Herman's Hermits

Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits in 1968. From L-R: Keith Hopwood, Karl Green, Derek Leckenby, frontman Peter Noone, and Barry Whitwam
Background information
Origin	Manchester, England
Genres	Beat, pop
Years active	1964–present
Labels	Columbia (EMI), MGM
Website	www.hermanshermits.com
Members	Harry Whitwam Geoff Foot Paul Cornwell Tony Hancox
Past members	Derek Leckenby Keith Hopwood Karl Green Peter Noone

Herman's Hermits are an English beat (or pop) band, formed in Manchester in 1964.

Originally called Herman & The Hermits, they were discovered by Harvey Lisberg, who signed them up to management. Lisberg sent a return plane ticket to Mickie Most so that he could come up from London to see the band play in Bolton. Most became the group's record producer, controlling the band's output. He emphasised a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers. This helped Herman's Hermits become hugely successful in the mid-1960s but dampened the band's songwriting; Noone, Hopwood, Leckenby and Green's songs were relegated to B-sides and album cuts.

Their first hit was a cover of Earl-Jean's "I'm into Something Good" (written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King), which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 13 in the US in late 1964. They never topped the British charts again, but had two US Billboard Hot 100 No.1s with "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" (originally sung by Tom Courtenay in a 1963 British TV play) and "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am" (a British music hall song by Harry Champion dating from 1911, which Peter Noone's Irish grandfather had been in the habit of singing when Noone was young). These songs were aimed at a US fan base, with Peter Noone exaggerating his Mancunian accent.

In the US, their records were released on the MGM label, a company which often featured musical performers they had signed to record deals in films. The Hermits appeared in several MGM movies, including When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965) and Hold On! (1966). They also starred in the film Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968) and appeared in the 1965 anthology film Pop Gear.