Herman’s Hermits – Something’s Happening

24th December 1968 · 1960s, 1968, Music

This is the third single I ever bought. I’m not proud of that. It’s a repetitive and dull song but forgive me. I was only 10.

I bought this on the same shopping trip where I acquired Lily The Pink. Singalong tunes for children, because I was a child. It reached No.6 in what was probably called the Hit Parade in December 1968, when The Scaffold were, unforgiveably, number one.

It would have cost me 8 shillings of my pocket money (40p) and I’m sure I considered it money well spent, even if I knew little about them and have rarely (if ever) revisited Herman’s Hermits since then.

They were from Manchester and had an image, carefully cultivated by their manager Mickie Most, somewhere between music hall and Beat music.

Herman’s Hermits were almost as successful as the Beatles and Stones, notching up 20 hits on both sides of the Atlantic, but were seen as a manufactured band – Britain’s answer to The Monkees.

That was perhaps because their front man Peter Noone had been a child actor in Coronation Street and joined the band when he was 15 or because Most preferred to use session musicians on his records.

As a result it’s possible that this one features John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page, though I imagine it’s too late in their career for that. As with most of my other early music purchases, I can’t say I look back too fondly on this tune – but here it is anyway.