The Swingers

The Swingers
OriginAuckland, New Zealand
GenresRock, new wave
Years active1979–1982
LabelsRipper, Mushroom
Past membersPhil Judd
Wayne Stevens
Mark Hough
Ian Gilroy
Andrew Snoid

The Swingers were a New Zealand rock band who were together from 1979 to 1982 and whose biggest single was the song "Counting the Beat".

Background

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Formed out of the remnants of the Suburban Reptiles, the founding members were Phil Judd (guitar, vocals), Wayne Stevens (a.k.a. Bones Hillman) (bass), and Mark Hough (a.k.a. Buster Stiggs) (drums). Formed in 1979, the band released the single "One Good Reason", which was a top 20 hit in New Zealand. They also appeared on the Ripper Records sampler AK79 and established a large live following after a residency at Auckland's Liberty Stage club.

In 1980 the band moved to Australia and signed to Mushroom Records for that country, although their New Zealand releases remained on Ripper.[1]

Success

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After some band dissension, Ian Gilroy of the Crocodiles replaced Hough on drums. The band released the single "Counting the Beat", which became a No. 1 hit in Australia and New Zealand. A second single released in 1981, "It Ain't What You Dance, It's the Way That You Dance It" (which had the outro repeat line "oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah"), was also a Top 5 hit in New Zealand but only a minor hit in Australia (reaching #43). An album, Practical Jokers, produced by David Tickle, was released. The band also performed songs in the film Starstruck.

Breakup

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The band underwent a couple more line-up changes, including the addition of Pop Mechanix and Coconut Rough vocalist Andrew Snoid, before it split up in March 1982. Phil Judd went on to pursue a solo career.

Discography

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Albums

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Title Details Peak chart positions
NZ
[2]
AUS
[3]
Practical Jokers[4]
  • Released: September 1981
  • Label: Ripper, Mushroom
  • Formats: CD, LP
2 70

Singles

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Title Year Peak chart positions Album
NZ AUS
"One Good Reason" 1979 19 non-album single
"Counting the Beat" 1981 1 1 Practical Jokers
"It Ain't What You Dance, It's The Way That You Dance It" 4 43
"One Track Mind" 27
"Punch and Judy" 1982 non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

References

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  1. ^ "The Swingers Discography". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  2. ^ Hung, Steffen. "charts.nz – The Swingers – Practical Jokers". charts.nz. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  3. ^ Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W. (1993). ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ^ In the United States, where it was issued with a modified track listing in 1982, the album was titled Counting the Beat.
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