I get no respect. The way my luck is running, if I was a politician I would be honest (Rodney Dangerfield) #127

Herman's Hermits Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter/ Wonderful World (Columbia, DNZ 10409, 1965)

Hermit's hermits are the Rodney Dangerfield of the rock'n'roll world - they get no respect!

Blame it on this song, Dandy, and, like Mrs. Brown, another music hall veteran -  I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am.

They became forever associated with novelty numbers but I'm here to tell you that you should not ignore the class of There's a Kind of Hush or other songs in their catalogue like No Milk Today.

But I digress. Mrs. Brown is undeniably catchy and instantly returns me to simpler times. I certainly remember this being a staple of NZ radio in the 1960's. I guess they were considered heaven sent by radio programmers - safe and solid entertainment, at polar opposites to those dangerous Rolling Stones etc.

Thing is - I lapped this up in 1965. Those broad English accents! To me, at that stage of my listening experience (I was still buzzed by watching The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show remember) England may as well have been Mars to us NZers in the mid sixties and so anything coming from there was instantly linked (in my brain at least) to The Beatles and was, therefore, the business! 

Hidden gem: The B side is a beat version of the Sam Cooke song - supposedly done by HH as a tribute to Mr Soul himself.