- BACK FROM
persuading the Japanese that all British people are gentlemen is Herman Noone, £300 poorer, and with a definite Oriental cast after his jaunt in the Far East.
- "PLAYING
in Japan for the first time was like starting all over again," said Herman this week. "We weren't known, they'd never seen a group with long hair and the only records of ours that they knew were the Americans hits like "Henry VIII" and "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter".
- "WHEN WE
did our first interview we were scared stiff. They asked questions like 'what are English aeroplanes like?' and 'do you buy Japanese things' and the questions were completely different to the ones we are normally asked.
- "THEY ARE
very patriotic and we managed to persuade them that all Englishmen are gentlemen," joked Herman. Was there any resentment still from the war? "No, there was none of that at all. It was never mentioned."
- THE GROUP
found that a lot of Tokyo was Americanised and they preferred to eat at backstreet restaurants serving genuine oriental dishes. "We ate sukiyaki all the time. At first, it looked revolting. Raw eggs and raw beef all mixed up. But I tried it when everyone else started noshing and it was marvellous. There was also a sort of fish amoeba which was nice.
- "WE BOUGHT a lot of Japanese clothes, too - and learned to eat with chop sticks."
- HERMAN
and the Hermits were away for seven weeks, but Herman doesn't feel that being away from Britain for this time hurts the group at all.
- "WE HAD A
record in the chart while we were away and we were filmed for Top Of The Pops," he said. "I think it's good for us in every way to go abroad.
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- ON THIS TRIP,
Herman toured in Australia before going on to Japan for concerts. Then they had a week's holiday in Hawaii before flying direct to New York for three days of TV and interviews.
- "I NEVER
get tired of travelling. It's like having a lesson and going back to school. The thing is, we split our time between here and abroad and yet we are more popular both here and in America than we were six months ago. We have more people than ever in the fan clubs. So moving around the world can't be doing us any harm."
- HERMAN'S HOPING
to become an international name. But is he doing anything to expend the group's appeal and build an act rather than just appeal as a pop star?
- "WE ARE GOING
better at the moment than any of us expected," he admitted. "And we are improving and building the act all the time.
- "THE GROUP
and I have worked together for a long time now, and they know on-stage what I'm going to do next even if sometimes I don't realise that they know. We are trying to improve all the time and as we get to know each other better, so the whole thing improves."
- HERMAN WAS
pleased that his stable-mates in Kennedy Street Enterprises, the Mindbenders had crashed the Pop 50 with their first record. "I was really pleased when I heard the news. But I hope this doesn't start established groups breaking up to try and get a hit. That was what occured to me when I first heard the news."
- HERMAN'S
next British single is most likely to be his current U.S. hit "Listen People", written by Graham Gouldman, with "You Won't Be Leaving" as the B-side. The release should coincide with their April British tour. And they are off to the States for a month's tour again at the beginning of July.
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