the police, alerting them to the danger they believe Peter to be in.
Peter, who lives in the United States, still plays numerous shows over the Atlantic, and has revealed that police have turned up on the doorstep of his California home.
He told The Sun that numerous women have publicly shared conversations they’ve apparently had with him, when it hasn’t been Peter speaking to them at all.
Herman’s Hermits enjoyed major success in the 1960s (Picture: Daily Mirror/Getty)The Sun also heard that women started to approach him at concerts, saying ‘It’s me,’ and claiming to have sent him money to free him from his captors.
‘I am getting harassed at almost every concert by women who say ‘It’s me’. Then they tell me their name and say “You text me”. I’m sorry, but I do not text you.’
He continued: ‘I am having a great tour – the only downside is the lady every night shouting “Peter, it’s me”. I like having fans and I call them mine and I have never asked one for anything more than affection.’
Peter has told fans to ignore anyone who contacts them claiming to be him: ‘I do not text anyone. I do not DM anyone. I don’t have WhatsApp. I do not need money. I am not being held captive.’
Peter left the Hermits in the early 1970s (Picture: MGM Studios/Getty)In 2024, The Sun also reported that a woman from Canada had £60,000 stolen by scammers after they claimed to be the Manchester-born 60s popstar.
Kirsten Zuk, from the Alberta province, was left on the brink of bankruptcy after being targeted for nine months, saying: ‘I didn’t know people existed who were so heartless and cruel.’
Herman’s Hermits have had a loyal fanbase for 60 years after becoming one of the British Invasion bands of the 1960s, alongside The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
While the group only had one UK number one, they landed two in America with Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter and I’m Henry VIII I Am, both in 1965.
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