The Pop "Waiting for the Night" (1979)

[TheSwan2215]

That's my Uncle. Lead singer.

[djnix2403]

Falling For Carmen is a great song

[kendrainspace]

I think The Pop's version of The Stones "19th Nervous Breakdown" is great on that album too, it sounds like a cross between Cheap Trick and Tom Petty !

[Lucyanne99]

Yeah Solitaire is a great song, classic Prescott/Swanson tune, it was on The Pops Rhino Records Album; Look At Me Now" and Go Girl were also great songs on that record. Wish it was available on CD.

[Obamaislessthanbush]

Mr. Swanson rules!!!

Probably one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, he was nice enough to lend our band his old Fender amp. Never heard his music before now though; hopefully next time I see him he'll let me listen to more of his stuff.

[sgr48]

This band brought we back to life in the late 70's....

after just wandering around and around.. I found myself Down On the Boulevard and it all made sense after that...

[ZLUGGO]

Great band and song. I like the band name as well. Cool!

[kendrainspace]

Sorry I dont have any videos of The Pop playing at any of the L.A. clubs but there is a good website with lots of photos, including a lot of the early band at The Whisky when they were still a 3 piece with David Swanson on bass and Roger Prescott on guitar at thepopus. I was at all those shows and that was the best version of the band in my opinion.

[Lucyanne99]

Thanks! there are some really great photos on that site, especially the ones of The Pop at the Whisky as a 3 piece and the ones of them on The Rodney Bingenheimer Show with The Motels. They almost make up for there not being more videos.

[maxeythecat]

@kendrainspace Thanks for the link! Haven't seen anything about these guys in some time and it's great to see a website for 'em. I did get a good laugh while I was reading the bio...I saw the reference to the Infamous Errol Flynn Incident with a couple of the band members and two others...I was one of those others. I was a bit surprised to find the mention...hell, I didn't think anyone ever really heard or remembered that story...I haven't thought about it for years myself. Whatta hoot!

[Lucyanne99]

this is great! but doesn't anyone have a video they could post from any of the dozens of shows The Pop! played in Hollywood at The Whisky, The Starwood, or Madame Wongs?

[divanola]

those are Tim McGovern's guitar and drums tracks, let's give credit where it's due.......just sayin'

[JustineLaLoba]

1st LP is amazing....

[TimDean66]

Ha!!! I have Go on vinyl and is one of my old faves. Just gotta throw this out there:There's a PP band from the early 80's era from minneapolis called The Crash Street Kids are on MySpace. "Little Girls is one of the best PP Vinyl of all Time

[crapple009]

Love Swanson's beautiful Rickenbacker 375 (U.K.Rose Morris version,though-like Townshend's).

Btw,was it because of The Knack that these killer power-pop groups like The Pop!,Off Broadway USA,Pezband,Shoes,etc failed to make a bigger dent in the charts? Would they if they just starting now?

[worthyjeff]

The pop was one of the greatest power pop albums of all time. I treasure my copy.

[standsfordecibels]

Always LOVED the Pop's first LP. They were a superior live act too, apparently....

[nesfe219]

I love my dad in this video,Bass player on the right. This is history! He's not in a band but he still plays that bass!

[livinginoz]

That's really cool, I love to hear stuff like that from the kids of some of the good old bands that I used to rock out back in my younger days.I think I'll still be playing my Bass when I'm old and grey too.

[crazyboy0602]

What's his name? My English teacher said he's in this band, Tim Henderson.

[crapple009]

Tim Henderson's your dad? Lucky you!!

I love The Pop!,especially She Really means That Much To Me,Shakeaway and Under The Microscope.

These songs will always live on and inspire me.

[nesfe219]

Yeah he made the song Solitare. I still listen to it. Lol!

[JacobCidLovers]

That's my dad playing the bass! Jeez. He was good!

[markstar99]

I fuckin' love this lot! Their 2 lp's and mini album are brilliant. Someone should re-issue on cd please. Singer David Swanson sure is a fine looking man! Thanks for posting! x

[crapple009]

Love the lps,especially,Go!. The Hearts and Knives mini-lp was disappointing to me-a little directionless and limp.Like they started to play it safe.Just my 2 cents worth. Long live The Pop!

[maxeythecat]

Wholly fuck, it's Svensky!! God, does this bring back memories...

[blockheadhero]

I like know the people! It's amazing!

[nesfe219]

I know this was filmed in Monte Carlo (in Europe) for an international tv show. During this tour the Pop played mostly in France and England, including a show at the Venue which featured another L.A. act opening the show...The Go-Gos. :0

[krushsister]

That is correct: "The Monte Carlo Show", hosted by Patrick (son of John) Wayne, a 20th Century Fox production, aired in the very early '80s on Britain's ITV. And I have been trying to find out information about this band for ages but, as you can imagine, the band name isn't exactly Google-friendly, so this is wonderful to find. Fun fact: Another guest on this particular show was Cher!

[Lucyanne99]

oh my god, The Pop..one of the coolest bands ever! but they were from Los Angeles not San Francisco..and the guitarist was Roger Prescott not Mike Montgomery. If you have any more videos of them please put them up.

[crapple009]

I believe Swanson and Prescott were originally from Chicago and Boston,respectively and re-located to L.A. after unsuccessfully trying to get a band together previously (I read it in an old Trouser Press magazine back in the day).

[ecosmart123]

Holy shit. Where did this come from? One of the most under rated albums ever! Was this a TV show?

[throbbingdominoes]

mike montgomery from the motels on guitar. these guys were power pop before there really was such a thing. one of san francisco's finest.