"I HAVE met all my boyhood idols - there is no one left whom I really want to meet," 18 year old Herman said.
"Elvis Presley was one of them. I never thought I would see him. But we met in Hawaii, where we sat talking for about an hour. A nice guy. I liked him.
"He has invited me to a special party at his house when next we're filming in Hollywood.
"There were several other idols - Eamonn Andrews (a British TV commentator), Anthony Newly, Tommy Steele and Bobby Charlton (a footballer).
"They were all people I admired as a kid, but never though I would meet. Now I have met them all."
Herman, leader of Herman's Hermits, who are due to visit Australia this month, was chatting to me during an hour-long breakfast we had together at the small Paddington hotel where Herman stays when he is in London.
He told me he and another Hermit, Keith Hopwood, had written eight songs for the Hermits' latest movie.
"We had ideas in all sorts of funny places - in hotels and on trains," Herman said. "I'd like to do more songwriting."
Herman is looking around for a more permanent home in Britain.
"I was having a bungalow built for me near Poynton, Cheshire, but the word got out," Herman said.
"I had bought the site, the foundations were down and the walls half-way up - but I decided to sell it.
"There were fans hanging round waiting to see me all the time. If it were like that before I even moved in, I realised I never would have any privacy.
"now I'm looking for somewhere else - but I'm not saying where. That's a secret!"
Herman (real name Peter Noone) got his stage name because the group said he looked ike a cartoon character called Sherman. The "s" got dropped and it was only another step for him to be Herman and the group to become the Hermits.
The present line-up has only been together for 13 months. Herman joined them when they were called the Heartbeats. The group was playing at a youth club and one night was short of a singer.
Herman stepped in and sang and hasn't looked back.
The personnel of the group has changed. 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"
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Leckenby (lead and rhythm guitar) and last Keith Hopwood (lead and rhythm guitar).
Mickie Most, the man responsible for the hits of the Animals and the Nashville Teens, saw the Hermits at a concert in Bolton, was impressed and signed them to a recording contract. He pointed out many of their faults and helped the boys on their way up.
Mickie chose the material for the Hermits' debut disc, I'm Into Something Good.
The Hermits had a highly successful year in 1965 and were mobbed by fans in many parts of the world. As the Beatles had their Beatlemania, the Herman craze was dubbed Hermania.
Here are some pen pictures of the Hermits:
KARL GREEN (bass guitar) is 18. He was born in Salford, England, and had his first guitar at the age of 10. He joined his first group a year after leaving school.
DEREK (LEK) LECKENBY (lead and rhythm guitar) is 23 and was born in Leeds. Lek taught himself to play the guitar. One evening, Barry Whitwam came round to Lek's flat. He said that he knew Lek had a guitar and that they were a guitarist short in the group. Lek stood in and later joined the group.
BARRY WHITWAM (drums) is 19 and was born in Manchester. He began to play when a local group had a vacancy. Prior to this he had nine months' training as a hairdresser and worked for a year in a ladies' salon. When this group broke up he joined Herman's Hermits.
KEITH HOPWOOD (lead and rhythm guitar) is 19 and was born in Manchester. On leaving school he worked as a telephone engineer. He bought his first guitar at 14 and joined a local group at 16. Six months later he joined the Hermits.
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