The Shadows: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Shadows3.jpg|thumb|148px|left|The Shadows]] |
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Guitarist and singer [[Hank Marvin]] was playing in a skiffle band with his friend [[Bruce Welch]]. The pair had travelled from Newcastle to London to become musicians and were at the time surviving on very little money. Foster offered Hank the job and he accepted on condition that his friend Bruce would also be allowed to join. Foster could see that the pair worked well together and the two were employed as lead and rhythm guitarist respectively. Ian Samwell was moved to a management role and replaced by the Most Brothers's bass guitarist [[Jet Harris]]. Drummer Terry Smart left shortly after this and was replaced at Harris's suggestion by [[Tony Meehan]]. The Drifters's fully professional lineup was now complete, although Tony Meehan later recalled that Cliff, backed by Hank, Bruce, Jet and himself had all played together |
Guitarist and singer [[Hank Marvin]] was playing in a skiffle band with his friend [[Bruce Welch]]. The pair had travelled from Newcastle to London to become musicians and were at the time surviving on very little money. Foster offered Hank the job and he accepted on condition that his friend Bruce would also be allowed to join. Foster could see that the pair worked well together and the two were employed as lead and rhythm guitarist respectively. Ian Samwell was moved to a management role and replaced by the Most Brothers's bass guitarist [[Jet Harris]]. Drummer Terry Smart left shortly after this and was replaced at Harris's suggestion by [[Tony Meehan]]. The Drifters's fully professional lineup was now complete, although Tony Meehan later recalled that Cliff, backed by Hank, Bruce, Jet and himself had all played together a year beforehand at least once at the 2is coffee bar in Soho, London. |
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[[Image:Shadows1.jpg|thumb|148px|right|The Young Ones]] |
[[Image:Shadows1.jpg|thumb|148px|right|The Young Ones]] |
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Revision as of 16:55, 29 October 2005
The Shadows were a British instrumental rock 'n' roll group active from the 1950s to the 2000s.
1950s
Formed initially as a backing band for Cliff Richard, they took the name The Drifters until finding out that there was already a thriving American band with that name. The original members were Terry Smart on drums, Ken Pavey, Norman Mitham on guitar, Ian Samwell on bass and Cliff Richard on guitar and vocals.
The name was changed to Cliff Richard and the Drifters shortly after first manager Ian Foster discovered the group, and they were quickly signed up for an appearance on Jack Good's Oh Boy television series. The Drifters were then considered to be the group members without Cliff, but they were not thought to be strong enough musicians by Norrie Paramor, director of recordings at Columbia Records. He asked Ian Foster to recruit a better guitarist, and Foster went back to Soho's 2is coffee bar (then famed for the strength of musical talent performing there, particularly in skiffle groups) in search of guitarist Tony Sheridan. Sheridan was not there but his attention was caught by another musician, who was tall, good looking, played guitar well and even had Buddy Holly style glasses.
Guitarist and singer Hank Marvin was playing in a skiffle band with his friend Bruce Welch. The pair had travelled from Newcastle to London to become musicians and were at the time surviving on very little money. Foster offered Hank the job and he accepted on condition that his friend Bruce would also be allowed to join. Foster could see that the pair worked well together and the two were employed as lead and rhythm guitarist respectively. Ian Samwell was moved to a management role and replaced by the Most Brothers's bass guitarist Jet Harris. Drummer Terry Smart left shortly after this and was replaced at Harris's suggestion by Tony Meehan. The Drifters's fully professional lineup was now complete, although Tony Meehan later recalled that Cliff, backed by Hank, Bruce, Jet and himself had all played together a year beforehand at least once at the 2is coffee bar in Soho, London.
The group started recording and performing with Cliff Richard and released two singles in their own right in 1959. (Feelin' Fine/Don't Be A Fool With Love) and (Jet Black/Driftin), The first two tracks were vocal numbers and the second pair were instrumental. Neither disc charted. After the name change to the Shadows, a further (Vocal) disc was released (Saturday Dance/Lonesome Fella), and again this failed to chart. Then, in 1960, the band released Apache, an instrumental by Jerry Lordan, which was to top the charts for several weeks. Four further number one hit singles followed, together with several more as Cliff Richard's band. This group, known to fans as "The Original Shadows", had a raw gutsy appeal and was responsible for 7 hit records.
1960s
In October 1961 Tony Meehan was replaced by Brian Bennett and in April 1962 Jet Harris was replaced by Brian Locking . The Marvin-Welch-Bennett-Locking line-up lasted for only 18 months but convinced the fans, diversified the sound and held its own in the face of the rise of Merseybeat, spearheaded by The Beatles. This line-up produced a further 7 hits. Talented songwriter John Rostill replaced Locking as bassist in October 1963 when Locking left to spend more time as a Jehovah's Witness. This line-up consolidated into a fine musical combo, innovating in numerous ways as they tried different guitars and developed a wider range of musical styles and a higher level of overall musicanship. During the 1960s the group appeared with Cliff Richard in films (The Young Ones, Summer Holiday, Wonderful Life, Finders Keepers) and on stage in pantomime. Cinderella was staged at the London Palladium in 1966 featuring Cliff as Buttons and The Shadows as the Broker's Men. Aladdin And His Wonderful Lamp was put on at the Palladium and featured Arthur Askey as Widow Twankey and Cliff as Aladdin, and The Shadows as Wishee, Washee, Noshee and Toshee. The film and stage roles were more than just performances; they allowed the group to develop their art as songwriters. They wrote only a few songs for the earliest movie, 1961's The Young Ones, but by the time they came to make Finders Keepers in 1966, they wrote almost the entire soundtrack. The line-up split in December 1968, after recording the 10th anniversary album Established 1958 with Cliff Richard, featuring a mixture of tracks with Cliff Richard, and instrumental tracks featuring just the Shadows. All tracks were written by the group. By this time they seemed to have done everything and Bruce Welch decided to leave. This was almost the end of the band, although an album (Shades Of Rock) and a tour of Japan followed without Bruce, and with Alan Hawkshaw on keyboards which; in Hank's words, they did 'for the Yen'. The tour was not considered artistically successful, and the resulting live L.P. is not held in high regard, even though it does feature an unusually long version of Slaughter On Tenth Avenue in which Hank plays both acoustic and electric guitar.
1970s
The group reformed in 1973 with Welch back on rhythm guitar and the addition of Australian John Farrar on guitar and vocals, brought in following the death of John Rostill. An album, Rocking With Curly Leads featured Hank using vocoder to modify his distinctive sound. Some tracks used Farrar as a second lead guitarist, making this album sound fresh and different.
The group were chosen by BBC Boss Billy Cotton Jr to perform the A Song for Europe in the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest The Shadows recorded a number of alternatives and played a song each week on a six week television show. The public then voted on the best song and eventually, Let Me Be The One by Paul Curtis was chosen. The group didn't win, coming second to Teach In's Ding-A-Dong, but the Shadows were re-established as a chart act. Other records soon followed, featuring Farrar's strong vocal and writing talents as well as his instrumental skills.
During the early 'Seventies, the three principal members of the Shadows had a second career as vocal group Marvin Welch and Farrar. They recorded two critically acclaimed albums and several singles, and without Bruce, a third album Marvin and Farrar, which Hank described as 'Frankenstein meets the Beach Boys'. This group's live performances were hampered by the fact that everyone who saw Hank in his distinctive spectacles expected a performance of the Shadows' greatest hits. As Hank says (interviewed in Guitar Greats by John Tobler) 'In the Batley Variety Club we walked off stage to the sound of our own footsteps!'.
The packaging of the group's greatest hits in Twenty Golden Greats by EMI in 1977 prompted the group to reform for a tour featuring Francis Monkman from Sky on keyboards, leading to a number one album and a top ten hit single Don't Cry For Me Argentina. Francis left after that tour and the line-up settled as the Big Three, Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett, supplemented on records and gigs by Cliff Hall (keyboards) and Alan Jones (bass).
1980s
The group then performed and recorded frequently until 1990, with most of their 1980s albums performing well in the charts. With the exception of Guardian Angel which was an album of new material, most of their 1980s albums featured cover versions of then current or classic pop songs, with little original material. The group changed record labels in 1980, switching from EMI to Polydor with the aptly titled Change Of Address. The change was necessitated because EMI would not agree to a tape leasing scheme, whereby the group would retain copyright of their recordings, but the company would be licensed to publish them for individual albums. This resulted in the group re-recording much of its back catalogue of EMI hits for the Polydor label. The recordings were made using modern techniques (although primarily on analogue equipment, but digitally mastered), but with instruments, amplifiers, and arrangements as close as possible to the originals making it difficult for the casual listener to tell the difference. This has allowed the group to package and market their own compilation albums, apparently featuring old hits as well as new. Other albums, such as Diamonds feature no new material, being compiled from recent albums. The line-up remained solid until Alan Jones had a bad car accident and Mark Griffiths of the Cliff Richard band and originally from Matthews Southern Comfort was brought in on bass. He and Alan then shared bass duties until 1990 when the band stopped touring and Hank went solo again.
2000s
The group re-formed in 2004 for a 'farewell tour', and recorded a new track Life Story (written by Jerry Lordan) to accompany a new greatest hits package of the same name which featured 1980s re-recordings of all their 1960s and 1970s hits. The tour was so successful (and enjoyed by all members) that they decided to embark on a second farewell tour, this time of Europe. Notwithstanding that this was to be a European tour, they played a final date in Birmingham, England. And that is the end of the story ... or is it? Rumours abound of a possible reunion tour with Cliff Richard to mark 50 years in show business but whether that is wishful thinking or an informed leak remains to be seen.
Selected Discography
From British Hit Singles & Albums, 17th Edition (Except Life Story)
Albums
- 1961 The Shadows (UK #1)
- 1962 Out Of The Shadows (UK #1)
- 1963 Greatest Hits (UK #2)
- 1964 Dance With The Shadows (UK #2)
- 1965 The Sound Of The Shadows (UK #4)
- 1966 Shadow Music (UK #5)
- 1967 Jigsaw (UK #8)
- 1970 Shades Of Rock (UK #30)
- 1974 Rockin' With Curly Leads (UK #45)
- 1975 Specs Appeal (UK #30)
- 1977 20 Golden Greats (UK #1)
- 1979 String Of Hits (UK #1)
- 1980 Another String of Hot Hits (UK #16)
- 1980 Change Of Address (UK #17)
- 1981 Hits Right Up Your Street (UK #15)
- 1982 Life In The Jungle/Live At Abbey Road (UK #24)
- 1983 XXV (UK #34)
- 1984 20 Original Greats
- 1984 Guardian Angel (UK #98)
- 1986 Moonlight Shadow (UK #6)
- 1987 Simply Shadows (UK #11)
- 1989 Steppin' To The Shadows (UK #11)
- 1989 At Their Very Best (UK #12)
- 1990 Reflection (UK #5)
- 1991 Themes And Dreams (UK #21)
- 1993 Shadows In The Night - 16 Classic Tracks (UK #22)
- 1994 The Best Of Hank Marvin And The Shadows (UK #19)
- 1997 Play Andrew Lloyd Webber And Tim Rice (UK #41)
- 1997 Very Best Of Hank Marvin And The Shadows - The First 40 Years (UK #56)
- 1998 50 Golden Greats (UK #35)
- 2004 Life Story (UK #7)
Singles
- 1960 Apache (Reached Number One)
- 1960 Man Of Mystery/The Stranger
- 1961 FBI
- 1961 The Frightened City
- 1961 Kon Tiki (Reached Number One)
- 1961 The Savage
- 1962 Wonderful Land (Reached Number One)
- 1962 Guitar Tango
- 1962 Dance On (Reached Number One)
- 1963 Foot Tapper (Reached Number One)
- 1963 Atlantis
- 1963 Shindig
- 1963 Geronimo
- 1964 Theme For Young Lovers
- 1964 The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt
- 1964 Rhythm And Greens
- 1964 Genie With The Light Brown Lamp
- 1965 Mary Anne
- 1965 Stingray
- 1965 Don't Make My Baby Blue
- 1965 The War Lord
- 1966 I Met A Girl
- 1966 A Place In The Sun
- 1966 The Dreams I Dream
- 1967 Maroc 7
- 1975 Let Me Be The One
- 1978 Don't Cry For Me Argentina
- 1979 Theme From 'The Deer Hunter' (Cavatina)
- 1980 Riders In The Sky
- 1980 Equinoxe Part V
- 1981 The Third Man
This does not include collaborations with Cliff Richard, nor solo recordings, nor those made under the name Marvin Welch & Farrar. Only records which charted are listed.