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Post by baz on May 17, 2021 13:53:03 GMT
Cliff was massive in the UK. He was originally hailed as an English Elvis and in a few was there were parallels as he released a constant string of singles, most of which were top 10 or 20 hits, there were a few movies which until the mid 60's were very successful... His producer Norrie Paramor knew that Cliff as a rocker had a short shelf life so as early as 1959's "Livin' Doll" began nudging him into cutting softer material which would appeal to a wider audience and it worked as he soon had his own TV series and specials. The arrival of The Beatles didn't stop the hits and 1966 was the year when he infamously declared he was a born again Christian which was a bold move which caused problems with this credibility but he remained popular as by then he was becoming loved as an all round entertainer with a safe and respectable image. By the early 70's he was more focused on his TV shows which did great but his music became blander and sales started to drop off. By 1975, Bruce Welch was angry with Cliff, accusing him of coasting as by then, Cliff would pop into Abbey Road, dub on vocals on pre-recorded tracks and leave... often within an hour. Welch also felt the TV image had diluted his appeal so proposed to Cliff that he would produce him under the condition that from then on, Cliff would be involved every step of the way - selecting songs, recording the tracks from start to finish, show some interest and commitment. Starting with "Miss You Nights", Cliff's career began to enjoy a major revival as Welch's plan paid off. Cliff became credible again, gained a new younger audience and the rest is pretty much history as the hits kept on a coming for another 15 years or so by which time, he was firmly cemented as a legend.
No denying then that Bruce Welch was the man who rescued Cliff's career as its hard to tell what might had been had he not intervened when he did but those Welch produced hits followed by Terry Britten and Alan Tarney ensured he would survive into the 1980's as a major chart talent.
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Post by gee on May 17, 2021 17:10:07 GMT
Bruce Welch actually got involved with producing Cliff just before 'I'm Nearly Famous' - in fact there was a kind of Cliff / Shadows 'reunion' in May 1975 when Marvin, Welch & Farrar played backing and sang backup vocals on a Cliff EMI single 'It's Only Me You've Left Behind' - a better single which pointed the way ahead re stronger material for Cliff giving him a contemporary pop / rock style
- they also produced 'Honky Tonk Angel' for Cliff's following single but that was quickly withdrawn when Cliff discovered what the term 'Honky Tonk' meant (Cliff obviously never listened to The Rolling Stones single in 1969 !)
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Post by gee on May 17, 2021 17:17:43 GMT
This was an interesting 'B' side (to 'Theme For Young Lovers') cut in 1963 but issued in in 1964 which saw The Shadows alternating between their instrumental and vocal styles
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Post by gee on May 17, 2021 17:43:53 GMT
Despite what some music writers might have us think The Beatles arrival never stopped either Cliff or The Shadows from having UK and overseas hit singles or being 'national treasures' here in the UK
the DVD of their 1965 London Palladium appearance showed just how popular both acts still were at home
The Shadows made no.1 with 'Foot Tapper' in 1963 while Cliff reached no.1 with 'The Minute Your Gone' in 1965
they even scored a UK chart hit together with a great guitar led version of The Rolling Stones song 'Blue Turns To Grey' which made no.15 in 1966
The Shadows chart momentum fell away after 1965 tho' they had minor chart hits up to 1967 while as stated Cliff went through an uneven period later until Bruce Welch rescued his chart career for him - it wasn't considered 'cool' to admit to liking them
DJ John Peel later 'came out' as a closet Shadows fan while guitarists like Pete Townshend, Brian May, Dave Gilmour, Mark Knopfler and Wishbone Ash Andy Powell were all fans - Buffalo Springfield included Hank Marvin in their 'thank you' list on an album sleeve
The Beatles first UK album sleeve mentioned The Shadows as THE group to be compared with - Paul McCartney is impersonating Hank (not Buddy Holly as most assumed) in his video group on 'Coming Up' (the cheesy grin and touching the middle of his specs whilst playing were Hank's features)
Eric Clapton has paid his tribute saying; 'Hats off to Hank and the boys'
It is ironic that so many Hall of Fame inductees have paid tribute to The Shadows and Hank Marvin as major musical influences on them
The Shadows were also key to Olivia Newton John's career success besides Sir Cliff
Most Mesrseybeat outfits including The Beatles and indeed The Hollies used the same lead, rhythm, bass guitar and drums line up instrumentally as The Shadows were recording with earlier in 1958
The Shadows got into publishing their own material via 'Shadows Music' before Beatles, Hollies etc all followed
so their overall influence on UK artists, plus their roles in the careers of noted Australians in Livvy and John Farrar (who first met them in 1966 when his Aussie band The Strangers supported The Shadows 'down under'- shades of Mike Rickfors with Bamboo supporting The Hollies in 1967) is vast...
but the USA Hall of Fame still has 'deaf ears' presumably due to a lack of wider international knowledge or appreciation
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Post by baz on May 17, 2021 20:51:46 GMT
they even scored a UK chart hit together with a great guitar led version of The Rolling Stones song 'Blue Turns To Grey' which made no.15 in 1966 For me, Cliff and The Shadows' greatest single. It was so unlikely them covering a Jagger-Richards song but they gave it great treatment and it r-o-c-k-s! It was noticeably absent from the 2009 reunion shows which was staggering as they played nearly all their hit singles and it was insane to be reminded of how many of them there were!
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Post by gee on May 19, 2021 13:41:17 GMT
It's a gem - I MUCH prefer this Cliff / Shadows cover to The Rolling Stones own version (also likewise re The Searchers version of 'Take it Or Leave it')
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Post by gee on May 19, 2021 13:54:26 GMT
There are a few Hollies / Shadows links besides the abortive 'I Don't Understand You' session in 1981
Future Shadows / Marvin Welch & Farrar keyboardist (1968-71) Alan Hawkshaw played piano and did a solo on The Hollies 'Put Yourself In My Place'in 1965
while John Farrar's Aussie group The Strangers did a great cover of the Hollies song too, sung by John
future Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones who played bass on The Hollies 'Don't Run And Hide' in 1966 had earlier auditioned for The Shadows in 1963 when John Rostill got the job of replacing Brian Locking
Shadows seventies bassist / keyboardist Alan Tarney wrote and played on The Hollies 'Somethin Ain't Right' in 1981 (one of the best tracks on 'What Goes Around...' later in 1983)
while later Shadows bass player Alan Jones played bass on the rare Hollies instrumental 'Driver' in 1981
The Shadows covered both 'The Air That I Breathe' (with John Farrar) and later 'He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother'
Tony Hicks has played a snatch of 'Apache' in Hollies shows - Tony once remarked how he had sold a guitar to Hank Marvin !
All were mad Everly Brothers fans - both The Shadows and Terry Sylvester's band The Escorts covered 'Let it Be Me' while both Shads and Hollies covered 'Lucille' and also 'That's My Desire' plus several Buddy Holly songs
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Post by gee on May 19, 2021 14:50:32 GMT
Another 2 copies posted of a clip of The Strangers doing 'Put Yourself in My Place' on a Australian TV show 'The GO !! Show' minus instruments here
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Post by gee on May 19, 2021 15:07:04 GMT
This was a 1965 gem of a single by Cliff / Shadows too
While quite possibly cut at the same session as 'The Time in Between' was this very similar sounding album track cover of 'Someday You'll Want Me To Want You' from the same year
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Post by The Dude on May 22, 2021 13:17:00 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! Their first single "Faithful" was a minor hit in NL. And is one of my favourite songs ever...
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Post by The Dude on May 22, 2021 13:19:45 GMT
This was the beautiful b-side
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Post by peterc on Mar 27, 2024 19:09:13 GMT
Never seen this before. I wonder who the actress is?
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Post by baz on Mar 28, 2024 0:20:55 GMT
Never seen this before. I wonder who the actress is? Interesting. Surprising what keeps turning up and looks in pristine quality too, so good to have some form of footage of this track. Absolutely no idea about the actress unfortunately.
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Post by peterc on Mar 29, 2024 7:02:41 GMT
Apparently the girl is Lynn Waller (John's girlfriend at the time). It was filmed on Canvey Island on a freezing February day for TOTP, along with a video for 'Bombay Duck'.
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