I'd no idea the song had a pre-Herman's Hermits history, although I do seem to vaguely remember having thought at one time or another that it had a somewhat older sound to it, not music hall, really, but as if it'd been written by somebody under the influence of such.

I think it might be skiffle? That's a genre of music I'm not really familiar with, but the song has a sort of plinky, comb-and-paper sound to it.