So, I found this movie while scrolling through the program guide on my cable box. Anything that features Eric Burdon and the Animals will cause me to watch! And I must say, it was an extremely satisfying experience!! I was familiar with some of the bands, especially those who had hits in America, such as Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, the aforementioned Animals, the Nashville Teens, the Spencer Davis Group (featuring Steve Winwood), the Honeycombs, Herman's Hermits and, of course, the Beatles. Many of the other bands I've encountered during my BritPop research in the 70s and early 80s (while I was working in radio). It was a great opportunity for me to see these artists in action, and get a feel for what my friends in the UK were listening to. An earlier post listed the artists and songs in the order in which they appeared on the film. I disagree with some of the song titles that were used and I'd like to share my research!The Beatles, "She Loves You", in concert, screaming girls and all! Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, "Little Children". A number one in the UK, it was their first top 10 hit in the US (its flip side, "Bad to Me" also was a top 10). They charted four more songs in the US.Susan Maughan, "Make Him Mine". Never charted in the US, and not one of her charted hits in the UK.The Four Pennies, "Juliet". A UK #1, they never reached that pinnacle again. It never was a big hit in the US, but did garner some airplay. Here's a bit of trivia. The US girl group, the Chiffons, also were known as the Four Pennies! The Animals, "House of the Rising Sun". #1 in both the US and UK. Their first US release.The Fourmost, "A Little Loving" (sometimes listed as, "A Little Lovin'"). Reached #6 on the UK charts, never charted in the US. They did get some US airplay with "Here, There and Everywhere".The Rockin' Berries, "He's in Town". #3 in the UK, never charted in the US.The Honeycombs, "Have I the Right". Do I ever remember this tune! The deejays used to comment on the fact that the group had a female drummer (Ann "Honey" Lantree), an anomaly in the 60s. The song was #1 in the UK and #5 in the US.Sounds Incorporated, "Rinky Dink". The flip side of their UK hit, "Spanish Harlem" (#35 in the UK). A six-piece instrumental group, they backed Gene Vincent and Little Richard. They even appear on the Beatles "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album on the track, "Good Morning, Good Morning". They never made it as big as the Shadows .Peter (Asher) and Gordon (Waller), "A World Without Love". Went to number one in the UK and the US.Matt Monro, "Walk Away". Top ten in the UK (#4), top 25 in the US (#23).Herman's Hermits, "I'm Into Something Good". Their first release, it hit number done in the UK, but stalled at lucky 13 in the UiS.Tommy Quickly and the Remo Four, "Humpty Dumpty". The Remo Four originally backed Johnny Sandon, but it was Beatles manager Brian Epstein who decided to replace him with Quickly. Only one of this lineup's songs made the charts, but not this one.Billie Davis, "Whatcha Gonna Do". Didn't chart.Spencer Davis Group, "My Babe". A cut from their first LP entitled, "Their First LP". I kid you not. The album was also released as "Every Little Bit Hurts" on another label. The same album re-released as "Sittin' and Thinking'" with the order of the songs changed. It was great to see and hear Steve Winwood perform.Nashville Teens, "Tobacco Road". #14 in the US and #& in the UK. I still hear oldies stations playing it! The Rockin' Berries, "What in the World's Come Over You". #23 in the UK; Tom Jones' version was played in the US.Matt Monro, "For Mama". Not a big hit on either side of the pond - #36 on the UK charts and barely caused a ripple in the US.The Four Pennies, "Black Girl". A Leadbelly tune, hit #20 in the UK.Sounds Incorporated, "William Tell". Didn't reach the charts.The Nashville Teens, "Google Eye". A top ten hit (#10) in the UK; it received some airplay in the US.The Honeycombs, "Eyes". Never made the charts. Their song "That's the Way", was the only other Honeycombs' single to break the top 15 in the UK (#12).The Animals, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". #10 US and #3 UK. I admit to being an Eric Burdon fan. When I worked at Oldies radio in the US I looked for opportunities to play the Animals. One cut a night! Matt Monro sang a "Pop Gear" ditty. As far as I know, it was never released as a single.The Beatles ended the show with "Twist and Shout".

A compilation of British groups of 1964 who were big hits...in Britain. The film is bookended with Beatles live in concert doing "She Loves You" and "Twist and Shout". That footage is great and the constant screaming and views of the female audience are amusing.The rest of the film varies. It's shot in strong color and the songs are performed on very interesting sets...but not all the songs are good. Highlights are Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas doing "Little Children"; the Four Pennies doing "Julie"; the Animals doing "House of the Rising Sun" (look for the moment when the lead singer forgets to lip sync a word!) and Peter and Gordon doing "Please Lock Me Away". Also Sounds Incorporated jump around a lot and overact to a degree that's almost embarrassing.The rest of the acts range from OK to pretty terrible--the Nashville Boys will have you reaching for the fast forward button. Also the lip syncing and fake playing of instruments is pretty obvious. But this is interesting to watch and a valuable time capsule of the "British invasion" of the early 1960s. A must see if you're a 1960s music fan. I give it a 7.

Absolutely amazing time capsule look at the British pop music scene in 1964. There are sixteen groups (or solo singers) and several sing two of their 1964 hits, one being The Beatles who bookend the whole thing with color concert footage of "She Loves Me" and "Twist and Shout". It's the best early Beatles stuff I have ever seen and the editor does a nice job cutting between the group and the audience-mostly girls who scream and swoon-while the few boys in the audience sway to the beat and try their best to look interested. The rest of the groups are filmed in a studio-with either lip syncing or ADR supplying the audio. The guitars are unplugged but they are playing and singing-it works fine because they are mostly on beat and it is easy enough to suspend disbelief. Jimmy Savile, a British radio personality who looks like a cross between Edgar Winter and Marty Feldman; handles the introductions. Things were very different back then-imagine trying to get 15 of today's chart topping groups to cooperate with something like this. It is an interesting mix of British recording artists, most were just starting out and they would have extremely varied futures although few would last out the decade. About half the songs made it onto the American charts and some were big hits. This was the first wave of the British Invasion and those that didn't make it were quickly replaced by groups like The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and The Velvet Underground. 1. First up is Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas doing "Little Children" on a set with giant alphabet blocks. The greased back hair and the conventional suits made this guys look outdated even in 1964.2. Susan Maughan sings "Make Him Mine", she was a solo artist and arguably pop music's all-time prettiest girl.3. The Four Pennies sing "Juliet" (a B-side song that unexpectedly became their biggest hit) and then later "Black Girl" (by Leadbelly).4. The Animals do "House of the Rising Sun" and "I'm Just a Soul Whose Intentions are Good". Eric Burdon is amazing.5. The Fourmost sing "A Little Lovin"; both group and song are forgettable. 6. The Rockin' Berries do "He's In Town" and "What In the World's Come Over You". These guys are an unexpected treat with Geoff Turtone's falsetto voice very distinctive. They are a beat group whose name came from their fondness for Chuck Berry.7. The Honeycombs do "Come Right Back" (a great song and big hit) and "Eyes of Someone in Love" (illustrating the one-hit wonder phenomenon). They have a female drummer.8. Sounds Incorporated perform something I did not recognize and follow it up with an up-tempo version of "The William Tell Overture" (it would be a great song for a high school football game halftime show). A five member instrumental group, at one point they have alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones going at the same time-they could have made it big if they had thought to incorporate an oboe. They also jump up and down a lot.9. Peter and Gordon do "Please Lock Me Away". Watch Peter play a 12 string guitar complete with a back beat-he is the one of the pair who looks the most like Jane Asher (not surprising since she is his sister). 10. Matt Munro does a couple of completely dreadful songs-he looks like a cross between Perry Como and Bobby Darin and is completely out of his element in this production.11. Herman's Hermits do "Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good".12. Tom Quickly & the Remo Four perform a song about nursery rhymes that may have inspired Monty Python's "Lumberjack Song".13. Billie Davis does "Whatcha Gonna Do". Billie is a girl, she is very cute and wholesome.14. The Spencer Davis Group does "My Baby" and it is a stretch to classify it as R&B.15. The Nashville Teens try to do C&W. Except for the Stones, British groups have always struggled with country inspired tunes and the two songs here ("Tobacco Road" and "Goggle Eyes") will be quite painful listening for Americans, and the Dexy's Midnight Runner look (complete with a little boy dressed as Huck Finn) will send you scrambling for the fast forward button. This is essential viewing for those interested in pop history and should be a lot of fun for casual fans. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Among the plethora of 60's-era chestnuts AMC unearthed for its marathon music-movie weekend, "Pop Gear" actually stands out memorably. It isn't a movie, just a sort of drive-in Top 40 sort of deal, with various bands performing on a soundstage, a dance number or two, and a crooning host whose hair defies gravity. Essentially, it's like American Bandstand without the goofy kids.Despite its obscurity and potentially snooze-inducing premise (it's hard to believe that the print still exists after a few decades), this is pretty interesting stuff. It's no "Woodstock", to be sure, and all of the performances are lip-synced, but the end result is intriguing. Faced with an almost completely static environment, the cinematographer actually holds interest by framing bands very well in widescreen Techniscope, planning some subtle movements between lead singers and the camera, and also staging the occasional dance numbers very well. The director doesn't push it or seem desperate, and avoids resorting to distractingly strange angles or overlong closeups (though the included closeups are startling). The editing is top-notch, as well. Despite being a set-bound, overextended music video, it's stylishly filmed, if cheesily assembled. A few very good songs work their way in, as well ("House of the Rising Sun" being one standout).