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WHAT was the real story behind the withdrawal of Herman's Hermits from the Hermits - Love Affair tour? Both Herman and his management were very upset over the twisting of the facts by the pop press. Was it the fan turnout? The finances? Does it mark the beginning of the end of package tours in Britain? "It was not a question of crowds," said Herman's road manager, Norman Taylor. "Just cash. The contract was not fulfilled and under those circumstances we had to pull out. We have a certain fee for the group, and that was agreed upon in advance. When the promoters asked for an extra day on the tour, we thought everything was running exceptionally well. Not until later did we learn there were disputes. It was a badly-arranged tour and we have learned a lesson from it." Promoter Barrington Saunders had this to say about the tour: "When it was arranged, we had six days and one vacant Wednesday. Granada and ourselves agreed on a venue to fill that spot. Later on we realised from the box office that the tour wasn't going to go. Usually one can gauge these sort of things from the amount of response from the kids. "As a result of this outlook, we asked to be released from a couple of the dates. Unfortunately, we could only manage to drop the Leicester spot and had to fulfill the Bristol one. Following this, it was agreed that Herman would pull out completely for the duration of the tour." "I've got nothing against Herman. I think he is a very nice fellow. I don't think he was feeling too well at the time anyway. The people who'd bought tickets were offered their money back, but few took advantage, so I can only believe that most of the kids came to see the 'Love Affair' and the 'Parking Lot'. The box office returns, however, were extremely small around. I will say that the tour was a disaster. Package tours of this nature weren't doing too well before this one, and I think they have just about reached the limit. It doesn't necessarily mark an end of ballroom venues but on the concert platform I'm afraid it may have." "This is 1969, not Liverpool '59," said Herman. "This kind of badly-planned tour will not come off." Does it indicate that the days of touring are coming to an end? "That kind, yes," replied Herman. "I don't think tours are finished, though. Some types are because kids have discovered that packages with a lot of names on the bill are just con jobs. I wouldn't pay the prices to see 10 minutes of a group. We need about a half-hour to do our act, anything less will really detract from the idea of the thing." "Tours have to be carefully planned to amount to anything at all," exclaimed Norman. "You can't just put anybody on at any time. Maybe Tuesday in Leicester is a bad night. To put your show on a |
 HERMAN - likes his current disc ... bad night anywhere is certain death. A little insight in the schedule is the trick." "America is still good stomping grounds for these type groups as well," interjected Herman. "The advantage over there is the huge publicity scale. Maybe only one in a thousand goes to see the show, but a million hear about it. The population is quite a draw." Now that we all had it straight concerning tours, I took a fast minute to ask Herman what his favourite disc was. The best single recorded by Herman's Hermits ... "I think it would be the current one, 'My Sentimental Friend'. That's not a publicity thing. I really think that is the best. For the facts, though, you should be asking my producer, Mickie Most. Mickie, oh Mickie, what's the best single we have ever done?" "There's A Kind of Hush," replied Mickie, from the depths of the room. "Yeah, I guess that's my second favourite," continued Herman. "Somebody was going on about albums outselling singles. I don't believe that. Singles create a demand for L.P.s, but I don't think they sell more yet. It might be getting close to that in the States. There we have about 14 albums, while over here we have about three. We sell more L.P.s than singles, and buying them is wiser than buying singles. I wouldn't buy a single if I was in a record shop; I'd sooner wait till the album was released later and get the track on that. People are crazy to buy singles. "The reason why we have so much released in America stems from our popularity there. We came into the field at an ideal time when the scene wasn't too crowded. Once we established ourselves, it was much easier to keep it up due to the number of regions and the size of the States. In England, there has been a lot of Herman's Hermits, mainly on television. Nobody has seen us on stage, though. The size difference means you can work longer in the U.S. without overdoing it." How's married life, I inquired, spying Herman's pretty wife sitting in the corner - I didn't wait for an answer. I had to get out as lust was overtaking me. |