I Went To Something Good – Herman’s Hermits!

When there are enough bald heads in the audience to keep a shoeshine boy going for a month, little confirmation is needed that you are at the 55th anniversary tour of 60’s phenomenon, Herman’s Hermits.

And although drummer Barry Whitwam is the only original member – Geoff Foot has been fronting the group since 1971 – there is no getting away from the fact that the five piece line up from the 60’s (now four) produced enough hits to inspire a generation.

And last night at Ilkley’s King’s Hall they kept coming as Barry periodically interspersed numbers with lots of anecdotes about their time at the top, which involved meeting Elvis, wrecking hotels with fellow tour band, The Who, and just causing affectionate mayhem as they all crossed the US!

But if there were wild times Barry also had a confession: “It’s no longer sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Now it’s a book, hot chocolate and an early night.” And the audience, many in the same age group, lapped up the banter from their hero…..as well as the numerous hits: Wonderful World, She’s a Lady, Hold On, I’m Into Something Good and Mrs Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter.

This was an affectionate evening of nostalgia and, as my thirty something guest commented: “I wasn’t even born when this lot were touring.” But her face lit up time and again as she added: “My God, I know this one….was it these guys who recorded it?”

The answer of course, was a resounding ‘Yes’ because with record sales in excess of 75 million, 23 hit singles and 10 hit albums, it is fair to say that Herman’s Hermits have been round the block a few times and have a number of tunes firmly rooted in the British psyche.

Barry Whitwam still had a good head of hair and a glint in his eye, and there was nothing but fun in his voice as he asked the audience: “Hands up if you’ve seen us before? Hands up if you thought we were dead?”

They played for a couple of hours including tributes to their own heroes: Chris Montez’s Let’s Dance, Sedaka’s Oh! Carol and Dream Lover by Bobby Darin

There was a continual stream of historic band photos being screened at the back of the group throughout and, whilst the overall presentation was, ironically, nowhere near as slick as the Bootleg Beatles, there was one fundamental difference: these guys were the real thing and all their stories were theirs!

With the promo desk beckoning the four lads exited the stage to wild cheers and an invite from Barry: “We’ll be out front. These days we sign anything!”

A great, fun night of genuine entertainment.

Places to see the Band in Yorkshire and Lancashire:
Feb 22nd, Municipal Hall, Colne, Lancs
1st March, Plaza, Stockport
25th March, Town Hall, Huddersfield
5th April, Art Centre, Pocklington
29th April, Civic, Rotherham