The Swinging Blue Jeans
 Although
they are only remembered today for their 1964 hit Hippy Hippy
Shake, The Swinging Blue Jeans were actually one of the
strongest of the Liverpool bands from the Merseybeat
period.
Formed in 1961 (initially as The Bluegenes) The Swinging Blue
Jeans followed virtually the same path to success as many of their
Merseybeat contemporaries.
Indeed, after playing the succession of local dance halls and
club engagements - including the famous Cavern
club - they took the same route to Germany and appeared at the
rapidly emerging Star Club in
Hamburg, where their unusual mix of trad jazz rhythm and rock
guitars initially got them booed - until they ditched the banjo.
Turning down Brian Epstein
as manager (!) they signed a recording contract with HMV Records
in 1962 and released their debut single, It's Too Late Now
in 1963.
The record just crept into the UK charts at Number 30, but by
the turn of 1964 the band had tasted success with their second
single, Hippy Hippy Shake - a cover of an obscure 1950s
rocker (that was actually performed much better by The
Beatles on tapes of their BBC performances).
The band enjoyed some other hits in the UK, including Good
Golly Miss Molly and a top notch Merseyisation of You're
No Good, originally by Betty Everett (and covered in the
1970s by Linda Ronstadt) which
they took into the Top Five in 1964. The band also wrote some
catchy and energetic originals in the purest Merseybeat style.
As trends changed - and despite a stab at psychedelia - The
Swinging Blue Jeans were on the nostalgia circuit by the 1970's.
While it may not add up to an enduring legacy, there's a lot
to be said for the naive energy of the best of their early tunes,
and in one guise or another, The Swinging Blue Jeans have
continued to tour and entertain for over 40 years.
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