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Pop hisory books are usually unkind to Herman's Hermits. In the six years of their chart career, they scored twenty British hits and seventeen American hits (including four Top 5 smashes in as many months), and they were at one stage second only to the Beatles in terms of worldwide record sales. Yet critics have often suggested that their success was merely the product of a brilliant marketing strategy by an exceptionally gifted producer. The help of a young, freelance producer who was just starting to make his own name was certainly invaluable in making the Hermits into international superstars, but the idea that Mickie Most's magic touch was all there was to their success simply doesn't hold water. Herman's Hermits came to the fore just as the British R&B boom was getting underway, and their clean-cut, lovable adolescent image and bouncy, easy-rocking style were very much at odds with the cut-and-thrust music of the rougher R&B bands. But this turned out to be one of their real strengths. Coming from Manchester, they were steeped in that city's soft-rock tradition (like the Hollies, the Four Pennies, Freddie & The Dreamers, etc), and their lack of R&B pedigree (plus their age) made them ideally suited for the younger brothers and sisters of the R&B fans. Peter Noone's ability to play up his "blue-eyed boy" role, and to make a virtue of his vocal short-comings in true Adam Faith style, made the band ideal for TV and then for film. And Mickie Most's marvellous knack of picking songs that were perfectly suited to the group's sound was the final ingredient in their mass appeal - the bottom line being that they made some catchy, classy and memorable pop records! During those six exciting years between 1964 and 1970 which spanned Herman's Hermits' hitmaking days, 'Herman' was really Peter Noone (born 1947), who was sent by his semi-pro musician father to study singing and acting at the Manchester School of Music and Drama. By the time he was 14, young Peter had made several appearances in local stage and TV shows, including "Knight Errant", "Saki" and (more significantly) the long-running Granada TV soap "Coronation Street", in which he played the role of Len Fairclough's son. He seemed set for stardom on stage and screen from early on, and would have made it earlier if his parents had not stepped in to prevent him from taking a plum role in a Judy Garland film when he was 12. Instead, it was to be rock and roll which catapulted him to long-term fame. By 1963, Peter had taken up piano and guitar, and Manchester's thriving beat scene (nourished by the city's many clubs, dancehalls and ballrooms) was beckoning. Noone's favourites were a young group called the Heartbeats (formerly the Cyclones), whose renderings of songs by the Everlys, Buddy Holly, Bobby Vee and Bobby Rydell made them firm favourites among the younger kids at dancehalls and youth clubs. Noone got his break one night when their singer failed to turn up at a gig, and he quite literally jumped onstage and began singing (much to the delight of the female section of the audience). The group decided to let him stay, using the stage name 'Peter Novak', but an American TV cartoon called "The Bullwinkle Show" prompted a change of name to Herman's Hermits, after bassist Karl Green (born 1946) remarked on Peter's resemblance to the character 'Sherman'. Green actually misheard the name as 'Herman', and Noone's new identity was born. By this time, the group were being managed by ex-Manchester University student Harvey Lisberg and Charlie Silverman, who were thinking in terms of a record deal. After being turned down by every major label, they approached Mickie Most - who also declined, feeling that the group lacked experience. Lisberg and Silverman took the hint, disbanding the group and reforming it with Noone, Green, and original guitarist Keith Hopwood (born 1946), and drafting in Derek 'Lek' Leckenby (born 1943) and Barry 'Bean' Whitwam (born 1946), who had been guitarist and drummer respectively with the more musically adept Wailers. This group, formerly known as the Hellions and Danny & The Demons, had played more in the hard rock/R&B vein, but surprisingly these musical opposites worked together well. The management set about persuading Mickie Most to 'discover' the new band, and he finally agreed to see them perform at the Beachcomber in Bolton. Lisberg met him at Manchester Airport, and bombarded his ears with tapes of the group. Most liked what he heard and later saw, and thought that Peter in particular was destined for fame, because he thought he resembled a youthful John F. Kennedy! The whole group was signed up, but Most resolved to make Noone the focal point, refusing to let him do anything which would distract attention from his face (which meant that he couldn't play any kind of instrument). With worldwide smashes for the Animals and the Nashville Teens to his credit, Most already had an impressive track record, but he realised that his protegés needed a different approach. He allowed them to record an obscure Gerry Goffin/Carole King number called "I'm Into Something Good" (a recent minor hit in the U.S. for Earl Jean, the voalist with the Cookies). Noone was later to recall that Most's wife had been instrumental in getting the record released, but any misgivings the producer might still have harboured about the band's potential were surely dispelled when Noone and his buddies chirped their way right up to No. 1 in September 1964, edging the Kinks off the throne. Immediately, the British public - parents and children alike - took the 17-year-old new boy and his endearing sidekicks to their heart as the safe face of beat music. OBSCURE Goffin and King got to hear of their obscure song's success in Britain, and offered the group a customised follow-up, "Show Me Girl". Both group and management accepted it without reservation, but Most (either through irritation at being bypassed in the decision, or out of genuine fear that it was too similar to its predecessor for comfort) wasn't keen. To some extent, his fears seemed justified when the song, which had the same bounce but little of the magic of its predecessor, reached only No. 19. It's flipside introduced the group's own composing talents, in the accoustic folk-pop vein that was later tapped by the Hollies and the Four Pennies.Despite this slight hiccup, the group's popularity was high, and "Hermania" was soon being touted as the younger rival to "Beatlemania". In fact, "Hermania" was the title of their first EP, which came out in January 1965. It combined two unauthentic but very enjoyable New Orleans R&B covers - Frankie Ford's "Sea Cruise" and Ernie K. Doe's "Mother-In-Law" - plus a rendition of the Four Tunes' 1954 hit "I Understand" (which was at least as good as Freddie and the Dreamers' recent hit version) and a number called "Thinking of You", which was in similar vein to Cliff's "I Could Easily Fall". SAFE Back on the singles front, group and management now decided to play safe and allow Mickie Most complete choice of songs. Ignoring the kind of songs that other beat groups were using for their singles, Most went back to the American high-school pop era, giving the Hermits the 1957 hit by the Rays, "Silhouettes". Issued as their third U.K. single, it put the band firmly back on the rails, reaching No. 3 in February 1965.This month was a true milestone in the group's career, because although "Something Good" had reached No. 13 in the States at the end of 1964, it was the Carter/Lewis song "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" (the flip of their third U.K. single), which won its way to the hearts of the American public. It reached No. 2 that month, beating the competing version by Goldie and the Gingerbreads into a very poor second place. "Silhouettes" became the group's third U.S. 45, and also made the Top 5. Back in Britain, they kept to the high school pop formula for their fourth single, a snappy version of Sam Cooke's classic "Wonderful World". Until the recent reissue of the original, this was probably more familiar to the public here than Cooke's own version. It reached No. 7 in April 1965, and then made No. 4 in the U.S. a month later. April was the month that really clinched their U.S. success, however; Not only did Most decide to issue their first LP onto the American market, but the group hit the No. 1 spot with a most unlikely song - "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter". With Noone's imitation George Formby vocals and the banjo-like guitar sound, it fooled the Americans into thinking that this was an old music hall song - but this wasn't the case. "It was originally sung by actor Tom Courtenay in a TV play a couple of years earlier", recalls Lek Leckenby, "and it was Keith Hopwood's idea to do it just as a knockabout piece at the end of a session." NAGGED It's release as a single in America was prompted by an American DJ (who had heard it on their first album); he nagged MGM to issue it in 45rpm format, initially against the wishes of the group, who feared that it would ruin their careers! It did just the opposite, for although it was not released as a single here, it also topped the Australian charts and racked up 14 million sales worldwide. It became the track most frequently featured on EPs, official albums and greatest hits collections, even turning up on some complilations from which "Something Good" was absent.The first U.S. album, "Introducing Herman's Hermits" (MGM 4284), paved the way for the group's first American tour. Besides "Mrs. Brown", it collected together singles and British EP tracks, plus one track, "Kansas City", which failed to get a British release. From 1965 onwards, competition in the British charts was fierce, and with groups like the Beatles, Stones, Kinks and Who all scoring regularly, Herman's Hermits often had to struggle to get really big hits. But after their inaugural tour of the States in May 1965 - by which time they were already averaging one hit per month! - they proved virtually unstoppable on that side of the Atlantic for the next two years. In an attempt to explain this fever pitch of success, Peter Noone later told the NME: "When I was there they asked me to do all these TV shows and everybody heard the accent and thought I was cute"; Lek, meanwhile, said "I suppose we were just doing the right thing at the right time, and it was something a bit different as well." Perhaps the U.S. success was best explained by the fact that many of the British groups who had scored heavily in the American market in 1964 were already past their peak. Only the Dave Clark Five and the Beatles were achieving consistently high sales. Herman's Hermits were able to revitalise the British Invasion, without having to rely upon any association with the Beatles. And the fact that they were so obviously an English group appealed to an American public who were still fascinated with the softer end of the British beat spectrum. CRUICIAL Choice of material in the States proved even more crucial than it was here, as the group were able to exploit the American fascination with a storybook picture of English life by releasing music hall and vaudeville material. This gave them a slight edge over groups who kept to a straightforward beat sound. "Mrs. Brown" had whetted American appetites, so when Herman's Hermits released a rocked-up version of "I'm Henry The Eighth (I Am)", an authentic music hall classic which was a 'hit' for Harry Champion in 1911, the Americans lapped it up, rewarding them with a second No. 1 in May 1965. A second LP, "Herman's Hermits On Tour" (MGM 4295), appeared there in July 1965, with a mix of singles and new tracks, all of which eventually saw the light of day in Britain that year.Rehashes of music hall chestnuts didn't impress the British public, so Most declined to issue "Henery" as a single here. Instead, he chose "Just A Little Bit Better", which was written by a comparatively new writer, Kenny Young. A fairly solid beat number given a slight Buddy Holy feel by Noone's hiccoughing vocal. It did slightly less well than its predecessors in Britain by reaching No. 15 in August 1965; but it also gained the band a No. 7 placing in the U.S. charts a month later. The group already had two American LPs out when Columbia got round to issuing their first British album in September 1965. Simply titled "Herman's Hermits", it took material from their first two U.S. albums, mixing tracks like "Mrs. Brown" and "Henery" with more conventional group fodder like Buddy Holly's "Heartbeat", the Yardbirds' recent hit "For Your Love", and the Goffin/King song "Walking With My Angel". There were also some less obvious choices like Cliff Richards' 1959 hit "Traveling Light". The album entered the U.K. LP chart twice, peaking at No. 20 in September and No. 16 in October, but it proved to be their only chart-album in their British career. FRUITFUL The inclusion of "For Your Love" (the only track to have escaped release on a 1965 U.S. LP) marked the start of a very fruitful association between the song's composer, Graham Gouldman, and Herman's Hermits. It was also around this time that, to fill out the band's sound, sessionmen like Big Jim Sullivan, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Bobby Graham and (later) Gouldman began to be involved with their records. Much has been made of this, and it has often rather unkindly been assumed that the Hermits didn't play on any of their own records ("led Zeppelin with a different voice" is a quote often used). In fact, the group were present on virtually all the releases credited to them, and the involvement of the others was due to Most's fondness for using John Paul Jones as an arranger. Throughout their career, the Hermits would often invite friends to help out in the studio with things like an extra guitar sound.By the end of 1965, Herman's Hermits had released two more British EPs, "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" and "Herman's Hermits Hits". The former of the two became their best selling EP, charting twice (No.3 in the EP chart in July, and No. 19 in October). Since the rest of it was taken up by tracks issued on singles, it must be assumed that its success was mainly due to the title track. This begs speculation that had "Mrs. Brown" been released as a single over here, it would have been a big hit. CRUCIAL On the singles front, they saw the year out in fine style with the jangling P.F. Sloan/Steve Barri number "A Must To Avoid", on which they sounded vaguely like the Hollies. It was very much in tune with the times, which earned them a No. 6 hit here and a No. 8 placing in the States, at a time when groups like the Turtles, the Searchers and the Paramounts were making much use of Sloan/Barri folk-protest numbers. MGM rounded off the year by issuing "Best Of Herman's Hermits Vol. 1", which mopped up most of the year's singles and duplicated many of the LP tracks.If 1965 was a big year for the group, then 1966 was just as impressive. Even though they had no more No. 1 hits, they still criss-crossed America endlessly, appearing on countless TV shows and coming second only to the Beatles in terms of coverage in the teen mags. Thanks to their 'safe' but visually strong image, they had now completely supplanted Freddie and the |
Dreamers as the darlings of American kids and parents, and their success was completed as soon as they moved into film. Their first appearance had been in the late 1964 quickie "Pop Gear" - released in the States as "Go Go Mania", with a sound track LP called "British Go-Go" (MGM 4306). In late 1965, MGM used its muscle in Hollywood to land Noone and his mates a more substantial part in Sam Katzman's "When The Boys Meet The Girls" (a remake of the 1943 Garland/Rooney classic, "Girl Crazy", alongside Connie Francis, Liberace, Louis Armstrong and Sam The Sham & the Pharaohs. The soundtrack LP (MGM 4334) yielded up a delightful Gouldman composition, "Listen People", which became a No. 3 U.S. hit, plus Noone's rendition of Gershwin's "Bidin' My Time", whose only other appearance was on an Australian single which coupled both songs. In 1966, Hollywood decided the group should be tinseltown stars in their own right, and Katzman set writer James Gordon to work on a script. It finally emerged as "Hold On", taking much of its cue from the Elvis movies of that period, and building a plot (if one could call it that) around the idea of naming a U.S. spacecraft after a beat group! Fatuous as it sounded (and was!), but it sold worldwide, prompting the release of an American soundtrack album (MGM 4342), the strongest tracks of which were the four donated by Sloan and Barri. These four, which included "A Must To Avoid" and the title track, were placed on a British soundtrack EP in mid-1966, together with two Karger/Wayne/Weisman songs, "Wild Love" and the obligatory 'olde English' scenario, "The George And Dragon". Back on the singles front, 1966 saw Herman's Hermits climbing to No. 20 in the U.K. chart with the folksy "You Won't Be Leaving". Although a fairly disappointing performance by their standards in America, it was a good start for its composer, Tony Hazzard, who went on to pen hits for the Tremeloes, Hollies and Manfred Mann. The flipside, "Listen People", was issued in its own right in the States, backed by "Got A Feeling" - a song from "Hold On" which remained unreleased here. In June 1966, "This Door Swings Both Ways" took them up to No. 12 in the States (their first non-Top 10 hit since 1964) and No. 18 in the U.K. This was one of the few times the same songs appeared both sides of the Atlantic. "For Love", penned by 'Lek', Hopwood and the group's managers, as were many of their flipsides, was a memorable number which combined elements of "Hang On Sloopy" with some unusual guitarwork EXQUISITE Towards the end of the year, Herman's Hermits came back with what is a lost universally agreed to be their most exquisite pop record, "No Milk Today" marked the first time they had used a Graham Gouldman song for an A-side in Britain, as well as their first use of an orchestra. It rewarded them with their first British Top 10 hit for a year, although surprisingly it was only a B-side in America. It was also notable for the group/management-penned flipside, "My Reservation's Been Confirmed", a great rocker which gave lie to the belief that they weren't capable of writing their own songs.In America, the Kinks' song "Dandy" was issued as an A-side in place of "No Milk Today", with the same B-side. Significantly, this returned them to the U.S. Top 5. The vague music hall tones of the song seemed to suit them down to the ground, and their jaunty version is arguably better than the Kinks' rather cold take. Although Graham Gouldman's songs are generally thought to have provided the group with some of their best sounds, it was ironically one of his songs which gave them their first true critical flop, "East West" was very pertinent to the group's situation (as Lek recalls, "we hadn't had a day off since 1964!"), telling of a pop star's life and his longing for home and loved ones over Christmas. But it reached no higher than No. 27 in the States and No. 37 over here. Perhaps this was due to the fact that it was rushed out to coincide with Christmas, too soon after strong releases on both sides of the Atlantic. A look at the British and American pressings of their 1966 LP, "Both Sides of Herman's Hermits", shows that while U.K. albums were thinner on the ground, they tended to be more selective and considered affairs than the U.S. issues. Mickie Most had considered America to be more of an albums market than Britain, with the result that MGM threw a lot of mud against the wall, knowing that a fair amount would stick. British fans were treated to a balanced set which knitted together the best songs from their films (including a version of "Leaning On A Lamp Post" which mixed George Formby with James Burton!), two good British flipsides and six new songs - including Ray Charles' "Little Boy Sad", a contemporary version of the Bacharach/David hit ""Story of My Life", and a great rendition of the Hollies' "Bus Stop". Britain was spared the throwaway takes of "Oh Mr. Porter", "Future Mrs. 'Awkins" and "Two Lovely Black Eyes", as well as the 'Good Old Days'-flavoured sleeve which graced the U.S. release (MGM 4386). All the remaining tracks from the British LP, except for "oo-Ee Baby", were put out on the U.S. "Best Of Vol. 2" set at the end of 1966. DANDY 1967 began well enough for the group, as the Les Reed/Geoff Stephens beat ballad "There's A Kind of Hush" gave them another biggie (No. 4 in the States, No. 7 here), and the EP "Dandy" sold well in the British charts. The hit single also gave its name to their third British (and seventh American) LP release, which not only marked the first occasion on which a British album included a hit single (in fact, it included four), but was also the first on which the U.K. and U.S. LPs had the same track listing. Notable items included Boyce & Hart's "If You're Thinking What I'm Thinking", Bruce Woodley's "Little Miss Sorrow, Child of Tomorrow" (both of which sounded like contemporary Hollies efforts), and an update of the much-covered Frankie Laine hit, "Jezebel", complete with "Peter Gunn" guitar riff.Yet 1967, with its changing musical climate, was to prove a watershed in the band's career. Herman's Hermits had acted as trailblazers for the British Invasion in many ways, as the support slots on their tours had launched many a less popular group to fame in the States. The Hollies, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, the Who and even the Stones had all shared billing with them. But with the advent of psychedelia, for which Noone in particular seemed totally unsuited, they were rendered hopelessly out-of-date in many people's eyes, and in the pop stakes their thunder was being stolen by the Monkees. This new American group was manufactured very much in their own image, and ironically even possessed their own 'Coronation Street' child star, in the person of fellow Mancunian Davy Jones. PALTRY The group were no longer invulnerable, and record sales began to dive on both sides of the Atlantic. Kenny Young's "Don't Go Out Into The Rain" (MGM 13761) became their last U.S. Top 20 disc in June, reaching No. 18; the Swinging Blue Jeans' version had flopped here, so it was not thought worth releasing it in Britain. An attempt to keep abreast of the times with Donovan's "Museum" managed a paltry No. 39 in the States and became their first and only complete flop at home.It looked as if Herman's Hermits would follow other beat contemporaries into the provincial cabaret circuit, but even at this time every attempt was being made to wring the last drops from their American success. Their final 'proper' LP release was the magnificent "Blaze" (MGM 4478), in October 1967. Apart from "Museum" and the Beatles-inspired "Moonshine Man", this contained American-only tracks like Graham Gouldman's "Upstairs Downstairs", the New York Vaudeville Band's minor hit "Green Street Green", and Peter Cowap's "Ace King Queen Jack". All of these tracks mixed their pop style with little digs at contemporary music fashions and provided the critics with ample proof of the band's own rhythm section. A final compilation (yes, you've guessed it; "The Best Of Vol. 3", on MGM 4505) in March 1968 collected some of these tracks, together with hits of the previous two years, plus the added bonus of three more U.S. only tracks. These were an update of the Four Preps' 1958 hit "Big Man", "Mum & Dad" and the quasi-psychedelic "Wings of Love". Like "Hold On" and the U.S. pressing of "Both Sides", these two albums are not much easier to track down that the group's U.K. albums. With their hold on the American charts broken, Herman's Hermits fell back on the British market. At the same time, they changed tack, abandoning both the extreme young end of the market and any attempts at becoming a 'progressive' act. Instead, they made straight for the mainstream pop market now being tapped so successfully by bands like the Tremeloes and Love Affair. Proof of this second wind came with "I Can Take Or Leave Your Loving", a Motown-ish song also covered by the Foundations. This reached No. 11 in February 1968 and No. 22 in the U.S. It was followed in quick succession by John Carter and Russ Alquist's "Sleepy Joe" (No. 12 in Britain and No. 61, their last hit, in the States), John Carter and Geoff Stephens' "Sunshine Girl" (No. 8) and, at the end of the year, an English version of a Continental hit, "Something's Happening" (No. 6) - catchy singalong ditties all. INANE 1968 was also the year of their last film, "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter", an inane Allen Klein production built around their most successful song, which was filmed in London and Manchester and set them alongside rising star Sheila White. Nonetheless, with John Paul Jones as arranger, the soundtrack did yield up some enchanting Graham Gouldman songs like "It's Nice To Be Out In The Morning", and an unsuccessful U.S. 45 in Kenny Young's "The Most Beautiful Thing In My Life". The project also underlined the importance of film (rather like today's videos) to their career in countries which had less access to television.By 1969, the Hermits were amassing tidy sums of money as a successful TV and club act here and in Europe, and in that hot summer they scored their second biggest U.K. hit ever, with the Carter/Stephens number "My Sentimental Friend". It reached No. 2 in a long chart run. However, an attempt to repeat the success with another "weepie" in the shape of Johnny Young's "Here Comes The Star" (an Australian hit for Ross D. Wylie which they picked up on tour in that country) faltered at No. 33 in October. 1970 saw them back on the rails with the optomistic "Years May Come, Years May Go" (a German song with English lyrics by Jack Fishman), which entered the charts twice (No. 7 in February and No. 45 in May), and marked their last release on the Columbia label. In mid 1970, Mickie Most used the band to help launch his own RAK label, with the reggae-styled "Bet Yer Life I Do" penned by Hot Chocolate's Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. It's No. 22 placing not only helped the label off the ground, but also aided the career of Hot Chocolate, who also supplied them with "Lady Barbara", a No. 13 hit at the end of 1970. Significantly, this last hit was billed as 'Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits', fueling speculation that singer and group would soon part company. The group had not recorded a proper LP since late 1967, though this was due as much to members of the band getting married as to any alleged musical differences between Noone and the rest of the group. Since 1968, Peter had become increasingly involved with extra-curricular activities, such as opening the Zoo Boutique in New York in partnership with Graham Gouldman, as well as helping out with production duties on Graham's solo album that year. By the end of the Sixties, Noone was pushing in the cabaret and pantomime direction, while the group still wanted to concentrate on music, and so it came as no surprise when in mid-1971 Peter released his first solo record. This was an acclaimed cover of David Bowie's "Hunky Dory" track "oh You Pretty Thing", on which Bowie himself played piano. The single gave Noone a Top 5 hit, thanks to the plugs that he gave both sides of the disc on TV's "Mike Yarwood Show". FLUKE However, this success proved to be a fluke, as the reception of Noone's later singles (including another Bowie song, "Right On Mother") showed that the well of hits had finally run dry. The Seventies took Peter Noone to a variety of labels; the closest he came to making interesting records was with the 1973 Tony Hazzard song "Getting Over You" and a 1974 cover of the Bandwagon's hit "Blame It On The Pony Express".None of this solo activity was able to free him from his old associations, however, and in 1973 he temporarily reunited with the Hermits for an English Invasion Revival tour of the States, on which they apparently stole the show. 1980 saw him indulge his passion for the music of Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello by forming a contemporary rock band called the Tremblers, whose album and single saw Noone in more frantic voice than he had ever been in the Sixties, and received critical approval. It was a mere diversion, however, as by 1982 he was back to acting, garnering great reviews for his role in 'The Pirates of Penzance' in London. He has recently cut an album called "One Of The Glory Boys" for a label owned by Beach Boy Bruce Johnston. Meanwhile, the Hermits haven't been idle, though they have found hitmaking hard since 1970. In the early Seventies, they recorded two singles on RCA with Peter Cowap as lead vocalist, which were produced by 10cc's Eric Stewart at Strawberry Studios, as well as an unissued LP called "Whale of A Tale". After the 1973 U.S. revival tour, Keith Hopwood bowed out to concentrate on his recording studios in Manchester, and was replaced by Frank Renshaw. 1975 saw them put out the Four Seasons-flavoured "Ginny Go Softly" on Private Stock, which received some airplay, and they followed with a 1976 U.S.-only re-recording of their old hits on ABC with Karl Green on lead vocals. Easily, their strongest post-1970 release came in 1978 with "Heart Get Ready For Love", which sounded like the Beach Boys meeting Nick Lowe. Since then Karl Green has left in 1980, to start a tiling business, and now the group has reverted to the original name of Herman's Hermits, having won the rights to the name in a dispute with Noone in the Seventies. Former Swinging Blue Jeans guitarist Garth Elliott plays rhythm guitar and takes lead vocals, and Paul Farnell is on bass, alongside the two originals. In the Seventies the band concentrated on the American market, but they still play over here, as well as in places like Australia. They have recently been on tour with the reformed Monkees. Herman's Hermits' place in pop history has been assured not only by their skillful mastery of the pop medium, but also because many of the precepts of the 'glam-rock' age of the early Seventies were tested out on them in the Sixties - as K-Tel's "Twenty Greatest Hits" compliation showed in 1977. In spite of their phenomenal American output, it is still their British output which represents the group at their best, with EPs and LPs becoming much harder to find in reasonable condition; and there are also some rare overseas releases - plus the promise of several unreleased tracks still in the vaults. |
