The Swingers


In 1981, the stars aligned and all was well in Phil Judd’s universe, as he and the other members of his band The Swingers (Bones Hillman and Buster Stiggs) watched their latest single ascend the charts.

With its utterly unique tick-tock riffed intro and its perfect amalgam of wilting sarcasm, piston powered grooves and pure pop, ‘Counting The Beat’ shot to No.1 on both sides of the Tasman, hogging the Australian Top 10 for 13 weeks and amassing an extraordinary 100,000-plus sales. Unheard of.

The Swingers 1982: Phil Judd, Andrew "Snoid" McLennan, Bones Hillman, Ian Gilroy
Phil Judd with The Swingers at Mainstreet, Auckland, late 1979.
Photo credit: Peter Tocher
The Swingers, 1980: Buster Stiggs, Phil Judd, Bones Hillman
Terence Hogan's artwork for the 1980 debut Swingers single
It Ain't What You Dance, It's The Way You Dance It
Bones Hillman with The Swingers at The Windsor Castle, Parnell, Auckland, late 1979.
Photo credit: Peter Tocher
Phil Judd with The Swingers at Mainstreet, Auckland, late 1979.
Photo credit: Peter Tocher
The Swingers at Mainstreet, Auckland, late 1979.
Photo credit: Photo by Peter Tocher.
Phil Judd, circa 1982
The Swingers at TV2 Studio, Auckland, November 1979.
Photo credit: Peter Tocher
Phil Judd with The Swingers at The Windsor Castle, Parnell, Auckland, late 1979.
Photo credit: Peter Tocher
The Swingers in 1981 - Phil Judd, Bones Hillman, Buster Stiggs
Live at Mushroom Evolution Concert 1982
One Track Mind
The Swingers at the Island of Real in Auckland's Airedale Street.
The Swingers at TV2 Studio, Auckland, November 1979
Photo credit: Photo by Peter Tocher
Starstruck
The double A-sided single All Over Town / A Good Reason was the debut from The Swingers. Produced by Mike Chunn, the sleeve was created by Terence Hogan (uncredited).
Buster Stiggs - Mark Hough - in September 2015 with the Apra certificate for The Swingers' 'Counting the Beat' when it was belatedly awarded the 1981 Silver Scroll.  
Photo credit: Stuart Page
The Swingers in 1979: Bones Hillman, Phil Judd, Buster Stiggs
Buster Stiggs with The Swingers at the Windsor Castle, Parnell, Auckland, 1979.
Photo credit: Peter Tocher
The final Swingers line-up, 1982: Andrew "Snoid" McLennan, Ian Gilroy, Phil Judd and Bones Hillman. 
Swingers setlist from the 1981 New Zealand tour, venue unknown
Photo credit: Simon Grigg collection
1980 Ripper Records press release
Buster Stiggs with The Swingers at The Windsor Castle, Parnell, Auckland, late 1979.
Photo credit: Peter Tocher
Give It A Whirl (Part 3) - The Swingers/Split Enz/Crowded House
The October 1981 Swingers album Practical Jokers was released in New Zealand on Bryan Staff's Ripper label and in the rest of the world via Mushroom Records. With a cover designed by Phil Judd (as "Bud") it featured a re-recorded take of Counting The Beat with new drummer Ian Gilroy.
Phil Judd in a still from Starstruck
The Swingers in 1980: Phil Judd, Bones Hillman, Buster Stiggs
Buster Stiggs, Bones Hillman, Phil Judd
Photo credit: Photo by Murray Cammick
Counting The Beat
The Swingers in 1979: Buster Stiggs, Phil Judd, Bones Hillman
1980
One Good Reason