The Swinging Blue Jeans
| The Swinging Blue Jeans | |
|---|---|
 The Swinging Blue Jeans 2013 in Parikkala |
|
| General information | |
| origin | Liverpool |
| Genre (s) | Beat music |
| founding | 1959 as Blue Genes |
| Website | http://www.swingingbluejeans.co.uk |
| Founding members | |
| Ray Ennis (until 2010) | |
| Ralph Ellis (until 1966) | |
| Les Braid (until 1966) | |
| Paul Moss (until 1962) | |
| Mike Gregory (1966-1968) | |
| Current occupation | |
| Alan Lovel | |
| Peter Oakman | |
| Graham Hollingworth | |
| Jeff Bannister | |
| former members | |
| Mike Pynn (1973) | |
| John Lawrence (1973) | |
| Terry Sylvester (1966-1968) | |
| Norman Kuhlke | |
The Swinging Blue Jeans are a British Merseybeat band that became famous in the 1960s with singles like Hippy Hippy Shake .
history
The Swinging Blue Jeans formed in 1959 as Blue Genes in Liverpool . The founding members were Ray Ennis, Ralph Ellis, Les Braid, Paul Moss and Norman Kuhlke. They were one of the first bands on the Merseybeat scene. Like most bands in the genre, they started out as a skiffle band but then switched to rock 'n' roll . From 1962 and after Moss left the band, they called themselves Swinging Blue Jeans. Among other things, they also played in the Star Club in Hamburg .
In 1963 they got a record deal with EMI and soon after released their first single It's Too Late Now , followed by Do You Know in September of the same year. In December they landed their biggest hit with Hippy Hippy Shake , the typical beat rhythm title reached number 2 in the British charts and number 9 in the German charts.
While the SBJ were able to place numerous single hits in the charts, the albums looked rather meager: They all flopped.
In 1966 they disappeared from the charts, whereupon Ellis and Braid left the band. Terry Sylvester and Mike Gregory came as replacements. The successes continued to fail. After Sylvester left the band in 1968 to continue with the Hollies , they changed their name to Ray Ennis & The Blue Jeans. For a short time they called themselves Music Motors.
In 1973 the band released two completely unnoticed albums with the line-up Ennis, Braid, John Lawrence and Mike Pynn.
Swinging Blue Jeans toured with Gerry & the Pacemakers and Helen Shapiro in early 1994, and toured with Searchers , Billy J. Kramer and Merseybeats at the end of the year .
In May 2010, Ennis left the band as the last founding member. Currently, Alan Lovell (vocals, guitar), Peter Oakman (vocals, bass guitar), Jeff Bannister (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and Graham Hollingworth (drums) perform under the name The Swinging Blue Jeans.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 US
|
|||
| 1964 | Hippy Hippy Shake |
US90 (9 weeks) US |
More albums
- 1964: Shakin 'Time
- 1964: Blue Jeans A-Swingin
- 1965: Live from the Cascade Club
- 1973: Hippy Hippy Shake
- 1974: Brand New and Faded
- 1987: Hippy Hippy Shake (All New Recordings)
- 1990: All the Hits Plus More (New Recordings)
- 1990: Live Shakin ' (Live at the Cardinal Folly, Scotland)
- 1992: The Best of the EMI Years (including nine unreleased titles)
EPs
- 1964: Shake with the Swinging Blue Jeans
- 1964: You're No Good Miss Molly
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1963 | It's Too Late Now Hippy Hippy Shake |
- |
UK30 (9 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: June 1963
B-side: Think of Me |
| Hippy Hippy Shake Hippy Hippy Shake |
DE9 (24 weeks) DE |
UK2 (17 weeks) UK |
US24 (8 weeks) US |
First published: December 1963
B-side: Now I Must Go |
|
| 1964 | Good Golly Miss Molly Hippy Hippy Shake |
DE35 (8 weeks) DE |
UK11 (10 weeks) UK |
US43 (7 weeks) US |
First published: March 1964
B-side: Shaking Feeling |
| You're No Good Shaking Time |
- |
UK3 (13 weeks) UK |
US97 (2 weeks) US |
First published: May 1964
B-side: Don't You Worry About Me |
|
| 1966 | Don't Make Me Over Don't Make Me Over |
- |
UK31 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: January 1966
B-side: What Can I Do Today |
More singles
- 1963: Do You Know / Angie
- 1964: Promise You'll Tell Her / It's So Right
- 1964: Tutti Frutti / Lawdy Miss Clawdy
- 1964: It Isn't There / One of These Days
- 1965: Tutti Frutti / That's over
- 1965: Make Me Know You're Mine / I've Got a Girl
- 1965: Crazy 'bout My Baby / Good Lovin'
- 1966: Sandy / I'm Gonna Have You
- 1966: Rumors Gossip Words Untrue / Now the Summer's Gone
- 1967: Tremblin '/ Something's Coming Along
- 1967: Don't Go out Into the Rain / One Woman Man
- 1973: Rainbow Morning / Cottonfields
- 1973: Hippy Hippy Shake / Don't Make Me Over
- 1974: Ring Ring / Cottonfields
- 1974: Dancing / Baby Mine
- 1974: Hippy Hippy Shake / Baby Mine
- 1975: Sunday Morning Sunshine / Ain't No Sunshine
- 1979: Dancing / (Love Machine) I Like It Mean
- 1980: Whole Lotta Trouble / You Win Again
- 1981: Old Rock 'n' Roller / Angel
- 1983: Hippy Hippy Shake / You're No Good
- 1987: Hippy Hippy Shake / Tonight's the night
- 1989: Hippy Hippy Shake / It's Too Late Now / Long Tall Sally
- 1989: Liverpool Lou / Sailing down to Rio
As Music Motors
- 1970: Happy / Where Am I Going
As Ray Ennis & the Blue Jeans
- 1968: What Have They Done to Hazel / Now That You're Gone
- 1969: Sandfly / Hey Mrs. Housewife
Web links
- Band's website
- The Swinging Blue Jeans at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Nugent, Stephen, Anne Fowler, Pete Fowler: Chart Log of American / British Top 20 Hits, 1955-1974 . In: Gillett, Charlie, Simon Frith (Eds.): Rock File 4 . Frogmore, St. Albans: Panther Books, 1976, p. 336
- ↑ Ehnert, Günter (Ed.): Hit balance sheet. German chart singles 1956-1980 . Hamburg: Taurus Press, 1990, p. 201
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE UK US