HERMAN, WHO took off on Monday on a three-month trip that will embrace such faraway places as Hong Kong, the Philippines, Australia and Mexico, avows he'll never do another tour in Britain. "Unless it's with Val Doonigan or the Beatles," he says.     "Pop tours as such don't exist any more," says Herman firmly. "And the groups themselves are to blame. Five years ago there were about eleven groups who would go on, do their latest hit, then disappear.     "Now, the big stars are Tom Jones and Engelbert. The Hollies will last for some years, and, I hope, Herman's Hermits. But where are the rest? FAULT     "It's their own fault. They've been dirty and said the wrong things. A few years ago, a person was proud to say he was a musician. It was like saying 'my son's a doctor!' Now, I'm almost ashamed to say I'm in the music business.     "It's a job even for a musician to get insurance for his car!     "Fortunately, we're an international act now. And it's great to work in cabaret instead of doing one-nighters.     "It's a different type of work entirely. You can do Andy Williams or Jack Jones records, instead of a string of your own hits and rock and roll. It's stupid. I wasted five years like this. DIVE     "I'm glad we have become an international act. You can't make any money from records in England today. Record sales have taken a dive in England. It's different abroad - but here everything is against records.     "Some people can't even afford a car - so why should they waste their money on bits of plastic. To me, though, records are still more important than cars. There are so many memories for me on these pieces of plastic.     "But a lot of people in England would rather spend money on drink than on records. Drinking

is really a waste of time. I drink - but I still think it's a waste of time.     "The sales of records are a joke these days. A No. 1 hit sells around 150,000, when once it would sell that many at No. 30.     "And how many albums can you sell? 50,000 is the very limit. And no one is going to live for six months on that."     Happily for Herman, he's had a string of hits - 17 singles in all. But even though his latest, "My Sentimental Friend" last week shot to No. 2, he's not anxious to be in the No. 1 slot.     "I'd rather have a record at No. 2, 3 or 4 than at No. 1," says Herman. "A No. 1 record is so hard to follow. People seem to expect so much more when you make No. 1. HARDER     "But we still work hard, very hard on our records. Harder than we've ever done. And we owe it all to Mickie Most. Mickie Most is as important to Herman's Hermits as one of Herman's Hermits.     "We used to argue a bit with Mickie about the release of a record. But he's proved he knows best. Often I've wanted something else released, but he's stood out - and I've proved to be the one who was wrong. Mickie has done every single record I've ever made. Frankly, I think Lulu was stupid to leave him."     Herman's follow-up single to "My Sentimental Friend" won't be issued until he returns from his world tour in September. PATTERN     Did he feel the interval too great? "No," he says firmly. "That's our pattern of working. Every year we go abroad. We spend three months out of England.     "Our next record won't be released until we can be here to promote it."     Obviously, Herman's Hermits have established a work routine that pays off. He may have some strong ideas about the groupie scene. But he has stayed the pace - as the world rating and the chart convincingly prove.

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