Cliff Richard & The Shadows | Artist
Harry Roger Webb aka Sir Cliff Richard OBE is a British singer and actor born 1940 in Lucknow, British India. His 1958 hit "Move It" is widely regarded as the first authentic British rock and roll record, which laid the foundations for the Beatles and Merseybeat music. His successful performing and recording career in the UK has extended over six decades and he has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the UK alone and is the third-top-selling artist in UK history, behind the Beatles and Elvis presley. The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental group, who served as Cliff Richard's backing band from 1958 to 1968, and have recorded and performed as a stand-alone act to the present day. The Shadows have had 69 UK chart singles from the 1950s to the 2000s, 35 credited to the Shadows and 34 to Cliff Richard and the Shadows. The group, who were in the forefront of the UK beat boom were the first backing band to emerge as stars. As pioneers of the four-member format, the band consisted of lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and drums. Their range covers pop, rock, surf rock and ballads, with a mild jazz influence. The original band members were Hank Marvin (lead guitar, piano, vocals), Bruce Welch (rhythm guitar, vocals), Jet Harris (bass, vocals) and Tony Meehan (drums). Brian Bennett took over on drums in 1961 and after Jet Harris left the group in 1962 they went through a succession of different bass players. The foundation of The Shadows' characteristic sound was their distinctive bass, lead and rhythm guitar sound. Harris was one of the first in the UK to use the new Fender Precision Bass from the US, and Hank Marvin used a Burns guitar designed by Burns of London, modelled after the Fender Stratocaster, and named "The Marvin" after the guitarist himself. Along with the Fender and the Burns guitars, another cornerstone of the Shadows sound was the Vox amplifier. Starting with the 1958 single "Move It" Cliff Richard & The Shadows released a steady stream of excellent rock 'n' roll singles and EP's which kept the group in the charts throughout the early 60's. Hits include "Move It", "High Class Baby", Livin' Lovin' Doll", "Mean Streak", and "Living Doll". Plus The Shadows had instrumental number ones with "Apache", "Kon-Tiki", "Wonderful Land", "Foot Tapper" and "Dance On". Standout releases include the early EP's Rock (1958), Livin' Lovin' Doll (1959), Expresso Bongo (1960), Please Don't Tease (1960), The Young Ones (1961), and Thunderbirds are Go! (1966), plus the albums Cliff Richard (1965), Cinderella [Stage Cast Recording] (1967), and the archival release from 2002 The Cliff Richard Show: Live at the ABC Kingston 1962. Eventually the Beatles and other bands would eclipse the Shadows' sound, but Cliff Richard continued to evolve into a successful AOR pop artist, who's work was strongly influenced by his Christian beliefs. During the 1960s, The Shadows appeared with Cliff Richard in the films The Young Ones, Summer Holiday, Wonderful Life and Finders Keepers. They also appeared as marionettes in the Gerry Anderson film Thunderbirds Are GO, and starred in a short B-film called Rhythm 'n Greens which became the basis of a music book and an EP. In 1986 Cliff and Hank Marvin did a recording of their song "Living Doll" with UK comedy team The Young Ones.
Artist Website: wikipedia/Cliff_Richard
Featured Albums: Cliff Richard & The Shadows
Related Artists: The Shadows, Cliff Richard & The Drifters
