Herman's Hermits

Herman's Hermits was formed from two different local bands. Keith Hopwood (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Karl Green (lead guitar, backing vocals), Alan Wrigley (bass), Steve Titterington (drums) and Peter Noone (lead vocals) came from the Heartbeats where Hopwood had replaced rhythm guitarist Alan Chadwick.[1] The second-youngest member of a young group (four months older than Karl Green who was originally in the Balmains),[1] 15-year-old Noone was already an experienced actor on the popular British TV soap opera Coronation Street. Derek "Lek" Leckenby (lead guitar) and Barry Whitwam (drums) (born Jan Barry Whitwam) joined later from another local group, the Wailers. Whitwam replaced Titterington on drums, Green switched to bass guitar (replacing Wrigley), and Leckenby took over for Green as lead guitarist. After Leckenby joined the band, the group made a deal with producer Mickie Most and signed with EMI's Columbia label in Europe and MGM Records in the United States.[2]

Herman's Hermits circa 1965.

The band's name came from a resemblance, noted by a publican in Manchester, England, between Noone and Sherman from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons. Sherman was shortened to Herman, and then became Herman and His Hermits, which was soon shortened to Herman's Hermits.[3]

Harvey Lisberg discovered them and signed on as their manager. He sent a plane ticket to London record producer Mickie Most so that he could fly to see the band play in Bolton. Most, already a success with the Animals, became the group's producer and controlled the band's output. He emphasised a simple and non-threatening clean-cut image.

The band played on most of its singles, including "I'm into Something Good", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter", "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" (said at the time to be "the fastest-selling song in history"),[4] "A Must to Avoid", "Listen People", "You Won't Be Leaving" and "Leaning on a Lamp Post". Leckenby soloed on "Henry", and Hopwood played rhythm guitar on "Mrs. Brown".[5]

Despite the group's competent musicianship, some subsequent singles employed session musicians – including Big Jim Sullivan, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Vic Flick and Bobby Graham – with contributions from the band, although the role of session players on Herman's Hermits records has been exaggerated in the rock media and in liner notes on the 2004 ABKCO Records compilation Retrospective (which does not credit the Hermits' playing). Mickie Most used session musicians on many records he produced; this was industry practice at the time. Even respected groups such as the Yardbirds were required by Most to use session musicians (except Jimmy Page) on their Most-produced recordings.[6]

Continuing acrimony among former members of Herman's Hermits has increased the amount of misinformation about the group's role on their records; the late Derek Leckenby, in particular, was a skilled guitarist. Mickie Most commented on the VH1 My Generation: Herman's Hermits episode that the Hermits "played on a lot of their records, and some they didn't." The group played on all their UK and US no. 1 hits ("I'm into Something Good", "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am"), on most of their US Top Ten singles, on a number of other singles and on most album cuts. According to Peter Noone, Leckenby played the muted lead on "This Door Swings Both Ways".[7] The riff in "Silhouettes" variously has been credited to Jimmy Page, Big Jim Sullivan and Vic Flick; however, according to Keith Hopwood and Karl Green, Leckenby replaced Flick in the studio and played the signature riff under Most's direction.[7] According to Hopwood, Green and Noone, Jimmy Page played on the single "Wonderful World" (although Big Jim Sullivan lists the song as part of a session he played); both may have added to the backing track. Several writers have claimed that session players played on "I'm into Something Good"; according to the surviving band members, the song was recorded on a two-track recorder, with only a piano player in addition to the Hermits.[7]

Karl Green has noted that he preferred harder rock, but was grateful for the hand he was dealt.[8] Many of the band's singles and album tracks were written by some of the top songwriters of the day, but Noone, Leckenby, Hopwood and Green contributed lesser-known songs such as "My Reservation's Been Confirmed", "Take Love, Give Love", "Marcel's", "For Love", "Tell Me Baby", "Busy Line", Moon Shine Man", "I Know Why" and "Gaslight Street". "I Know Why" enjoyed a limited A-side release.[9]

The band's debut hit "I'm into Something Good" was written by iconic New York songwriting duo Gerry Goffin (lyrics) and Carole King (music). Ray Davies of the Kinks wrote "Dandy"  – a 1966 US no. 5 hit for the Hermits – and Graham Gouldman wrote three of their 1966 hits: "Listen People", "No Milk Today" and "East West", the latter of which was covered in 1989 by singer and Hermits fan Morrissey. P. F. Sloan ("Eve of Destruction") wrote the title track of the Hermits' soundtrack to the 1966 film Hold On!. Sloan and regular collaborator Steve Barri—whose songs include "Let Me Be", "You Baby" and "Secret Agent Man"—also co-wrote "Where Were You When I Needed You", "All the Things I Do for You Baby" and the Top Ten hit "A Must to Avoid", all recorded by Herman's Hermits.

In November 1966 in the UK, after two consecutive Top 20 hits, the Hermits returned to the Top Ten with "No Milk Today", backed with "My Reservation's Been Confirmed".[10] For the US release of "No Milk Today" in 1967, MGM backed it with "There's a Kind of Hush". The latter climbed to no. 4 in March 1967. "No Milk Today" peaked at no. 35, though it was linked to "Hush" on local charts across the country. "No Milk Today" also scored in its own right including success on San Francisco Top 40 station KFRC, where in April 1967 it reached no. 1, ranking 6 for the year.[11]

In 1966 the group was nominated for three Grammy awards including Best New Artist of 1965—they lost to Tom Jones—and two for their chart-topper "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter": Best Performance by a Vocal Group and Best Contemporary (R&R) Performance – Group (Vocal or Instrumental). According to Noone and Hopwood, "Mrs. Brown" was recorded as an afterthought in two takes – using two microphones, with Hopwood on guitar, Green on bass guitar and Whitwam on drums. Noone and the band deliberately emphasised their English accents on the record, never intended to be a single. Hopwood recalls playing a Gretsch Country Gentleman guitar in the studio, with its strings muted to create the distinctive sound. When playing the song live, Hopwood often used a Rickenbacker guitar with a rag tied around the bridge to duplicate the sound, which can be seen clearly in old performance clips.

In America the group appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dean Martin Show and The Jackie Gleason Show.

The 1967 album Blaze received critical acclaim, but barely made the Top 100 in the US and was not released in the UK. Highlights, according to some, included original songs by Leckenby, Whitwam, Hopwood, Green and Noone, including "Ace King Queen Jack" and the psychedelic "Moon Shine Man".

A 1969 two-disc album Herman's Hermits Rock 'n' Roll Party was never released.

When Noone left the group in 1971, the Hermits continued on, first with singer Pete Cowap. They signed with RCA Records in the UK and, as "The Hermits", recorded two singles at Strawberry Studios and an unreleased album (under the name Sourmash) produced by Eric Stewart. They subsequently cut singles for Buddah, Private Stock and Roulette, with little success. After a short-lived reunion with Noone, Whitwam, Leckenby and Green (who took over lead vocals until he retired in 1980) continued to tour with newer members, including Rod Gerrard (formerly with Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders and Salford Jets).

Hopwood and Leckenby eventually started a music company, Pluto Music, which is still in business as of 2019 working primarily on commercial and animation soundtracks. Hopwood has since become a composer of scores for film and television. Green has become a manager of sound systems for concert venues along London's South Bank.[12]

Leckenby died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1994, leaving Whitwam as the only original member of the band. The band's current lineup consists of Whitwam, lead singer and bassist Geoff Foot, guitarist Paul Cornwell and keyboardist Tony Hancox. Noone continues to play solo shows billed as "Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone". Legal disputes between Whitwam and Noone have forced the former to rename the band "Herman's Hermits starring Barry Whitwam" when they tour in North America, but they remain billed as "Herman's Hermits" worldwide.[13]

The Sourmash album from 1972 was finally released in 2000 under the title A Whale of a Tale! And Others.[14]