Peter Noone (vocals): 1971 cover of Bowie's Oh You Pretty Thing, while still with the band, was only solo hit - :I lost my soul to the end-of-the-pier crowd as it was the only work going. I got de-rocked by pandering to the people who's buy your Greatest Hits when you die in a plane crash but not your new record." Played the "straight man" on The Mike Yarwood Show for three years; moved to South of France (had three top 10 hits); released an album as The Tremblers (CBS) with Tom Petty's Heartbreakers and Elton John's band, "which got good reviews until people found out it was me." Starred in Pirates of Penzance on Broadway for three years and in the West End for 18 months. Has lived in the US since 1985 - "Here, I'm just English, whereas in the UK, I'm from Manchester and therefore unqualified to do Shakespeare" - where he regularly performs musicals, small TV roles and around 100 shows a year. "I do lots of comedy and Herman's Hermits songs. Henry the Eighth is the favourite." Recorded I'm Into Something Good for Naked Gun Soundtrack and subsequently compered oldies-but-goodies TV show My Generation - "We cover music I like, such as Hendrix and The Monkees." Is now writing for first album since 1981. "Now that I'm on TV so much, it makes me look much cooler than I am! My audience is made up of 18-year-olds as well as 38-year-olds." As for a proposed Hermits' reunion, "It would be like Rambo IV or Jaws V. I want to do new things. It would have excluded me from being Peter Noone, which I've spent so long trying to be. This year, I made more money than the best Herman's Hermits year ever. Anyway, they don't play as good as the guys I got right now!"

Derek "Lek" Leckenby (guitar); Still globetrotting with Herman's Hermits after 26 years as one of two original members. "Keeping a band on the road is never easy, but we've been successful bcause we don't work that much in the UK, which gives us more chance than most." Last new material was 1980. Has seen Noone three times since 1971; in

Barry "Bean" Whitwam (drums); Still gets "a tremendous kick" from being a Hermit. "Plus we still go down so well. We sound even better than when we first started." Adds that, "although we're real pros, it's not like a real job. We leave the wives at home and act like teenagers. We still get screaming fans. Everything's the same as it was except we're playing to a wider audience than we did in the '60s."

Karl Green (bass); Left in 1980 after his wife had a series of miscarriages every time he toured the US. They now have three girls. Started a ceramic tiling business - "I thought it was a bit of growth industry and I was right. We've just started a new company. Slip Tech UK, which deals in anti-slipping tiles. It's a great idea." Currently plays the pub circuit in Left Hand Drive - "The music's harder rock than Herman's Hermits. I never really enjoyed what we did, but that was where the money was."

Keith Hopwood (guitar); "The way we were going, it didn't seem like a very challenging future." Left in 1974 to concentrate on studio that he co-owned with Lek. Business developed into commercial studio and publishing company, while Hopwood wrote theme music for advertising and TV. In 1987 he closed down the studio and moved to Cheshire, building 24-track studio in his barn. Still writes music, including several animated features such as the award-winning Wind In The Willows. "I don't know if I miss the music now, but I did then. There are some people who live out here and we have the occasional blast."