Herman's Hermits are an English rock and pop group formed in 1963 in Manchester and formerly fronted by singer Peter Noone.

Known for their jaunty beat sound and Noone's often tongue-in-cheek vocal style, the Hermits charted with numerous transatlantic hits in the UK and in America, where they ranked as one of the most successful acts in the Beatles-led British Invasion.

Between March and August 1965 in the United States, the group logged twenty-four consecutive weeks in the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot 100 with five singles, including the two number ones "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am".

Their other international hits in the 1960s include "I'm into Something Good" (their sole UK number one), "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", the two covers "Silhouettes" and "Wonderful World", "A Must to Avoid", "Listen People", "No Milk Today", "There's a Kind of Hush", "I Can Take or Leave Your Loving", "Something's Happening" and "My Sentimental Friend", all of which were produced by Mickie Most.

[2] The second-youngest member of a young group (four months older than Karl Green who was originally in the Balmains),[2] 15-year-old Noone was already an experienced actor on the popular British TV soap opera Coronation Street.

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.

[3] 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.

Their chart debut was a cover of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "I'm into Something Good" (a then-recent US Top 40 hit for Earl-Jean).

12 debut of "Mrs. Brown" on the Hot 100 in April 1965 was the decade's third highest (behind the Beatles' "Hey Jude" and "Get Back").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"),[5] "A Must to Avoid", "Listen People", "You Won't Be Leaving" and "Leaning on a Lamp Post".

[6] 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[citation needed] and in liner notes on the 2004 ABKCO Records compilation Retrospective (which does not credit the Hermits' playing).

Six of their 11 US Top Tens were not released as A-side singles in their native UK, including the two aforementioned number ones plus "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" (no.

[8] On screen the Hermits featured opposite Connie Francis in When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965) and starred outright in Hold On!

(1966) — featuring one song performed by co-star Shelley Fabares and nine by the Hermits, including the title track — and Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968).

"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.

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.

The 1967 album Blaze received critical acclaim,[citation needed] but barely made the Top 100 in the US and did not chart in the UK.

The group subsequently cut one-off singles for Private Stock, Buddah, and Roulette in 1975, 1976, and 1977 without significant success.

Noone did return to front Herman's Hermits during a 1973–1974 U.S. multi-artist tour of "British Invasion" acts, after which Whitwam, Leckenby, and Green (who assumed lead vocal duties until his 1980 retirement) continued to tour with newer members, including Rod Gerrard (formerly with Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders and Salford Jets).

He was diagnosed with cancer a few years into being a Hermit, and Kevan Lingard was added in on keys in 2005 to fill in for dates Birrell couldn't attend.

[17] In 2023, Herman's Hermits Starring Peter Noone were scheduled to perform in over 100 concerts in countries such as the USA, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and France.

[18][needs update] Geoff Foot, who, with the exception of Whitwam, was the longest serving member, left the Hermits after playing his last gig with them at a Butlin's on Saturday, 14 January 2023.

[22] As of April 2024, the current lineup of Herman's Hermits is: Barry Whitwam (drummer since 1964), Jamie Thurston (formerly of The Tornados starring Dave Watts; bassist and lead vocalist since 2020), John Summerton (formerly of Flintlock; guitarist since January 2023), and Tony Young (formerly of Gerry and the Pacemakers; keyboardist since October 2023).

Continuing acrimony among former members of Herman's Hermits has increased the amount of disinformation about the group's role on their records; the late Derek Leckenby, in particular, was a skilled guitarist.