Off The Record

    Ah so. This honorable hermit would like to tell ancient story of how Japan was won over by a brave group of Englishmen armed with guitars, drumsticks and songs.
    Hello - it's me Herman - not Charlie Chan
And I'm speaking about a real battle we had during our recent visit to Japan.
    When we first arrived, it looked as though the Hermits and I were going to be dead ducks.
    We were booked for a couple of shows, but there was a complication. The high school students had been warned by their teachers not to show up because our form of music was detrimental to their education.
    A fine start to a tour..plenty of auditorium, but no audience. Well, a bunch of English lads couldn't sit back without a fight.

BAN LIFTED
    So off we marched to a Tokyo television studio to give those educators a piece of our minds via a network interview show.
AND WE DIDN'T PULL ANY PUNCHES.
We told them that music was an art, no matter in what form it was presented, and that we are very proud of the music we play.
    The next morning the students were told that they could attend our shows and the ban

  on pop music was being lifted in the schools.
It did the trick.
    Our night as Ambassadors of pop really paid dividends. We were mobbed for the rest of our stay in Japan.
That's one of the rewarding parts of this business. It's not all stage appearances and press conferences.
    Sometimes we get a chance to do something for the teenagers who have helped to put us where we are, and I get a big kick out of a chance like this.

DRAWBACKS
    The Japanese kids are very hip and love listening to pop music.
We certainly found that out when they mobbed our shows. We're looking forward to going back there sometime.
Japanese girls are a wow, but I wouldn't fancy being married to one if she made me eat Japanese food every day.
The only dish I liked was beef sukiyaki. Eating raw fish didn't appeal to me at all.
    Well, I've just about run out of space so I'd just like to say a big "Thank You" to all our American fans.



ABOVE: The kids in Japan certainly went wild over Herman's music. Everywhere the group went they were followed by their newly-won fans.
BELOW: Japanese food may sound exotic, but Herman found it wasn't to his liking. Here, Keith, Barry and Lek sample some local cuisine.
  
Page One Picture: Team With A Winning Sound

Our front-page shows Herman's Hermits, Britain's ambassadors of the pop ballad. The group of Lancashire boys have been constantly topping the charts Stateside for almost two years.
The blend of Herman, Karl Green, guitar, Keith Hopwood, guitar, Derek Leckenby, guitar and Barry Whitman, drums, has made the Hermits one of the most successful teams in discworld.
Their latest release -Leaning on the Lamppost - is riding way up on the charts.

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