The Swingin Blue Jeans

If the retrospective brothers and sisters who put out those Nuggets or Pebbles compilations ever did a collection of British Invasion Merseybeat bands, the Swinging Blue Jeans would have to be one of the first outfits featured. Sure, they only had one American hit in 1964 with a cover of "Hippy Hippy Shake," but they played it so well. OK, maybe not as upbeat and adrenalin-charged as the Fab Four's version, but the Swinging Blue Jeans certainly stuck closer to the skiffle-influenced, singsong formula of a purist's Merseybeat. They were a Liverpool band who also had some minor success in the U.K. by dressing up Betty Everett's "You're No Good" with all the vibes that came from around the Mersey River in the early '60s. What's really interesting about them is that they proudly stuck to their roots, even after the Beatles abandoned that particular sound.