''Expresso Bongo'' is an EP by

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

and

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

, released in January 1960. It contains all the songs by the group sung in the film of the same name in which Richard also stars.

Recording and release

The EP features three songs sung by Cliff Richard and the Shadows and one, "Bongo Blues", being an instrumental solely by the Shadows. "Love" and " A Voice in the Wilderness" were recorded on 8 September 1959, whilst "The Shrine on the Second Floor" and "Bongo Blues" were recorded on 19 October 1959. They were all recorded at EMI Studios (later renamed Abbey Road Studios) with producer Norrie Paramor. The EP was advertised for release on 4 December 1959 in numerous magazines and newspapers. However, the release was postposed until 8 January 1960 to coincide with the nationwide release of the film on 11 January. "A Voice in the Wilderness" was subsequently released as a single on 15 January 1960, peaking at number 2 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for three weeks in February 1960. The EP and single versions of the song are different

takes A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

, with some subtle differences in vocals – the single version was recorded on 20 December 1959.

Chart performance

The ''Expresso Bongo'' film was extremely successful upon its release in December 1959 and this significantly helped the subsequent EP. The EP entered the ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' singles chart (the canonical official UK Singles Chart) in the third week of January, reaching its peak at number 14 three weeks later and leaving the top 30 chart after the final week of February (thus spending a total of seven weeks on the chart). As shown by the chart run, sales for the EP peaked in February. However, in the second week of March 1960, ''

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The title ...

'' (whose top 50 singles chart became the canonical official chart) began publishing charts including an EP chart. ''Expresso Bongo'' topped the first EP chart for one week before being overtaken by Elvis Presley's '' Strictly Elvis'' for five weeks before regaining the top position. It spent a total of 28 weeks on the top 20 EP chart, leaving after the final week of September 1960. On other charts in the UK, the EP saw varied success. On the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' Top 20 singles chart, the EP peaked at number 8; yet on the '' Disc'' Top 20 singles chart, it only peaked at number 19. It did not enter the ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' singles chart as the magazine had published an EP chart since November 1959. In recognition of the number of advance orders, it entered this top 10 chart in the third week of December, topping it at the beginning of January 1960. Within three months of its release, the EP had sold over 150,000 copies, which was five times more than the average EP hit sales.

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals * Hank Marvin – lead guitar * Bruce Welch – rhythm guitar * Jet Harris – bass guitar *

Tony Meehan Daniel Joseph Anthony Meehan (2 March 1943 – 28 November 2005), professionally known as Tony Meehan, was a founder member of the British group the Drifters, with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, which would evolve into the Shadows. ...

– drums

Charts

On singles charts On EP charts

References

{{authority control 1960 EPs Film soundtracks 1960 soundtrack albums EMI Records soundtracks EMI Records EPs Cliff Richard albums Albums produced by Norrie Paramor