MovieChat Forums > Pop Gear Discussion > I am obsessed with this film

I am obsessed with this film

posted 17 years ago by amolad-1
10 replies | jump to latest

After catching it (and then DVRing it) on cable, I am watching this thing
over and over again. The problem with this, for American audiences, is that
most of the groups featured just did not make it here.

We know: The Beatles, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, The Spencer Davis Group
We vaguely know: Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, The Nashville Teens, Peter and Gordon, The Honeycombs
We don't know: The Four Pennies, The Fourmost, The Rockin' Berries, Tommy Quickly, Susan Maughan, Sounds Incorporated, Billie Davis

Matt Monro? What's he doing there? Sure, he sang the theme to "From Russia With Love" but he was more for your parents.

And who is Jimmy Savile?

But even with that, there are certain things here that belong in a time capsule.

--The two dancing interludes
--the bad sets, as someone mentioned
--Jimmy Savile's hair

There are more but if I was to pick the most effective song here,
it would have to be the second number by The Rockin' Berries, who
never made the crossover to the US charts.
It's a shame, because their cover of The Dovells "What In The World's Come
Over You" was a minor hit in the UK and should have been one in the US, too.

Lead singer Geoff Turton had a great falsetto and a gorgeous tenor voice.
Their first song in "Pop Gear," called "He's In Town," is a slow ballad
written by Goffin/King and was a hit. But the second tune is a much better
vehicle for Turton's voice. And it just so happens that with all the cheesy
direction during the lip synched work here, the direction and editing during
"What In The World" just happens to really support the material.

If you want to find out more about The Rockin' Berries there's a Wikipedia
entry and nice piece on Amazon by PD Harris.

If you watch this closely, it's a better little music film than you would expect.

[–] lshack623 17 years ago

I love it too. I was smiling all through the film. You're right I've never heard some of the artists, but I really enjoyed watching them.
I had to stop the DVR right when Peter & Gordon where on & show my kids. My daughter said "Austin Powers!" Anyway more than that the music was great, the fashions & hairstyles were much like today. And thinking how some of these songs have held up through all these years is amazing. Eric Burton was & is so cool.
And you're right who IS Jimmy Savile? Some of his commentary was way off especially when he said it was a surprise that "House of The Rising Sun" was a hit & yet that song more than most in the film had held on & is still being played on the radio.
Well, my kids ended up watching the entire film & enjoyed it too & when the daning girls came on it was almost exactly the same scene as Austin Powers. Well, anything that will get the kids to enjoy good oldies & understand that not much is really new today. Love this film :)

Walter Sobchak: Smokey, this is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.

[–] amolad-1 17 years ago

That's very funny that your daughter "recognized" Austin Powers in Peter Asher
because, as someone told me in another thread here, Myers DID pattern Powers'
look after him.
IF you want to know more about Jimmy Saville or (most) other bands in
"Pop Gear" I would recommend Wikipedia.

[–] mlaughlin22 17 years ago

Me and my Brother would watch this on the late show when We were Kids.
I never knew the name of film till this year.

I always wondered about this movie that had the Animals in it for years.
I watch everytime its on better than some of the movies coming out now.

Jimmy Saville is great.
Used to laugh at Matt Munro cause he was slow singer while everybody else
rocked .

Used to watch those old Dance shows that came on in the 60s in the
afternoons . Those girls dancing in miniskirts was awesome for a 6th grader.

[–] greggpark 16 years ago

We're living in a parallel universe. I don't know why but I'm compelled to watch it over and over again. I had to get on IMDB to get the story on it. I'm going to play it really loud when my daughter wakes up. I think she'll dig it.

[–] gowland85 16 years ago

We know: The Beatles, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, The Spencer Davis Group
We vaguely know: Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, The Nashville Teens, Peter and Gordon, The Honeycombs
We don't know: The Four Pennies, The Fourmost, The Rockin' Berries, Tommy Quickly, Susan Maughan, Sounds Incorporated, Billie Davis

Actually, the same goes over here in the UK these days.

And who is Jimmy Savile?

He's now Sir Jimmy: a much-loved and much-impersonated eccentric.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Savile

Go up to anyone here and say "Now, then, now, then, guys and gals, as it 'appens..." and they'll know who you're talking about.

[–] amolad-1 15 years ago

It's been awhile since I first posted on this and I'm waiting for cable to air it again, as my DVR fried and had to be replaced. (Thank you, Comcast!)
But...I found a great DVD version available at thevideobeat.com.
It contains some extras on the culture at the time. Pretty good.

Did some research on Jimmy Savile.
Still think he can't be serious with that hair.
But he does a great job as host here, or shall I put it in the King's English and call him the "presenter."

It's funny to see that some of these groups are still around, playing as oldie acts. Even one of the guys from The Nashville Teens is still going. Even my favorite, Geoff Turton of The Rockin Berries, is back touring with them.

Did some research on Tommy Quickly, apparently a pretty randy guy.
Sounds Inc. with The Beatles, got that.

And I gotta say that "Black Girl," the Leadbelly song, was covered by a lot of people -- even Nirvana on "Unplugged" -- but I think The Four Pennies version is definitive. RIP Fritz Fryer.

My age? When this film came out I was four.

[–] porfle 14 years ago

I got my mom to drop me off at the theater when this came out because THE BEATLES!!! were in it. For a few minutes, that is. I and the rest of the kids in the audience were quite disappointed to find out that the rest of the movie was filled with other acts, most of whom I'd never heard of. I probably found it mildly entertaining in spots (can't really remember much about it now) but the lack of Beatles was a real letdown at the time.

hkfilmnews.blogspot.com
myspace.com/porfle
andersonvision.com

[–] xdayton 10 years ago

"He's now Sir Jimmy: a much-loved and much-impersonated eccentric."

How things can change in just a few short years...

But wow, these clips are great (I'm watching on TCM now). Eric Burdon!!!

BTW, an earlier poster asked about Sounds Incorporated. That was an R&B group that occasionally played on the same bill as The Beatles. I think they backed up Little Richard during his famous performances with The Beatles. John loved Sounds Inc.

[–] dgates64 16 years ago

I find myself checking it out more and more when I'm scanning for movies. I initially thought it was a bit of a joke, but it certainly grows on you.

I still think the guy singing "Humpty Dumpty" behaves like a psycho. Scary stuff.

And despite being odd (hair AND behavior), Saville also grows on you.

This movie came out when I was born, so it's interesting to see what was going on then.

[–] efffee 16 years ago

Hi, Id like to say that i was around when this film first opened, It was then titled " Go Go Mania" as the dancers would suggest.Just to fill in a few ends;Sounds Incorporated opened for The Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965, as they didn't seem to be much competition. The Rockin' Berries covered "He's In Town" donely slightly earlier in The US by The Tokens, without success.Billy J Kramer was up there in popularity that first year with Peter and Gordon and Herman's Hermits . I must say that The Spencer Davis group were almost unknown during the initial British Invasion, but I think that their performance of "My Babe" as well as Billy Davis doing "Watcha Gonna Do" were pleasant surprises. Thanks for reading this.