julian_craster

'Pop Gear' on R2 DVD
Amazon.co.uk: Pop Gear: DVD


This combines two HAROLD BAIM colour shorts, released 1963

Studio: Optimum Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: 4 Jun 2007
Run Time: 68 minutes


DVD Description
Track listing: Pre-credits: She Loves You – The Beatles
Little Children - Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas Make Him Mine - Susan Maughan Juliet - The Four Pennies The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals A Little Loving - The Fourmost He's in Town - The Rockin’ Berries Have I the Right - The Honeycombs Rinky Dink - Sounds Incorporated World Without Love - Peter and Gordon Walk away - Matt Monroe I'm Into Something Good - Herman’s Hermits Tommy Quickly and the Reno Four - Humpty Dumpty Watcha Gonna Do - Billie Davis My Babe - The Spencer Davis Group Tabacco Road - The Nashville Teens What In The World's Come Over You - The Rockin’ Berries For Mama - Matt Monroe Black Girl - The Four Pennies William Tell - Sounds Incorporated Google Eyes - The Nashville Teens Eyes - The Honeycombs
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - The Animals Pop Gear - Matt Monro
Closing credits TWIST AND SHOUT – The Beatles

-------------------------------------------------------

This lively 1965 tribute to British rock features groups and soloists that had varying degrees of staying power in the music industry.
Released under the title, "Go-Go Mania" in the U.S.,it begins with footage of the concert the Beatles gave reportedly two days before the Kennedy Assassination shook the world. They're the only group in the film who are not lip synching to their own recordings, but theirs is the sound that would provide comfort for youth in the wake of tragedy.
Disc jockey, Jimmy Savile, with his trademark cigar, Black Watch plaid jacket, rapidfire banter, and blond wig that spoofs the trend in longer hairdos for men, introduces the acts during the first half of the film.
These include Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas with their gentle, strident ballad, "Little Children", a raven-haired Susan Maughn ( pretty, but looking old enough to be a Mum to a teenager) with her bold, dynamic sounding "Make Him Mine", the Four Pennies with their sweet, genteel ballad, "Juliet", and later their more intense "Black Girl", the Animals with their surprise hit that is now a classic, "House of the Rising Sun", and later, " A Soul Whose Intentions Are Good",The Fourmost with "A Little Lovin'"--and had I not seen them perform, I would have sworn I was hearing the Beatles-so similar is their sound--the Rockin' Berries with "He's In Town", and "What in the World's Come Over You?", The Honeycombs, featuring Rock's first female drummer, Ann Margot ("Honey") Lantree with their lovely, bouncy international hit, "Have I The Right to Hold You?" and their haunting "Eyes" to which the late Dennis D'Ell gave alternately sweet, sunny, and dramatic vocals.
The strictly instrumental Sounds Incorporated play, "Rinky Dink" featuring traces of the carol, "Sleigh Ride", and they later twist and jump about to a modernized version of "The William Tell Overture", having obvious fun in the process.
Peter and Gordon present us with their light-sounding yet wistfully themed fare, "A World Without Love".
Savile then presents us with a more established presence on the British and international music scene, Matt Monro. American reviewers of this film on other sites have noted a certain incongruity in featuring him, but British music fans of the time would have been familiar with his early 1960s televison show. The charismatic elder statesman of the group, whose baritone thrilled audiences with the title song of the James Bond flick "From Russia With Love" the previous year, now enchants us with an originally Austrian tune re-titled "Walk Away". I've been curious as to whether or not the female in that segment's "disappearing girl act" was his wife, Mickey. But Matt is later on his own as he lends dramatic solemnity to an originally French tune called "For Mama". In his early thirties at the time, he looked and sounded 20 years older, but when given a phrase like "Ave Maria" to sing, one feels no surprise he did it so beautifully.
Led by a cheerful and toothy Peter Noone, Herman's Hermit's stumble on to "Somethin' Good", Tommy Quickly and the Remo Four sing an odd selection about "Humpty Dumpty" and other nursery-rhyme characters that can always be played to amuse little ones. Billie Davis lends her own infantile sounding voice to "Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Baby Leaves You?", and the Spencer Davis Group sing "My Babe" in matching yellow turtlenecks. The Nashville Teens grant us a hard-rocking but alternately soulful "Tobacco Road" and later the buoyant "Google Eyes", whose chorus one could find oneself singing for days afterwards, if not careful.
There are two intermittent dance numbers with rather stereotypically '60s choreography that are cheesey, but amusing.
The sets for each performance are simple, but often innovative in representing the themes of their performances.--The romantic garden with a fountain for "Juliet", blocks and balloons for "Little Children", the lighting and cafe scene for "Walk Away", the reverent painted stainglass window-like panels and candles in "For Mama",the bales of hay and representational shack in "Tobacco Road", the wired scupltures of figures with arrow-pierced apples on their heads for "The William Tell Overture", the "watermill" in "A Little Lovin'", etc.--along with the cinematography and style typical of its era.
Matt Monro returns for a third time to lend his magnetism to the closing theme song. It is then that we see the mannerisms of a musical programme host, not unlike singer Nat King Cole(whom he would replace on the Capitol records label within a year of this film's release). Sounding a lot like Sinatra, to whom he was often compared, and also a bit like Steve Lawrence, but with British enuciation that's all his own, his baritone glides effortlessly over the bouncy rock beat that pays tribute to the success of the Mersey Sound in 1964. He is the Establishment bidding welcome to a new musical era, and doing so with relish! It has struck me that this was why his voice was used in over 40 commercials on both sides of the Atlantic.
The concert footage of the Beatles winding up "Twist and Shout" ushers us out of this 70-minute feature.It reminds me of the type of programs I enjoyed as a kid back in the '70s. So I feel right at home with it.
I'm glad this movie has been featured on American cable TV recently. While it is amusingly dated, it can provide a new generation with an education in a unique chapter of the modern musical era, and it's a lot of fun to watch!

julian_craster

Pop Gear (Colour, 1964)
R2 DVD
Release Date: 4 Jun 2007
Run Time: 68 minutes

Featuring a selection of pop hits from 1964 compiled from the Harold Baim
musical shorts SWINGING UK and UK SWINGS AGAIN
(plus Beatles footage from Pathe)

The Pop acts featured in the film are......:
Pre-credits: She Loves You - The Beatles

Little Children - Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas
Make Him Mine - Susan Maughan
Juliet - The Four Pennies
The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
A Little Loving - The Fourmost
He's in Town - The Rockin' Berries
Have I the Right ? - The Honeycombs
Rinky Dink - Sounds Incorporated
World Without Love - Peter and Gordon
Walk away - Matt Monro
I'm Into Something Good - Herman's Hermits
Humpty Dumpty - Tommy Quickly and the Reno Four
Watcha Gonna Do - Billie Davis
My Babe - The Spencer Davis Group
Tabacco Road - The Nashville Teens
What In The World's Come Over You - The Rockin' Berries
For Mama - Matt Monro
Black Girl - The Four Pennies
William Tell - Sounds Incorporated
Google Eyes - The Nashville Teens
Eyes - The Honeycombs
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - The Animals
Pop Gear - Matt Monro

Closing credits Twist and Shout - The Beatles

julian_craster

<<Featuring a selection of pop hits from 1964 compiled from the Harold Baim
musical shorts SWINGING UK and UK SWINGS AGAIN >>


This is incorrect - POP GEAR is a separate film....with different acts...

Julian

NappieB

Julian - Superb reviews!!

I saw the movie: (1) when it was first released 1964; (2) as Go-Go Mania in the USA; (3) as the original on USA TV (finally!!!) in 2006.

They don't make 'em like that any more!!

For collectors - try to obtain only the UK version of "Pop Gear".. this is the only version without a few annoying cuts/edits.

John Hawken (Nashville Teens) proves that he is one of the finest keyboard men of the 60s.

The Rockin' Berries are brilliant! What happened to them?

NappieB

I don't think Jimmy Savile wore a wig... I remember him like that in 1964.

And note that ALL the music came from Feb to July 1964. Not later or earlier.

Was this the first ever example of a "Music Video"? That honour is often attributed to the Dave Clark Five short "Catch Us if you Can" from 1965... but Pop Gear pre-dates that feature.

julian_craster

<<"Catch Us if you Can" from 1965>>


This was a full length feature of over 90 mins......

Th first 'pop video' type film was probably MUSIC HATH CHARMS from 1934, promoting Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra,,,,

NappieB

Thanks for that info. Julian. I should clarify that the "Catch Us if You Can" that I was referring to was actually a music video (?) of about 3 minutes duration showing the band members of the Dave Clark Five complete with pretty girls whizzing around in E-Type Jaguars with the song of that title in the background circa 1965.

I mentioned it because on another forum here in the USA I read that that was the first music video. I couldn't think of anything that pre-dated it so I didn't argue with the poster... but upon reading this POP GEAR thread, it occurred to me that POP GEAR was certainly earlier and could be regarded as a collection of true music videos.

And now you've come up with probably the correct answer that pre-dates them all!