Hermits Heartily Hailed

    With the shouts and screams still fresh in their ears, Herman's Hermits are back in London after completing their most successful tour ever . . . to America.
    The 28-day tour, which began July 18th in Los Angeles and concluded with a combined concert-vacation in Honolulu on August 15th, grossed the Hermits about $500,000, and reportedly more than a half million fans jammed concerts to catch a glimpse of their heroes.
    While here, the Hermits did a cameo role in the M-G-M flick "Girl Crazy," taped appearances for three network television shows and carried on a torrid daily schedule of in-person concerts from coast-to-coast.
 
Riot
    One of their first appearances was in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Despite rain, 11,000 fans jammed the stadium, causing the local police chief there to bar future rock 'n' roll shows from the arena. A riotous condition prevailed in Bridgeport, as elsewhere.
    At a series of concerts on the famous Steel Pier at Atlantic City, New Jersey, Hermit fans were so wild about the appearance of the group that they literaly shook the rafter of the pier. Worried officials had many anxious moments.
    In an interview with the Blast, Peter Noone, the 17-year-old leader of Herman's Hermits expressed his dismay at the crowded schedule. "We wanted to do some sightseeing, but couldn't find the time," Peter noted regretfully.
    "Actually though," Peter conceded "the fans were so great, they were so many, that we very well couldn't go about the job of looking around for ourselves without creating trouble for the authorities."
Problems
    The tour of America started in a rather uninspiring fashion. Somehow, Peter lost his complete wardrobe on the trans-Atlantic trip to the States.
    Ironically, the same day he arrived in New York, he was slated to do a pair of television shows . . . with only the one suit on his back! To add insult to injury, Peter received word virtually the same day that he was selected as one of the best dressed men in America!
    Hermit aides quickly scurried around town for a completely new wardrobe.
Tooth Ache
    Peter also arrived here with a tooth ache, and had to have the tooth extracted.
    But looking back over the entire tour, Peter admitted that it was the "greatest experience of my life."
    Herman's Hermits will be back to American soil about mid-September to star in a picture of their own. It'll be called "No Place Like Space," and it will give Peter - who was a professional actor before breaking into the song business - another chance to test his skills before the cameras.

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