Herman’s Hermits - Live At The Hilton

A lesson in Hermitmania

The centrepiece of this unashamed slice of pure 60s pop nostalgia is the 30-minute black-and- white Australian TV broadcast of Herman’s Hermits performing at the Hilton at the height of their fame in 1966. Now repackaged, complete with de rigeur 60s cartoon pop graphics and colour tinting, Live At The Hilton captures the phenomenon of Hermitmania in action.

The clean cut Mancunian quintet play their way through a selection of their hits, punctuated by Peter Noone’s laddish one-liners, the rapturous screams of hordes of teenage girls and, most surreal of all, the original TV commercials for Hilton’s ladies nylons. In addition to the TV broadcast, this Hermitfest comes with a selection of bonus features, including a 1985 documentary charting the history of the band from their early days as an R&B outfit, to their eventual metamorphosis into a high-class cabaret act, via interviews with original Hermits Derek Hopwood, Barry Whitwam, Karl Green and the ubiquitous Mickie Most. There’s also live footage from Norwegian TV and the original theatrical trailers from the Hemits’ excursions into the movies, Mrs Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter and Hold On.

2 stars 2 stars

ABC Entertainment | ABCVP 128 DVD

Reviewed by Grahame Bent
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