Swingers, The - 1980 - One Good Reason 7'' (NZ)
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The Swingers are one of the great "one-hit-wonder" (or in this case, two-hit wonder) bands of the early eighties. Formed in New Zealand in 1979 by Phil Judd (formerly of Split Enz), Dwayne "Bones" Hillman (currently in Midnight Oil) and Buster Stiggs, their song "One Good Reason" made the Top Twenty in NZ. Developing a sizeable Antipodean following, they hit their peak in 1981 with their number-one hit "Counting The Beat". They disbanded in 1982, after an album, several singles and some personnel changes
The Swingers
In December 1978 the Suburban Reptiles mutated into a two headed monster, for their final gig, the premiere of David Blythís "Angel Mine" movie (for which they provided the track "Rosie"). One half, a band formed around Billy Planet & Jimmy Joy performed as The Suburban Reptiles, then the other half, with Buster Stiggs, Zero, Bones Hillman and Phil Judd performed, also as The Suburban Reptiles. This second lot, by early 1979, minus Zero, had become The Swingers, and were resident at Liberty Stage in Symonds Street, where they were hugely popular, although more with the Ponsonby/Freemans Bay-villa-renovating crowd than punks. Nevertheless, they released a killer single (their best?) on Ripper, "One Good Reason", contributed 2 tunes to AK79, and did a tour with Split Enz before heading to Australia to count the beat. Of course Bones ended up in Midnight Oil, and has probably made more money than everybody else on this album combined. It couldnít have happened to a nicer guy.
Lineup: Phil Judd (guitar, vocals), Bones Hillman (bass), Buster Stiggs (drums)
Tracks: A Certain Sound (Judd/Stiggs/Stevens)
Baby (Judd/Stiggs/Stevens) both recorded at Mascot and produced by Phil Judd. Taken from AK79.
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