The Shadows

by Bruce Eder
Originally Cliff Richards backing band, the British quartet the Shadows began recording on their own in 1960 and had a major hit with the instrumental Apache. They were built around guitarists Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, with an ever-changing rhythm section (Terry Jet Harris and Tony Meehan, the original bassist and drummer, were the most famous, and went on to success on their own in the early 60s); originally dubbed the Drifters, they adopted their more famous moniker during their first tour with Richard to avoid confusion with the popular American R&B group of the same name. Often erroneously thought of as Englands answer to the Ventures, the Shadows sound was polished, crisp, clean, and metallic, making up for its inherent sterility and lack of soul thanks to a knack for drawing out melodies in their most haunting form; their biggest hit was Apache, but they also scored with smash singles including 1960s Man of Mystery and 1961s Kon-Tiki. By 1962, both Harris and Meehan had exited, and the remaining duo of Marvin and Welch continued backing Richard in his many film roles, adopting a distinctively exaggerated brand of choreography widely imitated by other guitar-based groups of the era. Subsequent chart-toppers including 1963s Wonderful Land and 1963s Foot Tapper followed, and although the Shadows were largely lost in the shuffle of the British Invasion they continued backing Richard until 1968, at which time Welch quit. Many more reunions and breakups were to follow in the coming decades, and in one form or another the Shadows continued to record well into the 1990s.