Go Go Mania

I just caught this this morning. Pop Gear is a British film recapping some pop hits of 1964 with staged performances by bands such as The Spencer Davis Group, Peter and Gordon, The Animals, and many others. Concert footage of the Beatles (singing She Loves You and Twist and Shout) opens and closes the film. The producer assumes familiarity, an intimacy between performers and audience, to the extent that the Master of Ceremonies (whose hair resembles a worn-out blond mop) never bothers to introduce himself, nor does he bother to introduce many of the pop groups by name. This is irksome for a lay cultural historian like myself, but that's the way it was, baby. There's a lot of good music and the songs are generally rather brief - 2 minutes on average. A cinematic, widescreen variety show, with more hits than misses. Recommended for fans of 60s radio pop.

What a great relief it was to see this rare "rocumentary" again this year....I first saw it on cable TV during the July 4th holiday in the US. Since then, I had been searching the WWW for more information for this rare film, with not much success, except from the exhaustive database by IMDB. (Luckily, it came back onto cable TV on October 14.)

I really like this film because of the music and the fashion during the 1960's. True, the Beatles, the Animals, Peter & Gordon, and Herman's Hermits were very popular during the 1960's here in the US and many of their songs have become a permanent part of our musical memories.

However, it was wonderful to see and hear some of the less popular British bands of the 1960's, such as Sounds Incorporated and the Honeycombs as well as the Rocking Berries and the Four Pennies. Each of them had their own "60's" flavor. (But, not all of those featured were bands as there were a few British solo singers on Pop Gear. They were a treat to listen to also.)

Personally, I liked the female drummer of the Honeycombs, whose name was Honey, as I found out on the WWW. I also liked the first dance routine with the female dancers and their colorful tops and gold hiphuggers. The second dance routine was interesting with the men wearing coats and ties and the women wearing short dresses.

(Today, you can't see many dancers wearing that kind of garb. But, there were a few all male bands on Pop Gear who didn't coats and ties.) The music during those dance routines is very symbolic of how unique the 1960's really was. (I can't find much of that "uniqueness" during the year 2000.)

Overall, I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who is interested in British pop, the 1960's, or is in a band. Kudos to this rare unique "rocumentary" even if the bands were staged, except for the live footage of the Beatles at the beginning and the end of Pop Gear.

Unfairly trashed by all mainstream media at the time of its release in early 1965 when I first saw this movie. This was the first time that I saw concert footage of the Beatles:- in color! The Beatles open and close this movie playing LIVE in front of screaming fans at the height of Beatlemania. The energy blew me away. I was 14 at the time. All the other groups mouth along to their records which was a bit disappointing I thought back then. Fans of this particular genre of pop music, particularly mid 60s British, are going to love this treasure trove. As well as some of the better known bands like the Animals and Herman's Hermit's this film also contains performances by the superb Rockin Berries and Four Pennies; two bands huge in England but never had a big hit in North America. All performances are lovingly filmed although spartan in appearance. No annoying split second cuts that have so long been the standard in music videos these days. I cannot believe this style is still in vogue to this day. There are no doubt thousands of fans such as myself who deeply enjoy music of this era and a movie such as this is a rare and valid document.

This is a fun film showcasing a number of hits from 1964, many of the performances stages specifically for the film. I had not seen it in years, but it has re-emerged on AMC, so if that year's music holds any interest to you, watch and have a ball.

I just saw this TV on some obscure cable channel. What a great period piece. A mix of well-known groups and the obscure, at least in the States. It was most interesting to me to see how some of the greats just sort of leaped off the screen, even though it was all lip-synched. Stevie Winwood in the Spencer Davis Group, as one. The Animals another. In fact, I thought the Animals out and out killed. I thought Herman's Hermits were good.

Lot of comment on the Beatles here. Nice to have some live Beatles clips for sure, but I did not think they were that remarkable.

The group with the red-haired singer asked about by another comment is the Rocking Berries. A real gem of a group that I had not heard of. Billie Davis was great, too. A real cutie, exuding personality.

Also, a good illustration of how there is really bad music in any era, too.

Dress and hair styles were great, too. Within a couple of years it would all be different.

Well worth watching.