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How many of you have wished that you could spend an afternoon with Herman and his Hermits on the set of their MGM movie, "There's No Place Like Space?" About a million I'd guess!
Well, let me tell you it was hard to gain admittance to Herman's very closed set but once again The BEAT scored and we were invited to visit Herman on the set.
Our visit began in the studio commissary where the boys were hungrily wolfing down huge quantities of food. While they were shoveling down mouthfuls I managed to uncover a few hidden facts about the Hermits.
The Heartbeats
First off, they were not originally called the Hermits, but were known around the Manchester area as the Heartbeats. Thinking that name wasn't catchy enough, they switched it to the Hermits.
Next the hunt was on to find a suitable name for Peter, something which would sound good with "Hermits." It wasn't an easy search but a name was hit upon which was natural.
It seems that the Hermits considered Peter to be a perfect look alike for Sherman of the Bullwinkle cartoon series and so had taken to calling him Sherman. You must admit that Sherman's Hermits was quite a mouthful. But by simply dropping the "S" they came up with Herman's Hermits and the boys had a new name!
After finding a new name things moved rather fast. They found a manager, a hit and suddenly they were known throughout England. Soon America fell to the boyish appeal of Herman - or Peter as he would rather be called - and his lovable Hermits.
There are probably only two things which Herman has done in the course of his career to make his fans bite their fingernails. The first was to lose his famed tooth and the second was to strike up a friendship with British singer, Twinkle.
Biggest Splash
Herman made his biggest splash by singing simple songs with a strong Cockney
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accent ala "Mrs. Brown" and "Henry the VIII."
Either intentionally or unintentionally, Herman has projected a "little boy" image here in America. Herman reveals that in England "they won't put up with it" and so in his homeland he drops his little boy act. But once he lands Stateside again the little boy in him gushes all over the place.
As always when interviewing boys the subject somehow gets around to girls. On this subject the Hermits expound!
All five boys agree (which they rarely do) that American girls are definitely friendlier than their English counterparts. But since they have to return to England and since English girls do read The BEAT, they admitted sheepishly that English girls are more sophisticated than American girls.
Mad About Red
Besides girls, Herman has several other things which he is currently mad about. The first of these is the color red - Herman loves it and buys everything red in sight!
The other thing which Herman seems to be particularly fond of is his huge number of fans and especially those who scream and yell at the Hermits' personal appearances. In fact, they would like The BEAT to convey a message to all their fans - keep on screaming!
British and American television differ considerably and during the course of their career the Hermits have had plenty of opportunity to sample both. When I asked them for a favorite show they thought hard and then replied: "The commercials!" Figures, doesn't it?
Biggest Ham
About this time the Hermits had actually finished devouring their lunch so we stepped outside to take pictures which was the most fun thing of the afternoon - especially for Herman who has got to be the biggest ham in the world!
And all you Herman fans - don't you dare miss "There's No Place Like Space" - it has got to be one of the funniest movies ever.
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