The Shadows

The Shadows were a British instrumental rock 'n' roll group active from the 1950s to the 2000s.

1960s

In October 1961 Tony Meehan was replaced by Brian Bennett and in April 1962 Jet Harris was replaced by Brian 'Liquorice' Locking . Talented songwriter John Rostill replaced Locking as bassist in October 1963 when Locking left to spend more time as a Jehovah's Witness. During the 1960s the group appeared with Cliff Richard in films (The Young Ones, Summer Holiday, Wonderful Life, Finders Keepers) and on stage in pantomime. Cinderella was staged at the London Palladium in 1966 featuring Cliff as Buttons and The Shadows as the Broker's Men. Aladdin And His Wonderful Lamp was put on at the Palladium and featured Arthur Askey as Widow Twankey and Cliff as Aladdin, and The Shadows as Wishee, Washee, Noshee and Toshee. The film and stage roles were more than just performances; they allowed the group to develop their art as songwriters. They wrote only a few songs for the earliest movie, 1961's The Young Ones, but by the time they came to make Finders Keepers in 1966, they wrote almost the entire soundtrack. The line-up split in December 1968, after recording the 10th anniversary album Established 1958 with Cliff Richard, featuring a mixture of tracks with Cliff Richard, and instrumental tracks featuring just the Shadows. All tracks were written by the group. Bruce Welch then left due to personal problems and an album (Shades Of Rock) and a tour of Japan followed without Bruce, and with Alan Hawkshaw on keyboards which; in Hank's words, they did 'for the Yen'. The tour was not considered artistically successful, and the resulting live L.P. is not held in high regard, even though it does feature an unusually long version of Slaughter On Tenth Avenue in which Hank plays both acoustic and electric guitar.

Related Topics:
1961 - Brian Bennett - 1962 - Brian 'Liquorice' Locking - John Rostill - 1963 - Jehovah's Witness - Pantomime - London Palladium - 1966 - Buttons - Broker's Men - Arthur Askey - Widow Twankey - Japan - Alan Hawkshaw

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