In 2008 EMI Europe released the excellent 4 CD boxed-set Herman’s Hermits & Peter Noone Into Something Good: The Mickie Most Years 1964-1972. The collection consists of 121 songs (about 5 hours of music), including Make Me Happy by Shelley Fabares; Britisher Stanley Holloway pops up too. This brings to mind movies in which Herman’s Hermits appeared: When The Boys Meet The Girls; Hold On!; and Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter. Famous for outselling The Beatles in 1965, then continuing their reign at the top late into 1966; today it’s forgotten, Herman’s Hermits was once one of the biggest Rock bands in the world, probably the biggest, at their peak. This 4 CD collection is a long overdue look at their body of work.
Herman’s Hermits was a genuine teenage band, unlike bands they’re compared to. Mature as Herman’s Hermits were, with Derek “Lek” Lekenby, the oldest---about 20 in 1963 at the band’s formation; The Beatles', Dave Clark Five's, and The Rolling Stones' youngest member was Lekenby’s age. This meant these older, more mature bands, had honed their skills; wrote their own music; and achieved a wider audience of listeners, which was young enough to enjoy innocent songs, yet old enough to enjoy mature songs.
This explains why Herman’s Hermits, lack in number one songs, lack in Top Forty songs, and lack in total output over their career; compared to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Yet, they compare favorably with the Dave Clark Five, who were The Beatles biggest rivals in 1964, and 1965, when Herman’s Hermits stole the scene. Truth is, it took the greatest songwriting team in Rock history in Lennon-McCartney (George Harrison and Ringo Starr made their contributions, too) to enable The Beatles to go unsurpassed by all the great bands of this period, while The Rolling Stones had, what else, time on their side to surpass all the great bands. So, knocking off the ten Peter Noone solo songs, what does the Herman’s Hermits output sound like? (Listen People: The ten Noone songs contain some diamonds!)
(My one complaint is the cheap booklet that comes with the 4 CD set. I’m guessing EMI’s financial troubles kept them from publishing a quality book that would go into the history of the band; detail the original members’ lives, then and now; and make a strong case for Herman’s Hermits legendary status in Rock History. That’s sorely needed, given an apparent prejudice on the part of too many so-called Rock Historians. It’s an easy mistake to make. They came in joy and happiness, succeeded wildly, while never becoming so full of themselves, they could not fade away quietly. Isn’t that true greatness?) http://www.peternoone.com/
DISCLAIMER: To keep the FTC happy, I wish to point out I am a happy Lifetime fan club member of the Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone Fan Club, purchased the reviewed 4 CD set with my own money, and received no remuneration for this post. Fan Club members are known as Noonatics.
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