HERMAN & THE HERMITS recall the good (?) old days!

"I WAS SHOCKED to hear that the Cavern is actually going to close down," Karl Green said, sipping his tea. Karl and the rest of the boys were sitting in the living room suite of a posh New York hotel. It was their last night in America after having finished a wildly - successful "in person" tour and taping their starring segment on Hullabaloo.
Someone had just come forward with an English paper saying that, in spite of a marathon rock and roll show in which all the local 'groups participated without pay, enough funds could not be raised to save the famous Cavern - the starting place for the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Cilla Black and many others,including Herman's Hermits.
Although Herman himself talks cheerfully of the good old days, there were times when the going was tough.
"I suppose in a way it was good that it was tough," Herman recalled. "We used to share everything. In the early days, we used to play lunch-times at the Cavern in Liverpool - just like many other groups. But we hadn't any money - and couldn't afford lunch, so we all took sandwiches. It didn't matter if anyone's mother had made more than the others because we used to share them 'round, so that everyone had the same.
"Now that we've had a lot of success, though, I don't think we drifted apart. If anything, we are better friends because we know so much more about each other."
Herman's dad (who was sitting nearby holding little sister Suzanne) recalled one time when the group played a club in Manchester - and were paid just tuppence(less than a dime) each!
"They had played there before and had been on percentage," Mr. Noone explained. "That time they earned six pounds each good money in those days. So next time they were asked to play there, they were quite happy to work on percentage again. But the fog cam( rolling~ down! It was a stinker. Hardly anyone turned up. And when it came time to get paid, the boys carefully divided out their money. And they gave their manager. Harvey Lisburg, his tuppence, too!"
Keith remembered a similar occasion in Wales, but this time it was the sun that caused the trouble.
"We were also being paid on a percentage basis at this place," he said, "but it was one of those

lovely summer evenings when no one wants to be indoors. Eventually when no one had turned up, we packed up all our gear and went swimming."
Herman himself recalled another trip to Wales because he and Barry were marooned for a day. "We had gone down for a weekend to use my grandparents' bungalow. It was in the middle of winter, and Barry was worried about the weather.
"Don't bother," I told him, "it never snows in Wales when you're near the coast.
"A few flakes started falling while we were driving down. By the time we arrived, there was a blizzard! It kept up all through the night, and the following morning it was piled up high all around the bungalow, and we couldn't get the car out.
"We were stranded - and there was no food in the house, except a few biscuits. All day we sat there wondering what to do, but couldn't think of anything. The next morning it had cleared a bit, and we managed to get the car moving, and we chugged along about two miles an hour to the nearest hotel, where we stayed."
As Herman spoke there was a knock on the door. Lek opened it and a mob of fans screamed and tried to run into the room. Lek stood grinning and half-heartedly holding the door. Suddenly, sweets, cards and tiny gifts landed all about the room. The police were heard scurrying down the hall and the girls were escorted away - except for a few whom Lek had allowed to "sneak" in, and who were being introduced to the boys.
All this hubbub caused Herman to remember the first time he ever got mobbed. It was at a small theatre outside London. His escape route had all been worked out in advance. When the show ended, Herman ran straight off stage, through a side door, up some iron steps, across a flat roof, down some more steps, through an adjoining police station yard, and then sprinted to his new Jaguar car, parked in a side street. Safely inside, with chauffeur "Judder" at the wheel, Herman relaxed.
"Marvelous, isn't it?" Herman grinned. "Y'know, people keep asking me, because of my earlier acting career, if I want to go back to the stage or television. Well, I don't. Not yet, anyhow. At the moment, this suits me fine. I like the fans. The applause. I'll never leave the group. I can't think of any better way of furthering my career and enjoying life!"

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