New Wave for the New Week #12

Last week we featured Split Enz; this week we feature the band that resulted from Phil Judd splitting away from Split Enz.

The Swingers were formed in 1979, two years after Judd left the Enz. Their initial release was the single "One Good Reason (Gimme Love)," which reached Top 20 status in the band's native New Zealand. Within a year they had relocated to Australia where folllow-up single "Counting the Beat" quickly topped the charts. A third single, "It Ain't What You Dance, It's the Way That You Dance It," and a full album soon followed.

The band was given a showcase in the 1982 Australian comedy Starstruck, for which they rerecorded "One Good Reason (Gimme Love)" with much more production and polish, and the Counting the Beat album appeared in America. Internal tensions within the band were too great, however, and the story of the Swingers ended there. Really a shame because the album is excellent.

"One Good Reason" remains their best-remembered song. For this week's New Wave for the New Week, I give you both versions: the original, rawer 1979 single and the later, more polished version from Starstruck. Compare and decide: