A Conversation With ... Harvey Lisberg

By Bill King

Harvey Lisberg  - I’m Into Something Good

When the British invasion struck, I was a second-year student in high school and, like every young person, awestruck that music of any form could affect nations circling the planet. It was a ‘bloody mess’ as a local jock would scream while pumping the new Freddy and the Dreamers. It seemed at every music event, hordes of flesh-ripping teens would arrive just in time to chase any local band in mop-top wigs, Carnaby cut suits and heads a wagging a mile or so down the road. History had a moment that resembled a Sci-fi movie scene.

To speak with a witness to history and someone who took part in the insurrection was too irresistible to pass on. It’s all in Herman's Hermits /10CC manager Harvey Lisberg’s new tell-all book, I’m Into Something Good.

More about Harvey and the book

“When 22-year-old accountant Harvey Lisberg heard the Beatles’‘Please Please Me, he had an epiphany: he could be Manchester’s answer to Brian Epstein. He had a musical ear, a knack for numbers, and a gambler’s instinct for taking a punt. Within a year, he had taken local group Herman’s Hermits to number one with I’m Into Something Good.

 Soon, Hermania was a global phenomenon. Harvey had found his vocation. In this uproarious, frank, and moving autobiography, he reveals the excesses of life on the road with Herman’s Hermits; the frustration of championing unknowns Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber; the highs and lows of managing the brilliant 10cc; the utter madness of looking after snooker bad boys Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins and Jimmy ‘Whirlwind’ White, and much, much more. Many other artists benefited from Harvey’s guidance during this time, including Tony Christie, Barclay James Harvest, Sad Café and the Chameleons.

I’m Into Something Good is his account of a life that started in Salford and ended up in Palm Springs. A life in which he travelled the world, met heroes and villains, fulfilled his dreams, spent a fortune on good living, family and friends, and never took himself or his achievements too seriously.”

Here’s where the conversation begins on our FYI Music News podcast with Harvey Lisberg.