Chapter 16 – Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone

Peter Noone and Rich Spina

At the end of 2005, Rich was asked to join “Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone,” by Noone himself. The two had known each other for years, sharing bills when Rich was playing with “Gary Lewis and the Playboys. Rich had developed a top-notch reputation and when Peter heard he was available, he called and asked Rich to join…of course, Rich said yes. He began his tenure with the group with a 10 day road trip that started with 4 days of concerts at Busch Gardens, a show in California and then a series of concerts in the Philippines. Rich could hardly believe his good fortune and what seemed like a gift from “above.”

“When I returned to performing I said to myself; ‘who I’d really like to work for is Peter Noone’ because he’s such a dynamic entertainer and great singer. About a week a later I receive an email from Peter Noone asking me about working for him. That followed up with a phone call and next thing I knew, I was a Hermit. It was like God had answered a prayer.”

Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone

Since that first 10 day trip, it has been non stop touring, with over 100 shows per year across the United States and Canada and as far east as Belgium and as far west as Singapore. Rich is the Hermit’s keyboardist, bassist, backup singer and production coordinator, which puts him on the other side of the music business too.

In 2009 and 2010, he served as the musical director for the “Teen Idol’s” tour, which featured Peter, Micky Dolenz and Mark Lindsay.