On Stage With Herman's Hermits



"He's a little twit" scream the soul groups. "Can't sing" yell the balladeers. "The Hermits are the deadliest load of individuals ever to tread a stage" cry the exhibitionists. Trouble is, the blokes who decry Herman and his group have probably never seen them on stage. On the other hand, neither have the mums and dads who would give all they have to adopt group leader Herman. They are all going by his record releases. Now you can't, you mustn't, you shouldn't draw conclusions from a group's releases without seeing them perform. Records are made to SELL, be they wild, tame or plain insipid. They are certainly not released with the sole purpose of presenting a group's true image.
    It's been said before and it will be said again, many, many times. "The Stage Is The Leveller", so how does the group which some folk regard as a joke, make out?
    Naturally, at the start of the Herman's Hermits' act, only the Hermits are to be seen. They get away from the tame label right away, but there are certainly no surprises contained in the material they start with. The inevitable Chuck Berry numbers are offered together with a couple of "Popised" Motown numbers such as "You Really Got A Hold On Me". It's a strange fact, but at first it's hard to decide whether the Hermits deserve a sick label or not. Certainly, the blue shirts, shiny brown suits and longish hairstyles are typical little girls' fave group stuff, but musically the Hermits are quite a swinging outfit, in a restrained sort of way.

OUTSTANDING MEMBER
    LEK Leckenby, lead guitarist, is the outstanding member, and together with drummer Barry Whitwam, he forms the half of the group which is obviously deep in thought throughout every number. Keith Hopwood and Karl Green, rhythm and bass players, are the girl-teasers - fan recruiters. They talk to the audience, have a laugh with them but are very careful to keep away from the clutching hands. Mind you, they do their job commendably and don't miss out on the musical proceedings.
    So there we have the Hermits. "A nice bunch of lads", right enough - but with a far from tame sound. In my opinion, and probably in theirs too, they should be doing lesser known, more challenging stuff than the Berry and "Pop" numbers. Still, if that's what the fans want . . .
    Herman makes his appearance after yet another Berry number. He IS a live wire but he's not wild. There's no reason for him to throw himself from one end of the stage to the other. Why? Firstly, because he doesn't do the type of numbers which warrant this performance, and secondly, because the kids wouldn't like him to make a show of himself. They are content with just being close to him. They like him to be himself, and he obliges. He chats to them "en masse" over the mike and asks them about such things as their local football team. "Hands up Rolling Stone fans" he says, "Hands up Beatle fans", and they stick their hands up in the air. Then he says "Hands up Herman's armpits fans" and the start of his next number is drowned in screams of laughter.

PLEASANT NOT STRIDENT
    VOCALLY Herman gets by quite well, his voice isn't strident but it's pleasant, especially on showpiece numbers such as "I Understand" and "End of The World".
    Unfortunately, now and again he slips up and sings a song which just isn't "him". But he gets away with it because he has usually capitvated the audience completely before he springs it on them. "Hoochie Coochie Man" is one such "out of style" number, but it does give Lek Leckenby a chance to show that he's a good guitarist. Using a volume control footpedal, he manages to put across some very imaginative phrasing.
    On their hit parade successes the Hermits shine. Even the mellow "Mrs. Brown" gets a "big-sound" treatment.
    Last word comes from Herman himself, he knows some people make a hobby of sneering at him and the style he is putting across, but he doesn't care. "Why should it bother me?" he demands. "I am happy, the group's happy, the fans are happy, and what's more, none of our records have failed to reach the top 20."
    As far as I can see everyone is happy with the Hermits' progress except the blokes who can't emulate it! And I did say progress. You can't make people like Herman or his music but you can blame them for going out of their way to be childish.

KEVIN SWIFT

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