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Post by moorlock2003 on May 15, 2021 18:06:23 GMT
Marvin, Welch, and Farrar recorded two critically aclaimed albums, featuring harmonies on a par with The Hollies. But did Britain respond in kind? Of course not. Cries for "Apache" rang out at their live shows. Mustn't give those Shadows boys' singing any respect when they should keep their mouths shut and stick to instrumentals, right?
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Post by Malc on May 16, 2021 6:48:45 GMT
A mighty fine trio...
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on May 16, 2021 12:41:53 GMT
Marvin, Welch, and Farrar recorded two critically aclaimed albums, featuring harmonies on a par with The Hollies. But did Britain respond in kind? Of course not. Cries for "Apache" rang out at their live shows. Mustn't give those Shadows boys' singing any respect when they should keep their mouths shut and stick to instrumentals, right? You saw the BBC 4 documentary about the Shadows I assume? Sounds like you did. For those that didn't...well worth watching. The Dude has Marvin, Welch and Farrar (wasn't "Lady of the Morning" a minor hit in the Netherlands?) and I think they're lovely! |
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Post by anthony on May 16, 2021 14:00:05 GMT
Marvin, Welch, and Farrar recorded two critically aclaimed albums, featuring harmonies on a par with The Hollies. But did Britain respond in kind? Of course not. Cries for "Apache" rang out at their live shows. Mustn't give those Shadows boys' singing any respect when they should keep their mouths shut and stick to instrumentals, right? Sadly people don’t like change, |
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on May 16, 2021 16:20:08 GMT
Marvin, Welch, and Farrar recorded two critically aclaimed albums, featuring harmonies on a par with The Hollies. But did Britain respond in kind? Of course not. Cries for "Apache" rang out at their live shows. Mustn't give those Shadows boys' singing any respect when they should keep their mouths shut and stick to instrumentals, right? Sadly people don’t like change, Fortunately, not all people. |
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:31:04 GMT
Not all deaf ears...to Shadows fans
The Shadows actually BEGAN as a vocal group releasing 'Feelin' Fine' and 'Saturday Dance' as singles in the late fifties before 'Apache' hit big for them
They normally included two or three vocal tracks per album and enjoyed a UK top ten hit with 'Don't Make My Baby Blue' in 1965 when also the vocal single 'Mary Anne' charted here in the UK
I suggested to Colin Miles a vocal tracks compilation in 1981 and such a set was later released in 1984 comprising a selection of vocal tracks from 1959 to 1967
vocal tracks appeared as 'B' sides to some instrumental hit singles - songs such as 'I Want You To Want Me' (1963) and the then quite contemporary 'Searchers-ish' 'Will You Be There' (1965)
The Swinging Blue Jeans covered two Shadows vocal tracks 'Don't it Make You Feel Good' and 'That's The Way it Goes' on their 1964 album 'Blue Jeans A Swinging'
The formation of Marvin Welch and Farrar saw them cut two acclaimed vocal albums released in 1971 - the track 'Take Her Away' even featured guitar/sitar like 'The Baby'
Bruce Welch left and Marvin & Farrar cut a vocal album for EMI in 1973
The reformed Shadows recorded both vocals and instrumentals and represented UK in the 1975 Eurovision song contest coming second with the vocal single 'Let Me Be The One' which reached no.12 in the UK
They continued to cut the occasional vocal track thereafter like 'Guardian Angel' and 'On A Night Like This'
the big problem for them was like The Hollies with memorable pop singles and The Beach Boys with sun, sea, surf and girls songs by 1971 The Shadows were SO famous for guitar instrumental hits and many fav album tracks that turning completely to vocals with acoustic and electric guitar backup doing deeper songs was somewhat out of expected character for the group and as with those other famous bands the vast majority of their public just did not go for it - tho' there were Shads fans who loved those albums - they later reverted to both instrumentals and vocals but after John Farrar departed in 1976 they ended up largely a covers of 80's pop and other famous hit tunes band tho' still cut some stronger original tracks up to their 'retirement' in 1990
Saturday Dance - 1959
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:34:40 GMT
Will You Be There - 1965
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:37:35 GMT
Don't Make My Baby Blue - 1965
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:40:17 GMT
My Way- 1966
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:44:16 GMT
Running Out of World - 1967
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:46:09 GMT
Trying To Forget The One You Love - 1968
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:48:13 GMT
Here I Go Again (Loving You) - 1968
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:50:46 GMT
Take Her Away - vocal: Hank Marvin - Marvin Welch & Farrar - 1971
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:52:32 GMT
Lady of The Morning - vocal: Hank Marvin - 1971
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:54:34 GMT
Throw Down A Line - vocal: John Farrar - 1971
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:56:29 GMT
Black Eyes - vocal: John Farrar - 1971
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 16:58:43 GMT
Cool Clear Air - The Shadows vocal: John Farrar - 1975
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 17:01:09 GMT
Let Me Be The One - The Shadows vocal: Bruce Welch - 1975
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 17:03:17 GMT
Stand Up Like A Man - vocals: John Farrar , Bruce Welch - 1975
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Post by gee on May 16, 2021 17:05:45 GMT
It'll Be Me Babe - vocals Hank Marvin, John Farrar & Bruce Welch - 1976
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Post by baz on May 16, 2021 17:14:55 GMT
The whole Shadow vocals issue is a bit of a conundrum. Indeed when Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch started off, they were emulating the Everly Brothers and were terribly disappointed when they recorded their first single to find they didn't sound like the Everlys! It just so happened that Hank was a guitar genius and when Jerry Lordan played them "Apache" everything changed for them in an instant kicking off an impressive run of instrumental hits. When The Shadows met The Beatles in 1963, they got along very well and felt more encouraged to start writing more vocal numbers as The Shadows knew the instrumental tide would start turning so went to move with the times. Starting with the lovely "Mary Ann", each new single alternated between a vocal and instrumental A side but sadly, the tide had turned and The Shadows were no longer getting hits charting as high as they used to. "Don't Make My Baby Blue" was the biggest vocal hit of the 60's and what a magnificent song!
The Shadows officially ended in 1968 when Bruce Welch quit for the second time (he had first quit briefly in 1963 thanks to a nervous breakdown) but were persuaded to "reform" minus Welch for a Japanese tour in 1969 and Hank admitted that was solely "for the money" which resulted in a rather strange live album the band were very unhappy with. I believe it was when Welch reunited with Marvin for the taping of the "Pop Go The Sixties" show in December 1969 to perform "Apache" and "Bachelor Boy" with Cliff that they began talking again and the idea of Marvin, Welch and Farrar came about. They were very keen to wipe the slate clean and start afresh as harmony based outfits were very popular and I believe Crosby, Stills and Nash were an inspiration and in some ways one could view MW+F as a British version of CS+N.
What went wrong? They had regular TV work and a weekly spot on Cliff's BBC TV series so got plenty of exposure. It's hard to determine if they did their infamous live debut before or after TV work as Welch said it was a complete disaster with barely any applause and audients shouting out for Shadows hits. Welch reckoned the biggest disaster was when EMI released their first album. They had so little faith in it, they pressed a small amount of copies which sold out quickly and they dithered pressing new copies so the album wasn't available for quite some time and by the time EMI pressed more copies, the moment had passed.
Those two MW+F albums are superb. Big faves of mine - very strong musically with good songwriting and excellent productions, produced so well that Abbey Road staff rated them as the best sounding albums recorded in those studios. They still sound great today and both Marvin and Welch point the finger directly at John Farrar for how well produced they were. Sadly, Bruce's relationship with Olivia Newton John (they became a couple in 1966 or 1967) fell apart thanks to her gaining success as a solo act and he went off the rails with an infamous failed suicide bid. That brought MW+F to an end. After Bruce recovered, Bill Cotton at the BBC suggested The Shadows reform specifically for the Eurovision Song Contest and they agreed to that and the irony? They would be singing. They went back on tour and realised that they had made a big mistake with MW+F shunning Shadows material as MW+F songs within a Shadows set went down very well... that time, they got an excellent live album out of it, the "Live At The Paris Olympia" set. There were a handful of Shadows studio albums as well during 1970 to 1973 which weren't really full on Shadows affairs. Of course, they didn't win Eurovision but "Let Me Be The One" was their first hit in a long time. They split again having honoured the Eurovision gig and commitments and John Farrar went full time into production.
EMI then had this idea of a "20 Golden Greats" compilation... and the rest is history as The Shadows returned to full active service, staggered that there was still a large audience out there that loved them.
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Post by baz on May 16, 2021 18:30:04 GMT
Reading back my last post kinda highlights how unsure and insecure Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch were with their talents! They pretty much got into instrumentals by pure chance in spite of the fact it was obvious to all that Hank was an amazing guitarist and "Jet Black" apart, they hadn't really looked at the possibility of instrumentals and when they made that change, it was like letting a genie out the bottle as they became the most important and influential British band of their time and many big names who followed cited them as a major influence, an elemental FACT that the "rock and roll hall of fame" refuse to recognise or acknowledge which I consider a complete disgrace and sure, I was delighted when The Hollies got in, but The Shadows should have been the first British band to be inducted!
After The Shadows split in 1968, Hank turned down an offer to join The Move and stayed loyal to Cliff Richard to the degree he proved himself to be a major comedy talent on his TV shows. This infuriated Bruce as he pointed out "there was one of the greatest guitarists ever wasting his talent on comedy..." Bruce did a one off solo single in 1974 and claimed after that that nobody would want a solo album or further singles from him in spite of the fact he's a fine guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer - a staggering lack of self belief! Especially when one considers how he went on to turn Cliff Richard's career around completely in 1976 by which time Cliff's career was hitting a bland low and Welch re-engaged Cliff with the music, found him some great hits and made him credible again.
Then the "20 Golden Greats" episode, he and Hank thought EMI were crazy and that nobody would be interested in such an album so reformed solely to promote that with the intent of going their own separate ways afterwards! The reaction and sales finally convinced them that people genuinely loved The Shadows' music and it gave them a fresh start after which they continued to sell records and sell out tours for the rest of their days. When they reformed for their final tour in 2003 or 2004, what happened? Instant sell out! Hopefully now they rest secure in the knowledge that The Shadows and their music is much cherished and loved and that they made a HUGE impact. They were truly iconic.
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on May 17, 2021 13:13:19 GMT
After The Shadows split in 1968, Hank turned down an offer to join The Move and stayed loyal to Cliff Richard to the degree he proved himself to be a major comedy talent on his TV shows. This infuriated Bruce as he pointed out "there was one of the greatest guitarists ever wasting his talent on comedy..." Bruce did a one off solo single in 1974 and claimed after that that nobody would want a solo album or further singles from him in spite of the fact he's a fine guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer - a staggering lack of self belief! Especially when one considers how he went on to turn Cliff Richard's career around completely in 1976 by which time Cliff's career was hitting a bland low and Welch re-engaged Cliff with the music, found him some great hits and made him credible again. Which was when Cliff finally found success in the United States. (His early 60s stuff was big in Canada already, with three #1s on the CHUM chart, but the US pretty much ignored it). A few years ago when I was having health problems, I compiled an Excel file of Canadian chart hits up to the end of 1969 because, other than a few overpriced books, nothing was really out there. Then I expanded it to compare chart rankings in the US, UK and the Netherlands. Cliff and the Shadows' history surprised me; I remember hearing Bachelor Boy on Toronto radio when I was a toddler, but that's about it. But apparently he was more popular than I thought! (We had no national chart until 1964, so Toronto's CHUM chart is all I have to go by for anything prior to that)  |
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on May 17, 2021 13:15:20 GMT
No clue why America thought The Young Ones was an unacceptable title and a new theme song was necessary, but there you go. *shrug*
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on May 17, 2021 13:21:39 GMT
For the record, my Hollies chart. (since this is a Hollies forum!)  You have to click on it to see it btw...  |
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