Peter Noone was a child actor of some experience, having appeared in the TV series "Knight Errant" and, more notably, as the son of character Len Fairclough in the Manchester-based TV serial "Coronation Street" - ha had begun taking drama and singing lessons at 14. His TV roles brought him local prestige and turned his group, the Heartbeats, into local celebrities. It was on the strength of their growing following in and around the Tameside area that producer Mickie Most went to see them in concert.

In mid 1964 they signed a contract with EMI's Columbia label. Most's plans for the Heartbeats involved first changing their name to one that drew attention to Peter Noone as the focal point of the group. Someone said that Peter looked like Sherman, a character in TV's "The Bullwinkle Show" and the new name of Herman's Hermits was concocted. A well-orchestrated publicity campaign accompanied the release of their debut single "I'm Into Something Good", a Gerry Goffin/Carole King composition.

"I'm Into Something Good" reached Number 1 in the UK in late September 1964, the follow-up, another Goffin and King song called "Show Me Girl", was released in the same week that its predecessor dropped out of the charts yet only peaked at a disappointing Number 19. Its relative failure could probably be put down the competition in the chart at the time (the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Supremes and Kinks all had Top Ten records).

The groups' next release was a version of the Rays' 1957 American hit "Silhouettes", this song restored them to the upper reaches of the charts, making Number 3. That was followed by a cover of Sam Cooke's "Wonderful World".

It was in the United States however, that Herman's Hermits had their biggest impact. Their American label, MGM, mounted a promotion campaign just before their first US tour in May 1965. The sudden interest in the Hermits reached almost Beatles proportions when "Silhouettes", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat?, and "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" entered the charts within weeks of one another, to be followed by three more Top Ten hits before the end of September. Collectively, Herman's Hermits sold nearly 10 million records in America alone by the end of 1965, a figure exceeded only by the Beatles.

From 1965 onwards, Herman's Hermits seemed to have two separate careers in Britain and America. In the UK, they tended to be seen as just another pop group with a very loyal following, but across the Atlantic their vast popularity remained steady for several years.