60 years a drummer in the same group

In 1963, a 17-year-old drummer Barry Whitwam agreed to join Herman and the Hermits on the understanding that they changed their name to Herman’s Hermits.

60 years the drummer with Herman’s Hermits

Now just about 60 years on, he is still their drummer and the band is still going strong, touring the world and on Sunday February 11, they will making an appearance at the Benidorm Palace supported by another 60s band The Foundations.

There aren’t many British ‘pop’ or ‘rock’ groups still playing six decades on with original members and apart from the Rolling Stones with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Barry must be one of the few still standing (or in his case sitting as he is a drummer).

He kindly spent some time sharing some amazing anecdotes as well as explaining why he is still playing and what the band is getting up to in the21st Century.

One of the earliest members of the British Invasion of America, between 1964 and 1968 they had two Number 1 Billboard hits with Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter and I’m Henry VIII, I Am and every one of their singles made the US top 40 in that time.

They have actually sold around 80 million records worldwide and Barry said “We were very fortunate in having the legendary Mickie Most as our manager at the start and he just knew what songs we should record in order to get into the charts.”

The band, with Peter Noone at the time, were nominated for numerous Grammys, losing out on one occasion to a young Welsh singer called Tom Jones and they appeared on all of the major US TV programmes of the time.

Sharing some his experiences

“Our success allowed us to undertake a number of US tours and we were able to choose our support bands so we invariably tried to help new British acts break in America and they included The Hollies and The Animals but the band I remember with the greatest affection was The Who.

“I still laugh thinking about the audiences who watched Keith Moon blow up his drum kit whilst  Pete Townsend smashed his guitar as they climaxed their act with My Generation then we appeared on stage playing one of our many melodious love songs!

On that tour I can say I was part of the rock and roll touring lifestyle as Keith and I both celebrated our 21^st birthdays at a Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan – suffice to say we trashed the hotel and theoretically I am still banned from every Holiday Inn in the USA.”

Meeting Elvis

“Another time we were in Hawaii finishing a US tour and we got a call from Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley’s manager inviting us to meet him on a local film set and Peter and I spent two memorable hours with this true Southern gentleman.

“I still have a framed photograph of the meeting on a wall in my house and it’s a really proud memory.”

Although the band have played in many countries around the world and their upcoming tour of Australia is their 40^th, they haven’t played that often in Spain so they are really looking forward to the Benidorm Palace night.

Greatest hits at Benidorm Palace

“We visited in September to see what the venue was like and it’s fantastic, great stage, lovely venue and their Fire show is spectacular so it is going to be really exciting to play there in February.

“The audience can expect to hear all of our greatest hits, but because they tend to be fairly mellow love songs, we have written a few rockers which should add to the excitement.”

Now in his late 70s, Barry has no intention of slowing down “I love the adrenalin rush whist waiting backstage to get out performing and I still love seeing audiences enjoying our performance.”

Visit the Benidorm Palace website to book your ticket to see Herman’s Hermits and the Foundations.