It's Trad Dad.

If you ever want a taste of what primitive pop music was like in England before everything went pear-shaped you can’t do better than watch ‘It’s Trad Dad’ made by Richard Lester in 1962. The film shows the youthful revolution getting started and you’ll see how Lester developed some of the cinematic trickery which he later used in Hard Day’s Night.

It’s a lot of fun this movie. Dick Lester was from Philadelphia but he had a pretty good grasp of British absurdities. On one level it’s not much more than a vehicle for a few pop acts strung together with some silly jokes, but it has a sort of innocence and it does give a good impression of pop as it was at the time. The acting is abysmal, the script seems to have been knocked out over lunch in the BBC canteen and it’s got a really flimsy story line. But there’s some great music in it and not much to get between the audience and the musicians. Pure entertainment in other words. What more could you ask for?

The lead roles are played by a couple of one-hit-wonders. Craig Douglas who couldn’t sing or act but looked wholesome and Helen Shapiro who could sing and act but never really got anywhere with it.

The Trad Jazz bands themselves are excellent. Spirited performances from Kenny Ball, Chris Barber, Terry Lightfoot and one of my faves, Acker Bilk, who reveals his vastly underrated acting talent and gives a spot-on impression of an earthy clarinetist from Somerset. Ottilie Patterson sings Down by the Riverside so hard her eyes almost pop out and you think she was born the wrong colour. If it's OK to say that.

One of the highlights is the Temperance Seven. A very odd bunch, sort of a ’20s revival who were either way behind the times or way ahead of them depending on your point of view. They were popular at the same time as the Bonzo Dogs and had a similar perspective on life.

Dick obviously thought Trad Jazz on its own wasn’t sexy enough so he flew in some real American talent. Del Shannon looks like something from the Adams Family. Which is bad enough but why show close-ups of his acne? Gene Vincent turns in a great performance, so does Gary U.S.Bonds, and Chubby Checker, before he got really fat. Chubby does a totally uninhibited (according to a David Jacobs quip) version of the Twist. You can understand why even Phil Spector couldn’t help the Paris Sisters with their padded bras and bad posture.

There are cameo appearances from Derek Nimmo, Mario Fabrizzi and Arthur Mullard who plays a copper. Bit of a stretch for Arthur. He never was exactly a household name but you’ll know who I mean when you see him. He usually got cast as the bloke winching the rack in torture chambers.

Technicians and sound engineers will be fascinated by glimpses into antediluvian recording techniques.

Mustn’t forget the DJs. David Jacobs gliding smooth as silk through the proceedings, Alan 'Fluff' Freeman with his Ozzie accent and his broken nose which never stopped him sniffing out the next chart-topper...or good old Pete Murray and his unerring instinct for the nearest saloon bar in which to hold court over adoring teenage girls. Just kidding Pete.

So see if you can find a copy. You won’t regret it. It’s all good clean fun. No nasty punks or headbangers around in those days and there’s a big party at the end! The young extras alone are worth the price of admission. You’ll see pimply young men in sports jackets and ties, hair not too long, even some recently shaved off sideburns. There are fancy hairdos, sloppy sweaters and party dresses for the girls.

I still can’t believe I was ever putty in the hands of girls like that. Perhaps it was the plucked eyebrows or the intoxicating aroma of hair lacquer? I just don’t know. Oh, they might let you have a little feel sometimes in the back row at the local Odeon but you had to get them behind the bushes in the rec before any serious mysteries were revealed. I could write a book.