The Swinging Blue Jeans

The Swinging Blue Jeans

The Swinging Blue Jeans in 1965
Background information
Origin Liverpool, England
Genres Merseybeat, pop music
Years active 1962 - present
Labels HMV
Website Official website
Past members Ralph Ellis
Ray Ennis
Les Braid
Norman Kuhlke
Terry Sylvester
Colin Manley
John Ryan
Bruce McCaskill
Mike Gregory
Mick McCann
Jim Rodford
Hedley Vick
Garth Elliott
Phil Thompson
Tommy Hughes
Alan Lovell

The Swinging Blue Jeans are a four-piece 1960s British Merseybeat band, best known for their hit singles with the HMV label; "Hippy Hippy Shake", "Good Golly Miss Molly", and "You're No Good", issued in 1964. Subsequent singles released that year and the next made no impression. In 1966, their version of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Don't Make Me Over" peaked at no. 31 in the UK Singles Chart, but the group never charted again.[1]

Career

The group had its origins in 1957, when Bruce McCaskill formed a jazz influenced skiffle sextet group called the Bluegenes. The original line-up also included guitarist/vocalist Bruce McCaskill, banjo player Tommy Hughes, washboard player Norman Kuhlke, and oil drum bass player Spud Ward. There were a number of early personnel changes, as guitarist Ralph Ellis joined the band and Ward was replaced by Les Braid. Johnny Carter and Paul Moss entered the band to replace Hughes and McCaskill. They were a fully working band by 1962, playing skiffle at venues in Liverpool and at the Star Club in Hamburg. However the German audiences booed them off the stage, and the group rapidly changed direction and focus.[2]

They switched to rock and roll, and with a name change to reflect their attire, to the Swinging Blue Jeans. This earned the band, then a quintet featuring Ennis, Braid, Ellis, Kuhlke and Moss, a recording contract with HMV with record producer, Walter Ridley. The quintet's first recording, "It's Too Late Now", which was written by Ennis, made the British Top 30. After the departure of Moss, the band became a quartet. In December 1963, a cover of the song "Hippy Hippy Shake" took the band to Number two on the British charts and established them as stars.[2]

They had a three-year spell of success, rising and falling with Merseybeat itself.[2] The Swinging Blue Jeans had the standard Shadows line-up of two guitars, a bass guitar and drums and achieved local fame with their appearances at the Mardi Gras Club and the Cavern Club.

An album Blue Jeans a-Swinging was released in 1964 by HMV; an contemporaneous American LP composed of 45 and EP tracks, Hippy Hippy Shake included the released-in-the-US-only instrumental, "Wasting Time".

The Swinging Blue Jeans performing in 2013

In early 1966, Terry Sylvester from The Escorts replaced Ellis, who had shared songwriting duties with Ray Ennis.[2] The band drifted into a middle of the road direction which failed to bring them any success. In 1967, the band's producer Ridley decided to try and transform Ennis into a solo star, cutting the disc "Tremblin'" with session musicians and backing vocals by Madeline Bell and Kiki Dee, but it was ultimately released under the band's name. Also in that year the band went to a five piece unit with the introduction of another member from The Escorts bass player Mike Gregory with Braid moving on to keyboards. Sylvester left at the end of 1968 to replace Graham Nash in The Hollies.[2] The band eventually retired to the cabaret circuit.[2]

Early in 1999 Alan Lovell deputised for guitarist Colin Manley due to his deteriorating health. Manley died in April 1999 and Lovell became a permanent member of the band as lead guitarist/vocalist. When Les Braid died in 2005, Peter Oakman took over on bass guitar/vocals.

At the end of The Solid Silver Sixties tour in May 2010, Ray Ennis officially retired, announcing his retirement on radio and to the general public. During and prior to the tour, Ennis offered Lovell the opportunity to continue with the band under the name "The Swinging Blue Jeans". Initially Lovell declined but subsequently registered the trademark of the name "The Swinging Blue Jeans" without Ray Ennis's knowledge. Phil Thompson (drums) was unable to continue with band due to personal reasons so in June 2010, two new musicians joined; Graham Hollingworth (drums) and Jeff Bannister (keyboards/vocals). Ennis then decided to challenge Lovell for the ownership of the trademark but a Court decision ruled that Lovell had exclusive legal rights to the name. A subsequent appeal was lodged but was also dismissed. Meanwhile, Ennis came out of retirement to make occasional appearances with another band under the name "Ray Ennis’s Blue Jeans". The Swinging Blue Jeans continue to perform today, with no original members, under the leadership of Lovell.

Band members

Discography

Singles

Albums

See also

References

  1. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 544. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bruce Eder. "The Swinging Blue Jeans | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  3. ↑ Doc Rock. "July to December". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  4. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 544. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. 1 2 "The Swinging Blue Jeans | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
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