The Shadows are a British instrumental rock band. The group was formed back in 1958 in London. Initially, the musicians performed under the creative pseudonyms The Five Chester Nuts and The Drifters. It wasn't until 1959 that the name The Shadows appeared.
This is practically one instrumental group that managed to gain worldwide popularity. The Shadows are one of the oldest rock bands in the world.
The history of the creation and composition of the Shadows group
The first line-up of the group included such musicians:
- Hank Marvin (lead guitar, piano, vocals);
- Bruce Welch (rhythm guitar);
- Terence "Jet" Harris (bass)
- Tony Meehan (percussion)
The composition changed from time to time, as in any group. Only two musicians remained from the original line-up: Marvin and Welch. Another current member, Brian Bennett, has been with the band since 1961.
It all started in 1958. Then Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch came from Newcastle to London as part of the Railroaders group. The musicians did not return to their homeland, but joined The Five Chester Nuts.
Then producer Cliff Richard was looking for a lead guitarist for the accompanying lineup. He wanted to invite Tony Sheridan for this role, but chose Hank and Bruce.
Terry Harris also played in The Drifters. In the late 1950s, drummer Terry Smart was replaced by Tony Meehan. Thus, the stage of formation of a young rock band was completed.
The Drifters mostly accompanied Richard. A little later, they began to record the first independent singles. The musicians learned that in the United States of America there is already a group with the same name Drifters. To avoid possible conflicts, the guys began to perform under the creative pseudonym The Shadows.
Under the new name, the musicians have already begun to record tracks more actively. Despite the activity, music lovers stubbornly did not notice the efforts of The Shadows.
The first popularity of The Shadows
The band's situation changed when they recorded a cover version of Jerry Lordan's Apache track. The musical composition took the 1st position of the British chart. For 6 weeks, the song did not leave the 1st position of the hit parade.
From that time until the mid-1960s, the group's singles regularly "flickered" in the British charts. The debut longplay of the team took the 1st position, but this did not save the team from personnel changes.
In 1961, Meehan left the group unexpectedly. He was not replaced by Brian Bennett. In April 1962 Harris left the band and handed over the bass guitar to Brian Locking. A year later, Brian left the group. He quit music because he was involved in a religious sect.
Brian was soon replaced by John Rostill, stabilizing the line-up until 1968. In this line-up, the group expanded their discography with five albums. Despite this, the musicians continued to accompany Cliff Richard on his tours.
Interestingly, the musicians, along with Richard, starred in a number of films, even recorded soundtracks for films. In 1968, the band presented the Established 1958 compilation to celebrate the decade.
The first breakup and reunion of the Shadows
Despite the increase in popularity, the mood in the group deteriorated. Conflicts led to the fact that in 1968 the group broke up. But this was a temporary phenomenon.
In 1969, the musicians united again. They recorded a single and an album, and also managed to go to concerts in England and Japan. Then Hank and Brian took up solo projects, and Rostill went to Tom Jones. A few years later, Bruce and Hank wanted to play together without using the creative name Shadows. They were joined by John Farrar and Bennett.
Members of the team relied on vocal numbers. However, music lovers did not accept their tracks and demanded classic instrumentals such as Apache and FBI.
The musicians heard the request of fans of their work. They changed their repertoire and again began to perform under the creative pseudonym Shadows. Soon fans were greeted by the new album Rockin' With Curly Leads. The album hit the top ten.
The track Let Me Be the One appeared on the music chart for the first time in several years, taking 12th position. In the mid-1970s, Farrar followed his beloved Olivia Newton-John to the United States of America.
New members and band tour
Soon the group was replenished with a new member - bassist Alan Tarney. In 1977, the team was waiting for genuine success with the release of the EMI compilation The Shadows 20 Golden Greats. The compilation debuted at number 1 on the local charts. Over 1 million copies of the album have been sold.
The team went on tour, but without Tarney, but with Alan Jones and Francis Monkman. After leaving the concerts, the musicians presented a new album, which was called Tasty.
The new album had a "heavier" sound. Despite the changes, the collection was not liked by fans and music lovers. From a commercial point of view, the album became a "failure".
In 1978, The Shadows and Cliff Richard celebrated a major anniversary. They have been on stage for 20 years. The musicians celebrated this event with a performance at the London Palladium. Keyboardist Cliff Hall assisted the musicians at the concert. Subsequently, the musician was a member of the group for 12 years.
The end of the 1970s was marked by a year of musical experimentation. The musicians added disco elements to the sound. The result of their work was the track Don't Cry For Me Argentina. The success of the single extended to the next album, String of hits.
The Shadows signing with Polydor
In the early 1980s, the musicians wanted to buy the rights to their first albums from EMI. Attempts to return the collections to themselves led to the termination of the contract with the label.
The musicians signed a contract with the Polydor label. Soon the band's discography was replenished with a new album, Change of Address. The collection was warmly received by music lovers and music critics.
This period of time is marked by cover versions. When the musicians returned to perform their own tracks on Life in the Jungle, it turned out that they were worse at it. At the same time, there were changes in the composition of the group. In the late 1980s, Alan Jones was in a car accident. He was replaced by Mark Griffiths.
In the early 1990s, Bennett left the band. He decided to realize himself as a composer. As a result, the group lost ground under their feet. The team broke up. Despite this, collections continued to be released, but, alas, popularity was out of the question.
In 2003, Hank, Bruce and Brian, to the delight of the fans, reunited and organized a farewell tour. Sometimes the musicians appeared on stage, but the band's discography was not replenished with new albums.
