Although they're only remembered today for their 1964 hit "Hippy Hippy Shake," which charted on both sides of the Atlantic -- the Swinging Blue Jeans were actually one of the strongest of the Liverpool bands from the '60s British Invasion; and, indeed, the Blue Jeans' earliest incarnation goes back about as far as the roots of the Beatles as the Quarry Men. "Hippy Hippy Shake" -- a cover of an obscure '50s rocker that was actually done much better by the Beatles on tapes of their BBC performances -- was their only Top 30 entry in the U.S.. But the band enjoyed some other major and minor hits in the U.K., including a top-notch Merseyization of Betty Everett's (and later Linda Ronstadt's) "You're No Good," which they took into the British Top Five in 1964.
The group's origins go back to 1957, when singer/guitarist Ray Ennis decided to form a band. The result was a skiffle sextet called "the Bluegenes" -- the latter a misspelling of "blue jeans" that remained unchanged for a couple of years. Surprisingly, Ennis had already played rock & roll, but -- in a manner the opposite of many other young musicians of the time -- he regarded skiffle as an advancement; equally surprisingly, given their later work, the Bluegenes were heavily jazz influenced, and stayed away from trying to cover songs associated with Elvis Presley and other American rock & rollers, preferring instead to try and emulate the horn and sax parts that they heard on their guitars. The skiffle group lineup also included Bruce McCaskill on guitar and vocals, Tommy Hughes on banjo, Norman Kuhlke on washboard, and Spud Ward on oil drum bass. Ralph Ellis later joined on guitar, and Ward subsequently moved over to Rory Storm's band, and eventually Les Braid took over the bassist spot. Hughes and McCaskill later left, the former for the army and the latter over personal disagreements, replaced by Johnny Carter and Paul Moss, respectively. By 1962, they were working full-time and playing the same venues in Liverpool as rival bands such as the Beatles, Gerry & the Pacemakers et al, and also performed for the first time at the Star Club in Hamburg late in the year. But amazingly, they were still playing jazz-based skiffle, and had even done some unsuccessful record company auditions working in that musical genre. They saw no reason to change until the German audiences, not as tolerant of skiffle music as Merseyside listeners at the Cavern had been, booed them off the stage. At that point, seemingly in the blink of an eye, they switched to rock & roll, trading in their acoustic instruments for their electric equivalents. And in that guise -- and a name change to the Swinging Blue Jeans, they not only won over German audiences but earned a coveted recording contract with EMI's HMV imprint, under producer Walter J. Ridley (who handled such diverse talents -- and not too well, by some accounts -- as Johnny Kidd & the Pirates and Alma Cogan). With the departure of banjo player Paul Moss soon after, they were left as a quartet comprised of Ray Ennis (rhythm guitar, vocals), Les Braid (bass, keyboards), Ralph Ellis (lead guitar), and Norman Kuhlke (drums). They made their recording debut -- still as a quintet -- with a Ray Ennis original, "It's Too Late Now," which made the British Top 30. Their second single, "Do You Know," released in the fall of 1963, failed to sell, but in December of that year they broke through to stardom in with their rendition of "Hippy Hippy Shake." They rode that record's success all the way to the number two chart spot in England, right behind the Dave Clark Five's "Glad All Over," and earned a place on the first-ever broadcast of Top of the Pops in the bargain.
Their follow-up single, "Good Golly Miss Molly," released in March of that year, charted in England at number 11. And "You're No Good" followed two months later, and soared to number three in the U.K.. That string of successes led to a good debut album called Blue Jeans A' Swinging, issued in July of 1964. They were only to enjoy one more charting single, a rendition of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David-authored "Don't Make Me Over," which only reached number 31 in 1965. Ralph Ellis -- who, with Ray Ennis was one of the two songwriters in the group -- left early in the following year, and was succeeded by Terry Sylvester, who had previously played with the Escorts. The band carried on for a couple of more years, but, like most early-'60s Liverpool outfits, the Blue Jeans' career rapidly lost momentum as the '60s progressed. As with most other Liverpool bands of the period, they were masters of that particular brand of rhythm-heavy rock & roll known as Merseybeat, but like most of their compatriots -- and the Beatles were the notable exception -- they were unable or unwilling to let their music evolve into new forms and directions.
By 1965 their string of hits was over, though their chart success in America (and elsewhere) with "Hippy Hippy Shake" did give them a higher international profile than all but a handful of Merseybeat bands. Ennis and Ellis had written some catchy and energetic, if slightly sappy, originals in the purest Merseybeat style. And while it doesn't 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 they did hang on quite effectively until 1968, remaking themselves as more of a harmony group in the process. Terry Sylvester left that year to join the Hollies, succeeding Graham Nash in the latter group, but the Swinging Blue Jeans soldiered on, right into the early 1970s. Ennis and Braid stayed on in the core of the band, amid myriad personnel changes, and kept them going for years after that. The group essentially became an oldies act, their playing and recordings mostly consisting of remakes of their '60s hits. Braid passed away in 2005, but a version of the band featuring Ennis was still playing in the 21st century.
The Swinging Blue Jeans Complete - Part1
LP 1964 Blue Jeans A Swinging
1 - Ol' Man Mose
2 - Save The Last Dance For Me
3 - That's The Way It Goes
4 - Around And Around
5 - It's All Over Now
6 - Long Tall Sally
7 - Lawdy Miss Clawdy
8 - Some Sweet Day
9 - It's So Right
10 - Don't It Make You Feel Good
11 - All I Want Is You
12 - Tutti Frutti
LP 1965 Hippy Hippy Shake US
13 - Wasting Time
LP 1965 Shakin' Time
14 - Hippy Hippy Shake
15 - Now I Must Go
16 - Shaking Feeling
17 - You're No Good
18 - Good Golly Miss Molly
19 - Don't You Worry About Me
20 - Shake, Rattle And Roll
21 - Too Late Now
22 - Think Of Me
23 - Shakin' All Over
24 - Do You Know
25 - Angie
The Swinging Blue Jeans Complete - Part2
LP 1965 Live aus dem Cascade Beat Club in Kцln
1 - Kansas City
2 - Johnny Be Good
3 - Tutti Frutti
4 - Eight Days A Week
5 - Chug A Lug
6 - I've Got A Girl
7 - King Of The Road
8 - Long Tall Sally
9 - Good Golly Miss Molly
10 - In The Mood
11 - Das ist prima
LP 1966 Don't Make Me Over
12 - I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry
13 - Gotta Draw The Line
14 - I'm Gonna Have You
15 - I Don't Belive It
16 - Nobody But Me
17 - You Don't Love Me
18 - I Want Love
19 - Jump Back
20 - Chug A Lug
21 - This Boy
22 - Do You Believe In Magic
23 - Don't Make Me Over
The Swinging Blue Jeans Complete - Part3
Lp 1976 Hippy Hippy Shake Bellaphon
1 - 1976 Hippy Hippy Shake
2 - Hippy Hippy Shake
3 - Bad Moon Rising
4 - If I Were A Carpenter
5 - Good Golly Miss Molly
6 - Radancer
7 - Blowin' In The Wind
8 - Long Tall Sally
9 - Cottonfields
10 - Lawdy Miss Clawdy
11 - Bony Maronie
12 - You're No Good
13 - Summertime Blues
LP 1974 Brand New And Faded Telefunken / Dart
14 - Boomerang
15 - Rainbow Morning
16 - Sweet Louise
17 - Baby Mine
18 - Ring Ring
19 - Dancin'
20 - Hippy Hippy Shake
21 - Long Tall Sally
22 - Good Golly Miss Molly
23 - Cottonfields
24 - Don't Make Me Over
25 - You're No Good
26 - Hippy Hippy Shake
Sg Hansa International
27 - Dancing
28 - (Love machine) I Like It Mean
The Swinging Blue Jeans Complete - Part4
LP 1987 Hippy Hippy Shake RCA / Karussell
1 - Hippy Hippy Shake
2 - Good Golly Miss Molly
3 - Bonie Maroni
4 - Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
5 - You Win Again
6 - I'm An Old Rock'n Roller
7 - Still The One
8 - Tonight's The Night
9 - Higher Than A Kite
10 - Banging My Head
11 - Angel
12 - I Like It Mean
13 - Party
14 - Whole Lotta Trouble
The Swinging Blue Jeans Complete - Part5
Sg's
01 01 a It's too late now
02 01 b Think of me
03 02 a Do You Know
04 02 b Angie
05 03 a Hippy Hippy Shake
06 03 b Now I Must Go
07 04 a Good Golly Miss Molly
08 04 b Shakin' Feelin'
09 05 a Good Golly Miss Molly (german Vocals)
10 05 b Das ist prima
11 06 a You're No Good
12 06 b Don't You Worry About Me
13 07 a Promise You'll Tell Her
14 07 b It's So Right
15 08 a It Isn't There
16 08 b One Of These Days
17 09 a Tutti Frutti (german vocals)
18 09 b Das ist vorbei
19 10 a Make Me Know You're Mine
20 10 b I've Got A Girl
21 11 a Crazy 'Bout My Baby
22 11 b Good Lovin'
23 12 a Don't Make Me Over
24 12 b What Can I Do Today
25 13 a Sandy
LP 4 13 b I'm Gonna Have You
26 14 a Rumours, Gossip, Words Untrue
27 14 b Now the summer's gone
28 15 a Tremblin
29 15 b Something's Coming Along
30 16 a Don't Go Out Into The Rain
31 16 b One Woman Man
32 17 a What Have They Done To Hazel
33 17 b Now That You've Got Me (You Don't Seem To Want Me)
34 18 a Sandfly
35 18 b Hey Mrs Housewife
The Swinging Blue Jeans Complete - Part6
rarities
stereo + diffr. mix + unreleased (#)
1 - Ol' Man Mose #
2 - It's too late now #
3 - Three Little Fishes #
4 - Hippy Hippy Shake
5 - Dizzy Miss Lizzy #
6 - Shakin' Feelin' diff. mix
7 - Good Golly Miss Molly (German Vocals)
8 - Das ist prima
9 - You're No Good diff. mix
10 - Shakin' All Over diff mix
11 - Promise You'll Tell Her
12 - It Isn't There
13 - One Of These Days
14 - Tutti Frutti (german vocals)
15 - Das ist vorbei
16 - You've Got Love #
17 - You've Got Love #
18 - Dizzy Chimes #
19 - Make Me Know You're Mine
20 - I've Got A Girl
21 - Get Rid Of Her #
22 - I'ts True #
23 - Lovey Dovey #
24 - Reddy Teddy #
25 - Don't Make Me Over diffr. mix
26 - What Can I Do Today
27 - Now That You've Got Me (You Don't Seem Th Want Me) vers1
28 - It's In Her Kiss #
29 - You'd Better Stop #
30 - Our Day Will Come #
31 - You're Welcome To My Heart vers1
32 - I Wanna Be There #
33 - Anyway #
34 - You're Welcome To My Heart vers2
35 - I Made A Mistake #
36 - Master John (The Preacher Son) #
37 - (Sydney) Gotta Draw The Line #
38 - It's Alright #
39 - Painting The Day #
40 - Big City #
41 - Summer Comes Sunday #
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