More than 50 years after the original quartet assembled as The Drifters to accompany an up and coming young singer named Cliff Richard on stage and record - and after some changes of personnel, fallow years and successful comebacks - The Shadows are still statistically among the top raters in the overall history of the UK pop singles and albums charts. During the late 50s/early 60s period of this celebratory compilation they became for a while the most influential group in Britain, greatly boosting the sales of Fender guitars, Vox amps and mohair suits. Founders Hank Marvin (lead guitar) and Bruce Welch (second guitar) still front the group's intermittent sell-out revivals. Their original sidekicks Jet Harris (bass guitar) and Tony Meehan (drums) have been replaced over the years but the sound of The Shadows remains a distinctive reminder of where it all began - with the 66 tracks on this comprehensive 2CD set, the recordings that inspired a generation of young wannabes to pick up a guitar and kick a leg in tune and in step with the renowned 'Shads'.

A straightforward summary of the Shadows' first three years of habitual hit-making, opening with the pounding flurry of "Apache," then tracing through the next eight smash singles, with a handful of attendant B-sides (and one EP cut, the title track from The Boys) to round the package out. There is no denying the sheer brilliance of this early sequence. Hits like "Wonderful Land," "FBI," and "Man of Mystery" utterly rewrote the guitar's role in rock, not only musically, but culturally as well. Unquestionably, the Shadows' importance and impact diminished as the years passed, but at the outset of their career – the period documented here – they were untouchable. It is for that reason that The Shadows' Greatest Hits is still regarded in some quarters as the finest Shadows album of them all, an accolade which no other compilation (and goodness knows, there's been enough of them) has ever been able to dismiss. Even the sleeve screams "masterpiece."

32 Tracks. The Ventures, The Shadows, John Barry Seven, The Fentones, The Dakotas, Sandy Nelson, The Cannons, The Cougars, Norrie Paramor, The Packabeats, The Piltdown Men, B. Bumble & The Stingers, The Nu-Notes, Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra, The Federals and many more.

Marvin, Welch & Farrar (aka MWF) were a 1970s British and Australian popular music group formed by Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, both members of The Shadows – as a change of direction manoeuvre during 1970 to 1973 – and John Farrar (ex-The Strangers). The distinction was that while The Shadows were famous for their instrumental work, Marvin Welch & Farrar were a trio, vocal harmony group. They have been favourably compared to USA folk close harmony group Crosby Stills Nash and Young (aka CSNY) and The Hollies. Their second album, Second Opinion (1971), produced by Peter Vince, in a private poll during the 1970s by EMI record's Abbey Road's sound engineers, was voted as one of the best ever sounding albums recorded at these studios. This album is a compilation of MWF's first and second album.

This 6CD collection includes every studio title recorded by the group from their very first efforts in early 1959, right up to the very end of 1966. It features 31 tracks in mono not previously available on CD & 3 tracks which are released in stereo for the very first time.

The Shadows are usually thought of as the quintessential British instrumental group and, along with the American band the Ventures and the Swedish group the Spotnicks, one of the most popular instrumental groups in the world. But that barely tells the story of their true significance in the history of British rock & roll – including the fact that they were the first homegrown British rock & roll band to dominate the U.K. charts, or that they weren't originally an instrumental group, either. The band's roots go back to Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, in early 1958, when a young Indian-born singer/guitarist named Harry Webb joined with drummer Terry Smart and guitarist Norman Mitham to form a group that they ended up calling the Drifters. At the time, none of the records by the American R&B group of the same name, founded by Clyde McPhatter, had been released in England, so they had no inkling of the name's already being used. The band played their first performance in March 1958 at a dinner dance and, after a few weeks of local performances, they debuted at the 2I's coffee bar in London's Soho.

Import only two-disc collection for the instrumental quartet from the 60's, originally Cliff Richard's backing band, features 36 tracks. It is time now to come down to earth after considering the discs masterminded by Rob Bradford (Shadsfax 46). Here we have 17 A-singles, 6 B-singles, a solitary EP track, 12 from albums (three in mono, for no good reason I can think of): a haphazard selection reminiscent of the kind of compilations marketed with tiresome regularity by Disky in particular.
On the plus side though you get a 10-page booklet with five pages of group history (which peters out midway through the 1970s, even though some of the tracks on offer here were later) courtesy of Martin Hutchinson; and this Theme For Young Lovers has the lead guitar in the right channel (located left on its first stereo release) but does not have a mismastered double note at the beginning (see previous review): the first time that EMI UK has got this one right since 1990. The set is presumably targeted at those attending the concerts (or who have been put in mind of the group again by all the publicity) who don’t want a big box set, or hit albums they have seen in various guises before.

Albums are all fine and well, but if you really want to know what made a band tick during the first half of the 1960s, you need to listen to the singles. It was singles, after all, that consumed the lion's share of the market - singles by which a band's fame and acclaim were judged, and singles by which their star rose and fell.

Two CD set. Both as 'solo' artists/bands and collaboratively, Cliff Richard and The Shadows have amassed more than 100 charting singles between them, as well as album sales upwards of ¼ Billion. Together they dominated the British popular music scene in the late '50s and early '60s with record-breaking careers that established their undisputed place in pop history. Between them they notched up 19 No.1 hits that included "Living Doll," "Travellin' Light," "Please Don't Tease," "Bachelor Boy," "Wonderful Land" and "Apache." In 2009, Cliff, together with Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett took to the stage again for their final tour - The Final Reunion - to celebrate their 50th anniversary, with an audience of more than 15,000. Released for the first time on CD, this 42-track set was recorded live at The O2 Arena in London.

Crimson presents The Final Tour from legendary guitar band The Shadows performing their greatest hits live on this 2CD set. Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett together on-stage June 5th 2004 at Cardiff Arena. It was during a hot summer day in June 1960 that The Shadows entered Abbey Road's Studio 2 to record Apache, the track that was to become the instrumental hit of the decade. It shot to No.1, became an instant classic and saw the start of a string of over thirty hits that included another four No.1’s - Wonderful Land, Kon-Tiki, Dance On! and Foot Tapper - all of which are featured on this 2CD release. Also available for the first time is a double LP on red vinyl containing 31 tracks compiled by The Shadows.

In aid of the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Center and the BRIT School for Performing Arts, 120,000 fans gather for a historic event featuring a legendary combination of British rock artists: Tears for Fears, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Genesis, Dire Straits, Status Quo, Cliff Richard & the Shadows, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Elton John.

The Shadows are easily the most popular and influential British instrumental group of all time. Their career started in the late 50's as Cliff Richard's backing band and they consistently hit the singles charts well into the 80's. Lead guitarist Hank Marvin is cited by many modern pickers as a major influence. Throughout the latter part of their career, they released many instrumental covers and interpretations of classic themes.

The Shadows are usually thought of as the quintessential British instrumental group and, along with the American band the Ventures and the Swedish group the Spotnicks, one of the most popular instrumental groups in the world. But that barely tells the story of their true significance in the history of British rock & roll - including the fact that they were the first homegrown British rock & roll band to dominate the U.K. charts, or that they weren't originally an instrumental group, either.

The Shadows are easily the most popular and influential British instrumental group of all time. Their career started in the late 50's as Cliff Richard's backing band and they consistently hit the singles charts well into the 80's. Lead guitarist Hank Marvin is cited by many modern pickers as a major influence. Throughout the latter part of their career, they released many instrumental covers and interpretations of classic themes. This 2 disc set brings together many of those recordings Including the two top 10 hits 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' & 'Theme From The Deer Hunter (Cavatina)' & the top 50 hit 'The Third Man'.

The best of Jet Harris and Tony Meehan after they left The Shadows. Jet Harris scored a couple of hits before teaming up with Tony, but it was the duo reuniting that led to massive hits like Diamonds (#1), Scarlett O'Hara (#2) and Applejack (#4). All the hits are included on this essential collection for fans of early 1960s instrumentals.