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Herman's Hermits is what they're called but the five lads delight in calling themselves something else. When asked if they were all from Manchester, England, one Hermit quipped, "ya, we're all maniacs." However, Herman, who's backed up by his Hermits, is the real extrovert of the group. Only 16 years old, there's no doubt Herman's the leader of the pack. When they're together at a press conference or giving a performance, the slim, blond singer enthusiastically does most of the talking. After the group formed in April of 1964 it didn't take them long to become victims of "Hermania." Herman likes to tell the story of one of his narrow escapes. The quintet was performing at a large auditiorium in England, when they carefully planned their exodus after the last number - they would drop their instruments on the stage, go out the back entrance, dash through a long alley and jump into their waiting cars. Everything went as planned, except for one thing - Herman got left behind, something he'll never forget."The lot can run faster than I can, and I got caught by a swarm of girls who were chasing us," recalls Herman. "They began strangling me with my tie, ripping off my clothes, and swiping at my hair, but I didn't lose any of it. But when the police finally got to me, I had half of my pants left, my shirt had completely vanished except for a little piece I was holding in front of me, and they had taken one of my shoes." His cohorts said he was as white as a sheet from the experience, aside from being scared out of his mind, but Herman likes to think he "went mad out of my mind laughing." |
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Now that the group is so much in the public eye they've all received a few proposals, "but Derek (the one with the glasses) receives the most, because he's the oldest," explains Herman. None of them are married, or engaged, or have special girls. Herman says, "We only date girls at dances." But we know they go to a lot of dances. On their tour of America last April and May they found "that the American girls were much friendlier than the English girls." They loved America, but Herman didn't like New York much because it "was just too big." At a New York press conference, someone observed Herman was wearing three rings on his fingers. Naturally there was a comparrison made between him and Beatle Ringo Starr. However, Herman says he's not trying to copy Ringo; a girl gave him his third ring, and she wanted him to wear it on one of his TV performances. "I was flashing it all over the place, swinging my arms like mad, so she'd be sure to notice it. I decided to keep wearing it because I like the ring." Speaking of a Beatle, what does Herman think of his competitors? "They're great! There's no one in the world like the Beatles." In fact Herman owns about six of Beatle George Harrison's shirts. George went hog wild at a well-known men's shop in England; he bought a batch of shirts which he planned to wear in the Beatle movie Help! As it turned out, the shirts were the wrong colors, seemed they didn't look right in the film, which was being shot in color. So when George returned the entire batch, Herman was in the shop at the time and began picking them up as soon as George put them on the counter. Wherever Herman's Hermits go, there's a mob scene just like the crowds the Beatles create. In a sense, they came to the attention of their manager in the same way the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein discovered the four mop heads - by word of mouth. The quintet owes it's fantastic start in records to three young, loyal Manchester girls who wrote their local musical paper: "we're always hearing about Beatlemania," they complained. "Well, we've got Hermania. What about giving him some publicity?" After a while Herman didn't need publicity to be known, with such hits as "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter," "Silhouettes," and "Wonderful World," which were all on the top of the charts both here and in England at the same time. How did Herman get his name when his real name is Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone? It is rather unusual - the name comes from a cartoon character. There was a boy named Sherman in a cartoon show on TV called The Bullwinkle show. The rest of the group was amused at the similarity of the character and their lead singer. Mistaking the name of Sherman for Herman, he was so christened. They chose The Hermits because it fit the first name. The present lineup has only been together for nine months. Herman joined them when they were called The Heartbeats. The group was playing at a youth club which Herman often frequented, and one night they were short a singer. Herman stepped in, sang and was immediately accepted into the group, which has changed drastically since then. Karl Green, bass guitar, is the only member of the original group. As people left, Barry Whitwam, drums, was the first to join, then Derek "Lek" Leckenby, lead and rhythm guitar, and last Keith Hopwood, also lead and rhythm guitar. Hermit manager Harvey Lisberg brought them to the attention of independent record producer Mickie Most, the man responsible for the hits of the Animals and the Nashville Teens. He traveled to see them at a concert in Bolton, was immediately impressed, and signed them to a recording contract. He did, however, point out many of their faults. But they didn't care, for the boys have tremendous confidence in him. No wonder. Mr. Most saw them, signed them, recorded them and got the record released in only three weeks time. Herman must have known his first disc would be a hit, because he went out and "charged a heap of clothes" - before the record was even released. Perhaps Herman's Hermits caught on so quickly because of the various dialects they use for their songs. "We sang "Mrs. Brown" in seven different dialects before we decided on the one we used," remarked Herman. And of course "Henry VIII" is sung in a distinct cockney accent, which is decidedly different from the accent used in "Mrs. Brown." However, Herman was quick to add that they use their own Manchester accents for many songs. Herman was born on November 5th, 1947. He says that his mother taught him how to play the banjo and really got him interested in singing. He had sung a little at school, then he combined singing lessons with drama lessons when a part he had in the TV series, Knight Errant, called for him to sing. His singing and drama studies at the Manchester School of Music began when he was 14. He stuck with it for two years - until he began singing with the Heartbeats. Previously, his main ambition was to be an actor. Besides Knight Errant, he appeared in many other TV shows, and was in two children's plays. He had always held an interest in pop music, and when he joined the group he lost all interest in acting. Herman has stated none of the group has any ambition to continue their education. Karl Green is 18 years old and was born in Salford, Manchester on July 31st, 1947. He's been strumming on his bass guitar since he was 10. "It was really becuase everyone else seemed to be getting one at the time," he says. On leaving school, Karl worked as an engraver for a year, then joined a group called the Balmains, which his brother managed. When the group broke up, he gave up playing for a year and then became one of the original Heartbeats. Twenty-two year old Derek Leckenby, is nicknamed and is always known as "Lek." Born in Leeds on May 14, 1943, he moved to Manchester as a child; later he studied civil engineering at Manchester University for two years. Lek had taught himself to play the guitar and then one night when he was studying for his exams, Barry Whitwam came by and asked him to join the group, which he did. Lek tried to carry on with his studies; unfortunately, though, he failed the exams. An ardent reader, he prefers biographies and auto-biographies. The drummer, Barry Whitwam, has a lot in common with Ringo Starr, for Barry had nine months training as a hairdresser and worked for a year in a ladies salon before giving it up for the group. Born on July 21, 1946, Barry first began to beat the drums when a local group had a vacancy. When this Manchester outfit disbanded, Barry joined with Herman the night the boys changed the name from Herman and The Hermits to Herman's Hermits. He likes messing around with boats and cars, as well as the drums. Having had just two years of drum lessons, Barry feels he's actually taught himself the most. When Keith Hopwood, the lead and rhythm guitar, left a Manchester grammar school, he worked as a telephone engineer. Eighteen this October 26th, Keith bought his first guitar at 14 and joined a local group at 16, playing with them for six months until he was asked to join The Hermits. He's mad for clothes and records, as most of England's youth seems to be. With each record the boys chalk up an instant hit, so we predict you'll be seeing more of them on CBS' Ed Sullivan Show, and they've already made guest appearances in several movies. However, they haven't any plans as yet of making a full-length feature film a la the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five, and Gerry and The Pacemakers. Right now they're too busy making hit records, and doing personal apearances and enjoying all the adulation adoring fans heap upon them. |