HERMANIA broke out in Manchester some months before the release of Herman's Hermits' "I'm Into Something Good." And the big reason was the appearance with an already-formed group of young Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone.
    Since then, Herman and the Hermits have built an enormous following through the pop world ... and I do mean WORLD! But this feature is about how they WERE - as opposed to how they ARE - and the changes in image, style and material gains are somewhat tricky to explain.
    Unlike the Stones, or the Who, previously featured in this series, Herman and the Hermits tend to split ... Herman on one side; the group on the other. The Hermits comprise: Derek Leckenby, Keith Hopwood, Karl Green and Barry Whitwam. Herman simply comprises the aforesaid P.B.D.B. Noone.
    The Hermits were originally the Hearbeats. And, as the Heartbeats, the boys were left in the lurch when their then singer failed to turn up. A regular in their audiences was Peter Noone, then at Manchester School of Music and a fan and already experienced in televisions acting parts ... as in "Knight Errant" and in "Coronation Street", in which he played Len Fairclough's son Stanley.
    At 15, Peter stepped up to sing with the group. His impact was immediate. He was reckoned to be very much like "Sherman" in the TV cartoon series "The Bullwinkle Show" and nicknamed (in error) Herman. He was also just the thing the group needed to hit the big time. Their first disc was a million-seller and a number one ... incidentally their ONLY number one in Britain.
    Let's deal with Herman himself. In those days, he was a young, honest-to-goodness sociable Manchester lad, very much a lone wolf. His parents didn't even know he'd gone to be auditioned for the "Coronation Street" series. A self-contained personality. In fact, he'd earned fairly good money, which had been carefully banked, but pop music was very much "a bit of a giggle" to him. He used his acting ability to get by on stage when his voice as a singer was falling flat on him.

BOY NEXT DOOR
    He dressed young ... often wore highly-coloured American school-kid shirts. He smiled a lot, looked innocent, worked in a spirit of boy-next-door enthusiasm.
    Now the changes show through. Herman (alias Peter Noone) was always shrewd over money. He still is. But from having merely a "few quid in the bank" he has now invested many, many thousands in stocks and shares ... "some my own guesswork, 		 

some suggested by my accountants". He drives a Rolls Royce, but hasn't passed the test so still wears "L" plates on the front and back. He's bought his parents a hotel in Herne Bay, Kent - right on the sea-front and a veritable heaven of peace and quiet for Herman whenever he has a few days off.

CANNY
    He's become canny about recording techniques, though he depends a lot on Mickie Most. He's started producing himself with people like Graham Gouldman - as a singer, though Graham wrote big hits for the Hermits. He's become very wary about casual acquaintances, though he still likes an evening in a local pub, where he'll chat animatedly about anything at all with the customers.
    Now he's tasted stardom, he's become more imaginative. Introduce him to Edward G. Robinson and he'd come away saying he MUST play a gangster part in a movie. Let him tour with the Who and he suddenly gets a liking for psychedelic group music. And he's completely self-reliant. "I've never done anything but work in show business," he says. "I have to rely on myself and my own judgement."
    In the early days, he liked company, but now he is just as happy with his own company as with being in a crowd. When his mind is made up, nothing changes it. He decided he wanted a holiday sailing around the Greek Islands ... and turned down an offer to appear at the Shah of Persia's Coronation.
    Peter lives his own life away from the Hermits, certainly in off-duty hours. The Hermits themselves? Well, Keith Hopwood, Karl Green, and Barry Whitwam are all married. Derek Leckenby remains single. They all stick rigidly to Manchester - they all run cars, all but "Lek" have their own houses.
    But Lek and Keith, along with personal manager Harvey Lisberg, now write their own songs, mostly used as "B" sides on their singles. Herman is the "front man" of the group, but the others, the "originals" if you like, have all made good money and have found security, financially. In any case, Karl could always earn money as an engraver, Derek as a civil engineer, Barry as a hairdresser and Keith as a telephone engineer.
    He added: "Herman himself won't be 21 until Guy Fawke's Day this year. Expect more fireworks around that ime. There HAVE been strains and tensions between the group and himself, which is only natural. One day there WILL be a split. But in the meantime, it's only natural that the ambitious, canny, money-aware Herman pinpoints the MAIN differences between then - and NOW!

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