Something Good

I'm being haunted by Herman's Hermits. Back in the summer of 1964 they played at the Adelphi House FCJ Grammar School summer fair. I was about to move up to this Salford secondary school, and as new pupils we had been invited to the fair. Herman's Hermits were playing in the gym,a newly built facility right by the River Irwell. On windy days chemical foam whipped up from the weir would blow across the playground, melting our nylon tights!They played 'I'm into Something Good', their first major hit and we all fell in love with Peter Noone's goofy cheeky chappy image. Of course it wasn't a hit until later that year, and it was exciting to hear it played on Radio Luxembourg through that summer, knowing that we had discovered them before they were famous. Earlier this summer I met someone on one of C P Lee's great music history walks in Manchester. He too had been at that particular Adelphi summer fair. The Adelphi site is now part of the University of Salford. The River Irwell might have salmon in it nowadays for all I know. We are singing a three part harmony version of 'I'm into Something Good' at the singing class I go to. When our tutor got the phrasing wrong a chorus of women of a certain age quickly put him right! On Saturday night it was played at the wedding disco of some young Italian friends. My youngest son's father did a great version of it with his band back in the mid 90s. I switched on the radio on Sunday morning and there it was. This is a song that is coming up to 48 years old! I know Goffin and King wrote songs that last, but where will it end? It's still full of optimism and the joys of youth. Maybe we should all hum along to it more often.