Swingers

Phil Judd was a founding member and major creative force behind the early incarnation of Split Enz. Judd left the band in February of 1977, rejoining a year later, only to leave shortly after, finding himself unable to fit into the new direction of the band. In June of 1978, he joined the New Zealand punk band Suburban Reptiles as a part-time member. When the band broke up a couple of months later, he had a short stint with the legendary Enemy (who later became Toy Love). Obviously inspired by the punk movement, Judd left behind all of the art excesses he had become know for in Split Enz and formed Swingers in late 1978, a no-frills, no-image, straightforward power trio, with Dwayne "Bones" Hillman (bass) and Buster Stiggs (drums) -- both formerly of Suburban Reptiles. After five months of constant rehearsals without gigs, the band made their live debut with an opening spot for Split Enz. Afterward, they switched to smaller venues as headliners, where they built a strong following throughout 1979. In April of 1980, they recorded a single for Ripper Records, "One Good Reason" -- the single eventually broke the New Zealand Top 40. The band set off for Australia on an opening slot for the Sports. While in Australia, they teamed up with David Tickle (who had just finished working with Split Enz) to re-record "One Good Reason" as well as the infectious "Counting the Beat." Judd and Stiggs had a falling out when Judd decided to take a stronger leadership of the band (previously the band was a democracy with all songwriting credited to Swingers). Stiggs left to join the Models in December of 1980 and was replaced by Ian "Killjoy" Gillroy. The new recording of "Counting the Beat" was an instant smash in Australia, hitting number one in February of 1981. The follow-up, "It...