The Shadows "Final Tour" - How "pop" music has changed!
 

I 'm not into electrics so this may be the first time I've posted here.

Last nmight, after getting home from hospital to hear some bad news, we dined on some trout, then sat down in front of the goggle box.

There was a full concert from "The Shadows" They were formed in the late '50s - early '60s. mainly to back the British Elvis - Cliff Richard.

Obviously the mermbers have changed ...a little - but Hank Marvin the lead guitarist, and Bruce Welch on rhythm have been there from the start, (1958) and their very fine drummer, Brian Bennett joined in 1961.

This WAS leading edge pop music when I was 11- 15, and this was the music that I first started playing drums to at the School Friday dances. No Mics, no songs, just ..."tunes" !

The Shadows "Walk" choreography, and the virtually unchanged FX - all signature stuff. Of course they couldn't get hold of Fenders initially, and their signature gear were Burns Bison solids, and Vox AC30 amps.

See them here :

They predate the Beatles and the Stones ! - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadows

Then, the Rolling stones came on the scene - and took me to the "dark side" by 1963.

The Shad's music seems so...calm, and polite compared to what we see now - what do you think?

Instrumental bands were a small and short lived segment but I always liked the Shadows, Ventures, Dick Dale. Last iteration I recall liking a lot was Roy Buchanan whose tunes have shown up frequently in films lately.

As a Surf/Instro fan, I'm a huge Shadows fan. Especially of Hank. I remember buying his solo album around 2008 or so. A pro's pro. He has mastered the instrument as well as someone like Jeff Beck, he just has a completely different approach and aesthetic.

It's unbelievable to me that Hank and the Shadows have not been voted into the RRHOF. People like Neil Young have pleaded their case, but to deaf ears.

Here's one of my favorite efforts by Hank:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIdxrSnTUPQ

For those out there wondering, Hank has his bottom TONE knob wired to the Bridge pickup and rolls it off to about "7.5".

"A pro's pro. He has mastered the instrument as well as someone like Jeff Beck, he just has a completely different approach and aesthetic..."

+1

They are mostly considered a "European act". I'm a huge fan. How did I find out about them? About a decade ago. On Surf Guitar 101 forum. From European Surf Enthusiasts.

Walk up to 100 people on the street in America and ask them who Cliff Richards is. They'll say "You mean Keith?" Before I was turned on to the Shadows Cliff Richards was a punchline to a couple jokes in the "Young One's" TV series. Jokes I didn't get just like ones they made about British Politicians in the 80's.

The Ventures went in in 2008... Took 23 years for them...

Well, we'll see Blue.

Ask any British Rock Star from the 60's who their major influences were and they'll always put The Shadows at or near top of the list. That ought to get them into the RRHOF.

Link Wray and Connie Francis should be in their too.

I always loved those Surf-era guitar instrumentals - Ventures, Shadows, Dick Dale, et al. - but interestingly enough it was Lawrence Welk who introduced the Shadows' music to the American public, well over a year before the British Invasion. Say what you will, old Larry had a good ear - when/if he wanted to use it; he also featured electric harpsichord and Fender Bass VI (guitarist Neil Levang owned the prototype) - cutting-edge stuff for the day - on his early-60's recordings (most notably his million-seller "Calcutta"), and broke the Chantays (of "Pipeline" fame) on his Saturday night weekly show. Here's his version of a Shadows gem I've had in my repertoire since early '63 and never get tired of playing:



- and a latter-day performance by the Shadows themselves:

Kind of making my point there. Any British Rock star will put them in as a major influence. Wanna bet they put Freddie King first? Maybe not in terms of the first thing they heard that made them want to play, but in stylistic influence. In America the hit version of Apache, which was their "walk don't run" for casual fans wasn't theirs. I'll link the US hit below.

I want them in. Believe me I do. But I would want Link in before them. And not because he's an American. But because he lived and breathed real Rock and Roll until the day he died. Same with Dick Dale.

As I said it took them 23 years to put the Ventures. And they are an American act.

Edited to add: Nah. Put them in first. The living should get the adulation and album sales over the dead...

they were ok at their time but, things change.

play music!

This is me also!

NITPICK ALERT
 

Cliff Richard (no "s")
Keith Richards

Hey Silly I hope the bad news turns good. I cut my electric teeth on surf simply because my best friend played drums and ordered me to learn even if badly. I recently told one of the best local Guitar Techs that if he could put together a strat with the Marvin tone I'd buy it. He just changed the subject. Could it be that tone comes from the heart ? All the best.

You need to change techs - I remember reading a written response to a similar question in the pre-Internet days (don't recall where) and it's easier than you think; starting with a maple-neck Strat of some kind (they used a then brand-new, late-CBS '57 RI), using today's parts you'll need:

• '59 Strat True Vintage pickups
• 3-way switch
• An extra 500K volume pot
• Pyramid 11-50 flatwound strings

The neck/bridge pickups, the original volume pot, and the second tone pot need to be wired to the 3-way switch Tele-style i.e., neck/both/bridge, where the volume and second tone now serve as master controls; a volume pot replaces the (original) first tone control, allowing the middle pickup to be dialed in as necessary with the 3-way in any position (I don't recall if it went directly to output or was routed through the master tone - BTW, a handy mod to any Strat IMO). Pyramid flats were pretty much the name of the game in Europe at that time, and will give you that slightly "dead" sound heard on not only the Shadows' recordings, but many of the post-Beatles British Invasion records as well - the rest is in your fingers... :guitar:

Exactly! :D:D:D:D