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The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard from 1958 to 1968, and have joined him for several reunion tours.
The Shadows had 69 UK chart singles from the 1950s to the 2000s, 35 as the Shadows and 34 as Cliff Richard and the Shadows, ranging from pop, rock, surf rock and ballads with a jazz influence. 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. The Shadows built their signature sound on Fender guitars and Vox amplifiers, but around 1964, they replaced their Fenders with Burns guitars, with Bruce Welch citing tuning issues as the main reason.
The core members from 1958 to the present are guitarists Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch and drummer Brian Bennett (who has been with the group since 1961) with various bassists and occasionally keyboardists through the years.
The Shadows' number-one hits include "Apache", "Kon-Tiki", "Wonderful Land", "Foot Tapper" and "Dance On!". 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" 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.
Up to 2007 The Shadows were the fifth-most successful act on the UK Singles Chart, behind Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Cliff Richard and Madonna. The Shadows and Cliff Richard & the Shadows each have had four No. 1–selling EPs.
The Shadows formed as a backing band 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 on guitar and Harry Webb (before he became Cliff Richard) on guitar and vocals. They had no bass player.
Samwell wrote their debut single, "Move It", often mistakenly attributed to "Cliff Richard and the Shadows" and not the Drifters. At the insistence of the group's producer and manager Norrie Paramor, in order to ensure a strong sound, two session players, guitarist Ernie Shear and bassist Frank Clark, played on the "Move It/Schoolboy Crush" single. Initially Paramor wanted to record using only studio musicians, but after persuasion he allowed Smart and Samwell to play as well. In his memoirs, Welch regrets that he and Marvin were not able to be at the start of making history with "Move It".
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The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard from 1958 to 1968, and have joined him for several reunion tours.
The Shadows had 69 UK chart singles from the 1950s to the 2000s, 35 as the Shadows and 34 as Cliff Richard and the Shadows, ranging from pop, rock, surf rock and ballads with a jazz influence. 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. The Shadows built their signature sound on Fender guitars and Vox amplifiers, but around 1964, they replaced their Fenders with Burns guitars, with Bruce Welch citing tuning issues as the main reason.
The core members from 1958 to the present are guitarists Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch and drummer Brian Bennett (who has been with the group since 1961) with various bassists and occasionally keyboardists through the years.
The Shadows' number-one hits include "Apache", "Kon-Tiki", "Wonderful Land", "Foot Tapper" and "Dance On!". 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" 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.
Up to 2007 The Shadows were the fifth-most successful act on the UK Singles Chart, behind Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Cliff Richard and Madonna. The Shadows and Cliff Richard & the Shadows each have had four No. 1–selling EPs.
The Shadows formed as a backing band 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 on guitar and Harry Webb (before he became Cliff Richard) on guitar and vocals. They had no bass player.
Samwell wrote their debut single, "Move It", often mistakenly attributed to "Cliff Richard and the Shadows" and not the Drifters. At the insistence of the group's producer and manager Norrie Paramor, in order to ensure a strong sound, two session players, guitarist Ernie Shear and bassist Frank Clark, played on the "Move It/Schoolboy Crush" single. Initially Paramor wanted to record using only studio musicians, but after persuasion he allowed Smart and Samwell to play as well. In his memoirs, Welch regrets that he and Marvin were not able to be at the start of making history with "Move It".