Clubbo chief Bo Bogerman had a bad attitude about the Beatles. “Turn that crap off!” he’d snap whenever “A Hard Day’s Night” or “Help!” came on the radio. He was equally cranky about the Kinks, hated the Who, and sneered at the Stones.
Bo’s annoyance was distilled from the sourest of grapes. In 1963, his own attempt at imported pop — the so-called “Swiss Invasion” — failed miserably when the bargain-bin white vinyl used to press the Swiss discs turned out to be both toxic and unstable. By the time the records were recalled and reissued on less-hazardous red vinyl in the spring of 1964, the British Invasion had conquered America, leaving little room for competing imports.
It's unlikely that any of Clubbo’s Swiss Invasion artists would ever have attained Beatles status, but not all of them deserve their present-day obscurity. One of the best combos was Ava & the Avalanches, a popular bar band from the Alpine resort of Zermatt, whose would-be hit “Ski Baby Ski” still conjures the exhilaration of a reckless toboggan ride. Full story... listen:Ski Baby Ski
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