UK Swings Again (1964) User Reviews

Compact, fast paced and tuneful time capsule of the swinging sixties.

[jamesraeburn2003 · 10/10 · 12 July 2023]

The follow up to Swinging UK; another mock concert featurette of mid-60's British beat era stars hosted again by Brian Matthew, Alan Freeman and Kent Walton.

Another enjoyable musical excursion down memory lane and invaluable to anyone who loves this iconic era of pop music. The Animals perform their debut single, 'Baby Let Me Take You Home', a folk blues number by Eric Von Schmidt that Bob Dylan included on his classic debut album. The boys from Newcastle would take another song from it right to No 1, 'The House Of The Rising Sun', soon after. Brian Poole and The Tremeloes reached the Top 3 with 'Someone Someone'; a cover version of a Crickets b-side while The Swinging Blue Jeans plug 'Don't Worry About Me' and their fine reading of Betty Everett and Jerry Butler's 'You're No Good' that deservedly restored them to the Top 10 in '64. The Hollies' first rate musicianship and close vocal harmony style is represented on their recent hit 'Here I Go Again' with the addition of 'Baby That's All'. Lulu, accompanied by her backing group The Luvvers, is on top form with her chart topper 'Shout'. The Applejacks do their one and only top ten hit, 'Tell Me When', and its follow up, the Lennon and McCartney composed 'Like Dreamers Do', which also scraped into the Top 20 back in the day and, finally, The Tornados, whose hit making days with the instrumental classic 'Telstar' had long gone by this stage, put in an appearance with 'Blue Blue Blue Beat'.

All of the acts featured here were all at the height of their fame when appearing in this and they seem vibrant, energetic and excited at the prospect of performing their hits on film. The film is snappily directed by Frank Gilpin and lensed in suitably garish Eastmancolor by Harry Orchard. All in all, it adds up to a compact, fast paced and tuneful package that you can't afford to miss.

Ready steady rock

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 20 April 2015]

UK Swings Again is the follow up to Harold Baim's Swinging UK. A kind of Top of the Pops filmed for cinema release and shot in colour.

The pop acts were introduced by Kent (Voice of Wrestling) Walton, Brian Matthew and Alan 'Fluff' Freeman.

Acts appearing were The Hollies, The Applejacks, The Tremeloes, The Animals, The Swinging Blue Jeans and Lulu. Some of the acts are better known the others. There is the legendary Clem Cattini, drummer of the Tremeloes, The Hollies had a number 1 hit in the late 1980s and Lulu is still going strong. The Applejacks were unknown to me but they had a bass player who was female rather unusual in a world of all male groups. All the bass players held their guitars in the same way. We still had to wait a decade or more for Paul Simonon to break the mould!

The program has been shown again on Sky Arts and the film has been spruced up making it look nice and polished. The pop acts performing also look a little bit too polished at the point of being overproduced. You can tell some of the acts were filmed several times in various angles, you have none of the rough and ready look of Top of the Pops.

The biggest problem was in a world of Beatles domination the hip kids had to put up with the cheesy links from the presenters, one of whom was in his late 40s. They were all old enough to be Lulu's dad!