WwW.SparkleTags.Com "Apache", "Wonderful Land" & "Foot Tapper", All very well known records, Number ones & Instrumentals. The band in question everyone can put a name too, They are of course "THE SHADOWS"."THE SHADOWS" were your first ever recognisable group, the first to consist of the 2 Guitarists, Drummer & Bassist. Boy bands were not established in the 90's as we would all like to believe, "THE SHADOWS" started it all off way back in 1958.In 1958 "CLIFF RICHARD" had just hit the big time with his chart hit "MOVE IT" and was looking to establish himself as major recording star. A tour was planned on the strength of that hit, with the American singing duo "THE KALIN TWINS". Cliff neddeed to recruit a band,He sent out his manager to recruit musicians that were talented and experienced."JOHN FOSTER", then Cliff's manager visited the one place where he knew he could find such talented musicians, "THE TWO I's" Coffee bar in Soho, London. With a name in mind John foster took a bus to the west end in search of cliff's new band. The name on his lips was a certain "TONY SHERIDAN", well respected and well known in the local music scene.Alas Tony was not to be found that night, so with Cliff's manager desperate to find someone and not go home empty handed he stumbled across "HANK MARVIN", Another well respected musician. Hank promplty auditioned there on the spot and accepted the proposition made by John Foster. The only request Hank made was to take his mate "BRUCE WELCH" with him, John gladly accepted.For the tour "CLIFF RICHARD & THE DRIFTERS" consisted of "HANK MARVIN" Lead Guitar, "BRUCE WELCH" Rhythm Guitar, "TERRY SMART" Drums & "IAN SAMWELL" Bass. Also on that tour was another support band, "THE MOST BROTHERS" with a certain "JET HARRIS" Bass & "TONY MEEHAN" Drums on back up. During this tour Jet would play bass with Cliff Richard & The Drifters."JET" & "TONY" joined the group after the tour replacing Terry Smart & Ian Samwell, to become permanent members of "THE DRIFTERS".In 1959 The Drifters changed their name to "THE SHADOWS" to avoid confusion with the American motown act The Drifters. Cliff And The Shadows toured & recorded extensively throughout the 1959/60 period, when at the request of cliff to his producer "NORRIE PARAMOR" that he should maybe consider signing The Shadows to their own recording contract.The Shadows under the guise The Drifters had in fact released two singles in early 1959 "FEELIN' FINE" & "JET BLACK", The latter being an Instumental. Both failed to chart but the group were not beaten yet. "SATURDAY DANCE" a vocal was released in 1960 and just missed out on a chart position. This encouraged the boys and Norrie Paramor was more than happy to give The Shadows another chance. "APACHE" was written by "JERRY LORDON" a singer in his own right, It was whilst on tour with Cliff & The Shadows that Jerry presented the boys with a little piece of music he had written.The Shadows were enthusiastic and bowled over by what they heard and took the idea to their producer. Norrie was less that impressed saying that he had already found the tune for The Shadows next release, "QUARTERMASTER STORES".The Shadows wanted Apache but Norrie was having none of it, Apache was to be the B side of the Single. History shows that Apache eventually became the A Side and went on to sell over a million copies, and The Shadows first "NUMBER ONE".Other singles followed, "MAN OF MYSTERY", "FBI", "KON TIKI" & "WONDERFUL LAND" to name but a few. The Shadows continued recording and touring with Cliff throughout the World, as well as appearing in films "THE YOUNG ONES" & "EXPRESSO BONGO".In 1961 Tony left The Shadows and was replaced by "BRIAN BENNETT".April 1962 Jet left The Shadows to concentrate on a solo career, He released singles "BESAME MUCHO" and "MAIN TITLE THEME" both very well recieved.Jet's replacement in the band was another old friend from the Two I's days. Brian reccomended to Hank & Bruce a guy he had worked with before when backing "MARTY WILDE". "BRIAN LOCKING" was to join immediatley after jet left and went on to stay with The Shadows for just over 1 year, Scoring two further number ones "DANCE ON" and "FOOT TAPPER"(From the film "SUMMER HOLIDAY").By 1963 The Shadows had established themselves as popular family favourites. In October Brian Locking decided to quit the group and was replaced by "JOHN ROSTILL".With the emergance of "THE BEATLES" and the merseybeat scene, The Shadows singles were starting to slow up, Instrumentals were considered out of date and unfashionable.By 1965 The Shadows turned their hand to recording Vocal numbers for single release, They didnt exatley set the world alight with sales or chart positions. The only highlight around this time was the raunchy & bluesy "RISE AND FALL OF FLINGEL BUNT"1968 After 10 years and 5 Number One Hit singles, The Shadows decided to call it day and go their seperate ways.THE SHADOWS reformed in 1973, Had it not been for the death of John Rostill earlier that year he would have been part of the new line up that included JOHN FARRAR. John Farrar had joined The Shadows through Hank & Bruce after a short lived experiment to do something different after the break up of The Shadows. In 1975 The Shadows were asked to represent the United Kingdom in that years Eurovision song Contest, They came second place with thier song "LET ME BE THE ONE". In 1977 EMI released the back catologue of Shadows hit singles all one album entitled "TWENTY GOLDEN GREATS", The Album reaching No1. By the end of 1977 and into the begining of 1978 The Shadows toured extensively, as well as releasing an album every year. 1978 saw another number one album entitled "STRING OF HITS", Along with a reunion concert at the London palladium with Cliff Richard. John Farrar had left the group by this time, deciding that his future lies with Olivia Newton-John in America. John & Bruce had been producing records for Olivia since 1971, Bruce eventually handing over full control to John farrar in 1973. Bruce Welch went on to produce albums and singles for Cliff between 1975 to 1979, Thier biggest success together being the number One smash "WE DONT TALK ANYMORE". 1980 saw The Shadows contract with Columbia records expire, So with a new Album aptly titled "CHANGE OF ADDRESS" they moved to Polydor Records. Hank, Bruce & Brian were joined on stage and in the studio by keyboard player "CLIFF HALL" and bass guitarist "ALAN JONES". From 1980-1990 The Shadows continued touring Britian, Europe and Asia, along with releasing albums and singles. 1986 Alan Jones left the group after a serious accident and was replaced by "MARK GRIFFITHS". 1990 saw The Shadows last tour for 14 years, Although no official split was anounced, The Shadows as group ceased to exist and no longer toured or recorded. Hank marvin began to tour and record solo, Brian Bennett concentrated on his writing for TV & Film and Bruce Welch became Musical consultant for the West End Musical "BUDDY". In 2004 after 14 Years the fans got what they had dreamed of, "THE SHADOWS" were to reform once again and tour. "HANK MARVIN", "BRUCE WELCH" & "BRIAN BENNETT" with Cliff Hall & Mark Griffiths were to hit the road once again, But this time it was to bring the curtain down one final time.Darren Beale(c)
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