Herman's Hermits Hold On!

A couple days ago, the 1966 film Hold On! was on Turner Classic Movies. This, of course was the wacky adventures on Peter Noone (AKA Herman) and his fellow Hermits. I tried to watch this with an open mind and put it into a historical perspective, and with keeping this all in mind, the film a still an embarrassment.

A quick history lesson for those who don't know Herman's Hermits. They were originally a English rhythm and blues band fronted by former soap opera star, Peter Noone. Eventually the band was taken over by Mickie Most. Mickie controlled everything about the band, picking songs and projects and pretty much used the band like puppets. With his guidance, the band had a huge success, even giving the Beatles a little competition, but only for a very short time. By the late 60's, the band had faded into the rock and roll history.



I assume this film was the bands answer to the Beatles films, Hard Days Night and Help but, unlike those films, Hold On! was neither fun or entertaining and the music was dismal.

As I watched, I could help but feel embarrassed for the band. There is a scene in which Peter, in a fantasy segment, is dressed up as Knight and singing a silly childish pop song to a girl on the beach. I can't even begin to describe this scene.

While a few years earlier this film might have been understandable but by 1966 rock and roll had really began to move away from this kind of nonsense. Herman's Hermits manager failed to realize this and kept the band in 1965. Yet, the band seemed happy and I've never read an interview in which any of the band members complained about their situation. Maybe they were all just five happy guys who enjoyed the ride as long as it lasted.

They are still touring today, with Peter Noone