THERE are many young people, and quite a few older folks, too, who resent the name Herman. There's nothing wrong with it, of course, but tell that to those persons who feel insulted when you call them by that name.
    There is, however, a very funny young fellow who enjoys hearing the name Herman echoed about. Herman , ironically, is not his real name. His real name is Peter Blair Dennis Bernard Noone, which is quite a mouthful, and he really likes it when people call him plain Herman, period.
    As you have guessed by now, the Herman in question is the leader of the illustrious Herman's Hermits, a leading musical group whose fame has spread wherever records are played.
    While visiting a club near his Manchester, England home, Peter Blair Dennis Bernard Noone noticed that a group that was entertaining the customers did not have a vocalist. He went up to the group and boldly asked them if he could sing with them. As you now know, recording history was made in that club that evening.
    Peter Blair Dennis Noone was an immediate success and so was the group, which was at that time called the Heartbeats. Like all young people who have made the show business scene, they knew that they had arrived. But, they needed something to put them a peg above the noisy herd.
    Without too much hesitation, they decided upon a new name. Their old name was too everyday. and they knew that something catchy was needed. They had originally gotten the name Heartbeats from an early recording of the late Buddy Holly.
    Ideas for a new name came from almost everywhere. Friends, family, other show business people, and so forth; the way the group chose the name was sort of kookie, and really a mistake which they never intend to correct.
    AN AMERICAN cartoon show, The Bullwinkle Show, was the rage on British television. One of the characters was named Sherman. The Heartbeats liked the character but thought his name was Herman, not Sherman.
    So they named their new singer, Herman, by mistakenly dropping the S in Sherman. We wonder how their name would sound if they had the S in the name and started calling the group Sherman's Shermits!
Show business had now given birth to new stars. Herman and the Heartbeats didn't sound all that good, so they decided to name themselves the Hermits. Now the group was officially called Herman's Hermits. Their new name gave the group the togetherness they felt they needed. It was sort of a combination like ice and cream which went together perfectly. Our boy Herman was no real newcomer to the theatrical world. For more than two years he studied at the Manchester School of Music. His major areas of study were drama and voice. An agent got hold of Herman and he began appearing on many of the popular British TV shows, mainly dramas.
It is very obvious that Herman is now using his talents to the fullest; while on TV he could only use his acting ability. With the Hermits, Herman can really let go and use his voice, which has already brought him in more money than he ever made as a straight actor. Along with Herman are four talented performers. Barry Whitwam on drums, Keith Hopwood and Derek Leckenby who alternate on lead and rhythm guitar, and Karl Green who manipulates the bass.
    Believe it or not, the group's average age is only 20, while its leader, Herman, the baby of the group, is a mere 19. Although many other groups in music business fib about their ages for purely business reasons, these boys are telling the truth about their age. However, some nasty people have reported that Derek Leckenby is really 24 years old, and Keith Hopwood is 21. But who believes such gossip? If the boys say they're 20, then they're 20.
    The Hermits and their leader Herman are with MGM Records. Their first LP album was "Introducing Herman's Hermits," which hit the top on the record charts because of one of the songs in the album, "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter."
    They also hit the charts for more than four weeks with a record, "Can't Hear My Heart