The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instru ...

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 A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such ...

for

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 ...

from 1958 to 1968, and have joined him for several reunion tours. The Shadows have had 69 UK chart singles from the 1950s to the 2000s, 35 credited to the Shadows and 34 to Cliff Richard and the Shadows. The group, who were in the forefront of the UK beat-group boom, were the first backing band to emerge as stars. As pioneers of the four-member instrumental format, the band consisted of lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and drums. Their range covers pop,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, surf rock and

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s with a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

influence. The core members from 1958 to present are guitarists

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...

and

Bruce Welch Bruce Welch (born 2 November 1941 as Bruce Cripps) is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, singer and businessman best known as a founding member of the Shadows. Biography Welch's parents (Stan Cripps and Grace Welch) moved him to 15 B ...

and drummer

Brian Bennett Brian Laurence Bennett, (born 9 February 1940) is an English drummer, pianist, composer and producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group the Shadows. He is the father of musician and Shadows band me ...

(who has been with the group since 1961) with various bassists and occasionally keyboardists through the years. Along with the Fender and the

Burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

guitars, another cornerstone of the Shadows sound was the Vox amplifier. Around 1964, The Shadows replaced the Fender with the Burns, Bruce Welch citing tuning issues as the main reason.

The Shadows Hits

The Shadows' number one hits included "

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

", "

Kon-Tiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, fo ...

", "

Wonderful Land "Wonderful Land" is an instrumental piece written by Jerry Lordan and first recorded and released as a single by The Shadows in February 1962. It stayed at number one for eight weeks on the UK Singles Chart, a feat only Elvis Presley (in 1960), th ...

", "

Foot Tapper "Foot Tapper" is an instrumental by British guitar group the Shadows, released as a single in February 1963. It went to number one in the UK Singles Chart, and was the Shadows' last UK number-one hit (not including those where they performed as ...

" and "

Dance On! "Dance On!" is an instrumental by British group the Shadows, released as a single in December 1962. It went to number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart. A vocal version, with lyrics by Marcel Stellman, was recorded by Britis ...

". Although these and most of their best-remembered hits were instrumentals, the group also recorded occasional vocal numbers, and hit the UK top ten with the group-sung "

Don't Make My Baby Blue "Don't Make My Baby Blue" is a song by Frankie Laine, released as a single in March 1963. It peaked at number 51 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was later covered by the Shadows, who had a hit with it in the UK. Release and reception "Don't Make M ...

" in 1965. Four other vocal songs by the Shadows also made the UK charts. They disbanded in 1968, but reunited in the 1970s for further commercial success. The Shadows are the fifth most successful act in the UK singles chart, behind

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and Madonna. The Shadows and Cliff Richard & the Shadows each have had four No. 1 selling EPs.

Career

The Shadows formed as a

for Cliff Richard under the name The Drifters. The original members were founder Ken Pavey (born 1932), Terry Smart on drums (1942), Norman Mitham on guitar (1941),

Ian Samwell Ian Ralph Samwell (19 January 1937 – 13 March 2003) was an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the writer of Cliff Richard's debut single " Move It", and his association with the rock band America, wit ...

on guitar and Harry Webb (before he became

) on guitar and vocals. They had no bass player. Samwell wrote their debut single, "

Move It "Move It" is a song written by Ian Samwell and recorded by Cliff Richard and the Drifters (the English band that would later become "The Shadows"). Originally intended as the B-side to "Schoolboy Crush", it was released as Richard's debut sing ...

", often mistakenly attributed to "Cliff Richard and the Shadows" and not the Drifters . Initially their producer and manager

Norrie Paramor Norman William Paramor (15 May 1914 – 9 September 1979), known professionally as Norrie Paramor, was a British record producer, composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, and orchestral conductor. He is best known for his work with Cliff R ...

wanted to record using only studio musicians but after persuasion he allowed Smart and Samwell to play as well. Two session players, guitarist Ernie Shear and bassist Frank Clark, played on the "Move It/Schoolboy Crush" single on Paramor's insistence to ensure a strong sound. In his memoirs, Welch regrets that he and Marvin could not be at the start of making history with "Move It". The Drifters signed for Jack Good's '' Oh Boy!'' television series. Paramor of

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

signed Richard, and asked Johnny Foster to recruit a better guitarist. Foster went to

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

's 2i's coffee bar, known for musical talent performing there, particularly in

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...

, in search of guitarist

Tony Sheridan Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity (21 May 1940 – 16 February 2013), known professionally as Tony Sheridan, was an English rock and roll guitarist who spent much of his adult life in Germany. He was best known as an early collaborator of th ...

. Sheridan was not there but Foster's attention was caught by Hank Marvin, who played guitar well and wore Buddy Holly-style glasses. Bruce Welch - 22 September 2007

In spring the same year, the owner of the United States vocal group

The Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in ...

threatened legal action over naming rights after the release and immediate withdrawal of "Feelin Fine" in the US. The second single, ''Jet Black'', was released in the States under the name of The Four Jets to avoid further legal aggravation, but a new band name was urgently needed. The name "The Shadows" was thought up by bass guitarist Jet Harris (unaware of

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to ''Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty-ei ...

's backing group) while he and Marvin were at the Six Bells pub in

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London, and in the historic county of Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

in July 1959. From ''The Story of the Shadows'':

With a combination of the American situation, Cliff Richard's first number 1 hit, the runaway success "Living Doll" had by now sold over a million copies in Britain alone and after a bit of nudging from Norrie Paramor, they set about finding a permanent name, which arrived out of the blue one summer's day in July 1959 (maybe the 19th). When Hank Marvin and Jet Harris took off on their scooters up to the Six Bells pub at Ruislip, Jet hit upon a name straight away. 'What about the Shadows?' The lad was a genius! So we became the Shadows for the first time on Cliff's sixth single "
Travellin' Light "Travellin' Light" is a UK No. 1 single recorded by Cliff Richard and The Shadows and released in 1959. It was the follow-up single to Richard's first No. 1, " Living Doll" and remained at No. 1 for five weeks (one less than "Living Doll"). "Tra ...
".

1960s

The Shadows were also becoming a popular band in their own right and in 1960, "

", an instrumental by

Jerry Lordan Jerry Lordan (born Jeremiah Patrick Lordan, 30 April 1934 – 24 July 1995) was an English songwriter, composer and singer. He achieved 3 hit singles on the UK Singles Chart before focusing purely on songwriting. Amongst his songwriting c ...

, topped the UK charts for five weeks. Further hits followed, including the number ones "

Kon Tiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, fo ...

" and "

", another Lordan composition with orchestral backing and even for eight weeks at number 1. The Shadows played on further hits as Richard's band. In October 1961, drummer Tony Meehan left to be a music producer at Decca records. He was replaced by

. In April 1962, Jet Harris was replaced by Brian "Licorice" Locking. Bennett and Locking were friends from the 2I's who had been in

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s hit singles including " Endless Sl ...

's backing group, the Wildcats, who recorded instrumentals as the Krew Kats. This Shadows line-up released seven hit singles, two of which, "

" and "

", topped the charts. In October 1963, Locking left to spend more time as a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

. Meanwhile, Harris and Meehan teamed up at Decca as an eponymous duo to record another Lordan instrumental, "

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, bu ...

". It rose to UK no. 1 in January 1963. Two further hits, "

Scarlett O'Hara Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is a fictional character and the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind'' and in the 1939 film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Leigh. She also is the ...

" (also by Lordan) and "Applejack", followed in the same year. On the Lordan tunes, Harris played lead using a six-stringed

Fender Bass VI The Fender Bass VI, originally known as the Fender VI, is a six-string electric bass guitar made by Fender. Design concept and history The Fender VI was released in 1961 and followed the concept of the Danelectro six-string bass released in 1956 ...

. During 1963, ironically the ex-Shadows were competing in the charts with their former bandmates. It is perhaps also worth noting that Jet Harris also acquired himself a Burns guitar, only this time it was a Barracuda Bass
Jet Harris
The Shadows, meanwhile, had issued a run of 13 consecutive top 10 UK hits from 1960 through 1963. The Shadows had met John Rostill on tour with other bands and had been impressed by his playing, so they invited him to join. This final and longest-lasting line-up was the most innovative as they tried different guitars and developed a wider range of styles and higher musicianship. They produced albums but the chart positions of singles began to ease. The line-up still had ten hits, the first and most successful of which was "

The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt "The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt" is an instrumental by British group the Shadows. It peaked at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart. Release and reception "The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt" was written by all members of the Shadows. Flingel Bun ...

". Beginning in 1965, the group also started issuing vocal numbers as singles, usually alternating a vocal A-side with an instrumental A-side. The vocal songs "Mary Anne", "Don't Make My Baby Blue", and "I Met A Girl" all made the UK top 30, and "The Dreams I Dream" peaked at #42. Instrumental numbers also continued to chart, including "Genie With The Light Brown Lamp", "Stingray", "The War Lord", "A Place In The Sun" and "Maroc 7", all top 30 hits.

Films with Cliff Richard

During the 1960s, the group appeared with Cliff Richard in the films '' The Young Ones'', '' Summer Holiday'', '' Wonderful Life'', and ''

Finders Keepers Finders, keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders, keepers; losers, weepers, is an English language, English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first can claim it for themself pe ...

''. They also appeared as marionettes in the

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...

film '' Thunderbirds Are GO'', and starred in a short B-film called ''Rhythm 'n Greens'' which became the basis of a music book and an EP.

Stage Pantomimes

They appeared in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

: ''Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp'' in 1964 at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...

with

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey, (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation ...

Widow Twankey Widow Twankey (originally Twankay, sometimes Twanky) is a female character in the pantomime '' Aladdin''. She is a pantomime dame, played by an older man. History The story of Aladdin is drawn from the '' Arabian Nights'', a collection of Midd ...

, Richard as Aladdin, and the Shadows as Wishee, Washee, Noshee and Poshee; ''Cinderella'' at the Palladium in 1966 featured Richard as

Buttons A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood ...

and the Shadows as the Broker's Men. Their film and stage roles allowed the group to develop as songwriters. They wrote only a few songs for the earliest film, 1961's ''The Young Ones'', but by ''Finders Keepers'' in 1966 almost the entire soundtrack was credited to Marvin-Welch-Bennett-Rostill. In 1967, the Shadows used

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

on the track "

The Day I Met Marie "The Day I Met Marie" is a song by Cliff Richard, released as single in August 1967. The song was written by Hank Marvin and produced by Norrie Paramor. It reached number 10 on singles chart in both the UK and Ireland, number 5 in Australia, numbe ...

" on their album ''From Hank Bruce Brian and John''. In October 1968, Marvin and Welch decided to disband the group following a concert at the

. In the event, only Welch left, but the Shadows had disbanded by the end of the year.

1970s

The group began 1970 by appearing on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

The Shadows Hits

Career

1960s

Films with Cliff Richard

Stage Pantomimes

1970s

1980s

Later career

Style and image

Band logo

The Shadows' walk

Stage names

Legacy and influence

Band members

Final members

Former members

Timeline

Discography

References

Further reading

External links