The Swinging Blue Jeans

The Swinging Blue Jeans were not your every day MerseyBeat band, in fact the first time I saw them at I think Reeces Ballroom, they played Trad jazz and had a banjo in the band. As the MerseyBeat scene evolved they morphed into the standard three guitar/drum line up and became one of the most successful rock bands to come out of Liverpool during the 60s.

Ray Ennis and Norman Kuhlke began playing together in a variety of Skiffle bands around 1956 when they joined up with Bruce McCaskill to form the Bluegenes with Tommy Hughes. Later on Les Braid joined the band having spent some time playing with Karl Terry.

When the Cavern was a Jazz club the Blue Jeans were installed as the resident band playing their own take on “Trad Jazz”  featuring such gems as “I’m Shy Mary Ellen” and "Yes Sir That’s My Baby". At that time the band featured a double bass, a banjo, and really were some way from the Mersey Sound.

The Blue Jeans followed other MerseyBeat bands over to the Star Club and unfortunately flopped as their style was considered out of date. It was at this time that the band morphed from Jazz into Rock 'n' Roll and presto…it worked. Out went the banjo and the double bass and in came the bass guitar and two electric guitars. They returned to Hamburg with their classic line up

• Ray Ennis Vocals and Guitar
• Ralph Ellis Vocals and Guitar
• Les Braid Bass Guitar and Vocals
• Norman Kuhlke  Drums and Vocals.

This time round they were much more successful and went on to become one of the most successful of the Liverpool Bands.

Soon a recording contract followed and their first single "Its Too Late Now" was released. Not a big success, they followed up with "Do You Know", and yet still success eluded them. It was not until they recorded the Cavern favourite "The Hippy Hippy Shake" that they got the formula right and the record rocketed to No.2 in the charts in late 1963.

Their next single a version of Little Richard’s song "Good Golly Miss Molly" reached no. 11. The third single “You’re No Good” was also a huge success reaching No.3.

German Version Good Golly Miss Molly overdubbed in English!!!

Surprisingly although a bevy of singles followed, they were unable to repeat their earlier success and this despite a great version of Bacharach and David’s "Don’t Make Me Over”

In 1968 Ralph Ellis and Norman Kuhlke left the band and quit show business. They were replaced by Terry Sylvester and Kenny Goodlass from the Escorts. Later that year Terry Sylvester left the band to join the Hollies as Graham Nash’s replacement.

In 1970 they signed for Deram records and recorded under the name Music Motor. After a couple failed releases, the band went back to their old name The Swinging Blue Jeans.

The band then went through a series of personnel changes with amogst others Keith Dodd previously with Ricky Gleason & The Topspots and Billy Kinsley ex Merseybeats playing with the band.

The band played on through the seventies and eighties and released a number records and two albums. In 1975 the great Colin Manley (ex Remo 4) joined the band for a time.
Sadly Colin Manley died in 1999 and Les Braid (pictured left centre) in 2005, but Ray Ennis continues on playing still playing to packed houses, but adly we have just learned that he plans to retire from playing at the end of the current Solid Sixties Tour on May 30th 2010.

20 Things You Didn't Know About The Swinging Blue Jeans

1. Bob Wooler, the DJ at Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club excluded the Jeans from the 'Mersey Beat' poll of 1961, suggesting that "they were beyond comparison and in a class of their own"!

2. The Swinging Blue Jeans have only ever had two managers, Jim Ireland and  Hal Carter, it was Hal who originally booked them to appear at the Grafton Rooms in Liverpool for a fee of two pounds ten shillings and sixpence in 1957 ... £2.52 in decimal currency!
3. The now infamous 'punch up' between the Jeans and the Rolling Stones at the BBC studios during recording of the first show of Top of the Pops was the result of an argument over a ball point pen for signing autographs!.

4. So successful was the first appearance by the Swinging Blue Jeans on that initial Top of the Pops show, that the BBC rebooked them for a second appearance ...... 25 years later.

5. Negotiations for the Swinging Blue Jeans appearance at the Star Club in Hamburg were handled by no less a person than Paul McCartney, mainly due to him being the only person and the time who spoke a bit o' German ... rumour has it he is still waiting for his commission!.

6. The Jeans had their own 'Tuesday Guest Night' while they were resident band at the Cavern. One of the first bands they invited as their guests were The Beatles.

7. It was during one of The Beatles Tuesday night guest appearances that the Swinging Blue Jeans first heard the 'Fab Four' playing 'Hippy Hippy Shake'. Within one week the Jeans had recorded the song with producer Wally Ridley, the rest is history!.

8. Actress Sue Johnson of 'Brookside' fame, bought Chan Romero's version of 'Hippy Hippy Shake' at Brian Epstein's NEMS record store so that singer Ray Ennis could learn the correct lyric.

9. 'Hippy Hippy Shake' was a worldwide smash hit in no less than nineteen countries. It reached No. 1 in the Disc UK chart in 1964.

10. The photograph for the sleeve of the Jeans debut album 'Blue Jeans Are A Swinging' was taken by a young Nicholas Ridley, now an elected MP with the Conservative Party.

11. While 'Hippy Hippy Shake' was riding high in the charts, the Swinging Blue Jeans made a cameo guest appearance in the Christmas edition of the highly popular Liverpool based BBC television series 'Z Cars'.

12. After appearing in 'Z Cars' the Jeans were arrested on the outskirts of Nottingham. They were dressed in their trademark blue denim jeans and mistaken for escapees from the local prison!.

13. The Swinging Blue Jeans are the only band Cilla Black never sang with at The Cavern!.

14. A lucky tip off during a tour of Czechoslovakia allowed the Blue Jeans to escape the Russian invasion with just 12 hours to spare!.

15. The Swinging Blue Jeans starred in the first Christmas film ever produced in Europe ... it was also the last!.

16. The Swinging Blue Jeans were the only Liverpool band of the 60's to have their own weekly show on Radio Luxembourg.

17. The Jeans hate miming for television!.

18. At times, the Blue Jeans still have trouble about wearing jeans in clubs even though they're appearing there and wear jeans on stage!.

19. Although the Swinging Blue Jeans have only had 6 hit records in the U.K., they have notched up no less than 20 hits throughout Europe!.

20. Over the years, 'Hippy Hippy Shake' has been recorded countless times by such artists as Billy Fury, The Beatles, Little Tony, Chan Romero, Mud, and the Georgia Satellites, but to date the Swinging Blue Jeans have had the only hit version!.

The Swingin Blue Jeans have their own website which is highly recommended.
http://www.swingingbluejeans.co.uk/