Biography
Phil Judd helped establish Split Enz as one of its original members and primary creative drivers. He exited the group in February 1977, returned twelve months afterward, then departed again soon afterward because he could no longer align with the ensemble’s evolving sound. In June 1978 he signed on as a part-time participant in New Zealand’s Suburban Reptiles. Once that punk outfit dissolved a few months later, Judd spent a brief period with the legendary Enemy, the act that would later become Toy Love.
Drawing clear motivation from the punk ethos, Judd abandoned the theatrical flourishes that had marked his Split Enz tenure and assembled Swingers toward the end of 1978. The lean power trio—completed by bassist Dwayne “Bones” Hillman and drummer Buster Stiggs, both veterans of Suburban Reptiles—eschewed image and focused on direct, unadorned rock. After five months of intensive rehearsals without public performances, the band made its first appearance as openers for Split Enz. They soon shifted to headline slots in smaller rooms and steadily cultivated an audience across 1979. In April 1980 they cut the single “One Good Reason” for Ripper Records, which eventually reached New Zealand’s Top 40. The group then traveled to Australia to support the Sports. While there, they enlisted David Tickle, fresh from his work with Split Enz, to re-record both “One Good Reason” and the hook-driven “Counting the Beat.”
Tensions surfaced when Judd assumed greater control, ending the prior democratic arrangement under which all songs had been credited simply to Swingers. Stiggs departed in December 1980 to join the Models and was replaced by Ian “Killjoy” Gillroy. The refreshed version of “Counting the Beat” became an immediate Australian number-one hit in February 1981, although the follow-up “It Ain’t What You Dance” failed to chart. In July the band laid down several tracks for the soundtrack to the film Starstruck; Judd also supplied extra incidental music, and the group appeared on screen in multiple scenes. The following month Mushroom Records issued their debut album Practical Jokers. A reordered and trimmed edition surfaced in the United States in 1982 on Backstreet Records under the title Counting the Beat. The title track, “It Ain’t What You Dance,” and the newly added single “One Good Reason (Gimme Love)” slotted neatly into the emerging new-wave format and received notable rotation on the fledgling MTV. Starstruck likewise developed a cult audience stateside, offering the band a genuine opportunity for American success, yet their domestic momentum had already begun to fade. To counter dwindling Australian interest they recruited vocalist Andrew McLennan, previously of Pop Mechanix. This lineup issued the single “Punch and Judy” in early 1982; when it failed to connect, Judd disbanded the group in May of that year to launch a solo career.
Hillman later achieved prominence as a member of Midnight Oil. Judd issued the poorly received solo album Private Lives in 1983 and recorded two further albums with former Split Enz colleagues under the name Schnell Fenster. He maintained a low profile throughout the 1990s, splitting his time between visual art and film scoring, before returning with another solo release in 2006.
Drawing clear motivation from the punk ethos, Judd abandoned the theatrical flourishes that had marked his Split Enz tenure and assembled Swingers toward the end of 1978. The lean power trio—completed by bassist Dwayne “Bones” Hillman and drummer Buster Stiggs, both veterans of Suburban Reptiles—eschewed image and focused on direct, unadorned rock. After five months of intensive rehearsals without public performances, the band made its first appearance as openers for Split Enz. They soon shifted to headline slots in smaller rooms and steadily cultivated an audience across 1979. In April 1980 they cut the single “One Good Reason” for Ripper Records, which eventually reached New Zealand’s Top 40. The group then traveled to Australia to support the Sports. While there, they enlisted David Tickle, fresh from his work with Split Enz, to re-record both “One Good Reason” and the hook-driven “Counting the Beat.”
Tensions surfaced when Judd assumed greater control, ending the prior democratic arrangement under which all songs had been credited simply to Swingers. Stiggs departed in December 1980 to join the Models and was replaced by Ian “Killjoy” Gillroy. The refreshed version of “Counting the Beat” became an immediate Australian number-one hit in February 1981, although the follow-up “It Ain’t What You Dance” failed to chart. In July the band laid down several tracks for the soundtrack to the film Starstruck; Judd also supplied extra incidental music, and the group appeared on screen in multiple scenes. The following month Mushroom Records issued their debut album Practical Jokers. A reordered and trimmed edition surfaced in the United States in 1982 on Backstreet Records under the title Counting the Beat. The title track, “It Ain’t What You Dance,” and the newly added single “One Good Reason (Gimme Love)” slotted neatly into the emerging new-wave format and received notable rotation on the fledgling MTV. Starstruck likewise developed a cult audience stateside, offering the band a genuine opportunity for American success, yet their domestic momentum had already begun to fade. To counter dwindling Australian interest they recruited vocalist Andrew McLennan, previously of Pop Mechanix. This lineup issued the single “Punch and Judy” in early 1982; when it failed to connect, Judd disbanded the group in May of that year to launch a solo career.
Hillman later achieved prominence as a member of Midnight Oil. Judd issued the poorly received solo album Private Lives in 1983 and recorded two further albums with former Split Enz colleagues under the name Schnell Fenster. He maintained a low profile throughout the 1990s, splitting his time between visual art and film scoring, before returning with another solo release in 2006.
Albums
Singles
