Originally Cliff Richard's backing band, the British quartet the Shadows began recording on their own in 1960 and had a major hit with the instrumental "Apache." They were built around guitarists Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, with an ever-changing rhythm section (Terry "Jet" Harris and Tony Meehan, the original bassist and drummer, were the most famous, and went on to success on their own in the early '60s); originally dubbed "the Drifters," they adopted their more famous moniker during their first tour with Richard to avoid confusion with the popular American R&B group of the same name. Often erroneously thought of as England's answer to the Ventures, the Shadows' sound was polished, crisp, clean, and metallic, making up for its inherent sterility and lack of soul thanks to a knack for drawing out melodies in their most haunting form; their biggest hit was "Apache," but they also scored with smash singles including 1960's "Man of Mystery" and 1961's "Kon-Tiki." By 1962, both Harris and Meehan had exited, and the remaining duo of Marvin and Welch continued backing Richard in his many film roles, adopting a distinctively exaggerated brand of choreography widely imitated by other guitar-based groups of the era. Subsequent chart-toppers including 1963's "Wonderful Land" and 1963's "Foot Tapper" followed, and although the Shadows were largely lost in the shuffle of the British Invasion they continued backing Richard until 1968, at which time Welch quit. Many more reunions and breakups were to follow in the coming decades, and in one form or another the Shadows continued to record well into the 1990s.
No group has ever provided us with such pleasure. thank you so much for all the good music and giving us all the opportunity of trying to emulate your sound, which remains a graal for us! Yours is and will remain an exceptional group in the story of pop music and rock 'n roll. With our best regards, for "Skeudoù ar Shads" (i.e., "The Shadows of the Shads "in Breton!) Joel
S.P.A.M! has a guest list for NYE! Give us your name in full by 30 Dec 2009 and you can get in free @ The Orange Tree, Nottingham UK for retrobeats, 8pm-2am. All vinyl, no playlist.
Plus The Golden Fleece, Mansfield Road, Nttm is shaking it up baby with a S.P.A.M! session this Saturday, 19 Dec 09, all vinyl, no playlist, requests taken! 9pm-1am and it's Free.
Thanx for the add. And thanx for the great concerts in Holland. To bad I haven't seen more shows. And more to bad................. I didn't catch Hanks plectrum. Enjoy your vacation and enjoy the end of the tour!!!!
hello my friendS, hope you are havin a good weekend so far! greetiings from sweden(we had our first snow in stockholm today,up north the winter comes much earlier) take care, your friend, ulla x
Thanks to all of you my friends for the add. I've been playing your great music for 50 years and always with the same joy and enthousiasm. It's really a great pleasure each time. Christian ADAM (The Blue Shadows R§B France-Belgium)
Hello Les Ombres ,) This is a great cover of Apache by Len "Chip" Hawkes (Tremeloes) & Mick Clarke (Rubettes) yesterday at the Spirit of 66 in Verviers, BE, to be heard on YouTube. Best wishes to all.
If it wasn't for The Shadows there wouldn't be any Eric Clapton,Jimmy Page,Mark Knopler, Brian May, etc etc.
What a great tour they had with Cliff, the best we have seen and heard them play. So sad it's the last tour, but maybe they will come back to the UK for a one -off concert.
More power to Hank, Bruce and the excellent Brian Bennett who held the band together for the tour, and was as solid as a rock on Drums.
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