It's Trad, Dad!

When this movie was released the Beatles had just cut their first single and the director would make his next one with them. Its like a British answer to Rock Rock Rock and quite amazing when you realise how many of these artists had or would have links to the Beatles. Craig Douglas for example could claim he'd once been backed by the Beatles while Helen Shapiro,Sounds Inc,Del Shannon and the Brook Brothers would be on Beatles packages. Its wrong to assume the American acts would be on the "unemployment line" as Bobby Vee and Del Shannon carried on with hits through the 60s-the latter cutting the first U S version of a Lennon/McCartney song. And Chubby Checker hit again in the 70s in the UK with the chart topping reissue of Lets twist again. The music which gave the movie its name-trad jazz-was a craze the same as skiffle and really a watered down version of the original New Orleans jazz but Barber,Bilk & Ball all had massive hit singles in the States. As for the story its like a lot of the original U S rock'n'roll opportunist films-absurd on purpose yet the objections about what was really being planned as an open air festival WAS something which occurred in the 60s-remember the Beatles on the Apple roof? This was a long way down from the situation nowadays when you have the Concert In The Park. Still why would anyone object to trad jazz-it was supposed to be the music of the older generation-even in the 60s jazz was the domain of scholars the same as Beatles music is nowadays. What goes around comes around

I just watched this movie for the first time. I wonder why movies like this are so rarely seen. We've got all these cable channels now -- you'd think every movie ever made would end up getting played somewhere. This is a very interesting movie. I love the "teener" songs the most. It's amazing to think that Trad (Dixieland) had a burst of popularity just before the Beatles hit it big in the USA. Had it not been for the Beatles, would the 60's have been mostly about jazz? Anyway, after watching this movie, I thought it would be simple to search the Internet and find a complete listing of all the songs somewhere. Guess what -- it can't be done! I tried all kinds of Google entries and nothing returns a complete listing of the entire soundtrack. There is a CD available, but it only contains the Dixieland stuff. Does anyone know where I can find a complete list?

I never heard of this movie until seeing it tonight on Turner Classic Movies. Who would have thought that Trad meant Dixieland Jazz in Britain? This movie is full of excellent jazz performances but the American rock and roll artists seem out of place. Most of their careers, like Gene Vincent, were on the decline in the US. Chubby Checkers' was on the rise due to the twist craze.

This was the first time I've seen Helen Shapiro though I've heard of her in conjunction with the Beatles. Lovely girl, I never would have guessed that she was only 15 when this was filmed. Luckily I was able to find out more on her web site.

Too bad this movie isn't out on tape or DVD. If it's broadcast again, I'll record it.

If anyone is curious to look at 1961/62 U.K. just before The Beatles would make their way to American shores, then this is an excellent look at that moment of the British musical landscape. More then anything this film is about Art Direction. This is the kind of film that would show off Lester's amazing visual sense & get him hired to direct one of the great musicals of the 60's, "A Hard Days Night". The other quality I love about this film is the strange mixture of Folk, Dixie Jazz, R&B & Rock & Roll. I love how just 2 years before the Rock & Roll revolution would take hold that there seems to be such a wild mix of styles all floating around & waiting to take shape. Please see this film simply to get a peek at Lester's wonderful sense of visual delights. It very much has the feel of a magazine article come to life. Bravo!

I first saw this movie as "Ring-A-Ding Rhythm" in 1963 and have revisited it several times since. "It's Trad Dad" was Richard Lester's first film, and many of the humorous and surreal touches he later brought to the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" are clearly in evidence here. This British film essentially borrows the basic plot of all those terrible 1950s American rock 'n' roll movies: The mayor and town council try to banish the music that young people are listening to, so the kids try to get major disk jockeys and musical artists to come to town for a liberating concert. But Lester and writer Milton Subotsky (who wrote the earlier U.S. film "Rock, Rock, Rock") spoof the plot throughout and acknowledge that the main appeal of this type of film was that it presented musical performances by charting artists in the days before MTV. The only drawback is that when "It's Trad Dad" was shot in late 1961, trad jazz (known as Dixieland in the U.S.) was sweeping England, which means we're treated to a seemingly endless series of British retro-jazz cats like Acker Bilk and Chris Barber. Fortunately, a couple of Yank expatriates, Del Shannon and the great Gene Vincent, were having second careers in the U.K. at the time, so Lester worked them into the story. (Gene Vincent's performance of "Spaceship to Mars" itself recommends this movie.) Lester also had the presence of mind to fly to America to shoot several cutaways of U.S. artists like Chubby Checker (who was on the verge of storming the U.K. with the Twist), Gary "U.S." Bonds, the Paris Sisters (with soft-focus attention paid to enchanting lead singer Priscilla Paris) and Gene McDaniels, although their material is not up to par with their earlier hits. But the real star of the show is the sense of fun that Lester brings to the proceedings. The scenes literally crackle with wit and energy totally lacking in the earlier Alan Freed/Sam Katzman-style rock films. Topping it all off is the amateurish but utterly charming leading lady,15-year-old Helen Shapiro, whose foghorn singing voice and giant beehive hairdo easily steal the show. Though Shapiro was a big pop star in England at the time, she never clicked in America, which is too bad because she made some very effective records. (After starring in a second film, "Play It Cool," with Bobby Vee and Billy Fury, her singing career went into decline.) "It's Trad Dad" is ultimately an interesting museum piece that captures the British entertainment industry in its last innocence before the Beatles arrived. Not only would Richard Lester go on to direct their two films, but Helen Shapiro would headline their first big tour--during which Lennon and McCartney wrote "Misery" for her. "It's Trad Dad" is highly recommended despite all the Dixieland music.