The Shadows

The Shadows, originally known as the Drifters until 1959, were an English instrumental rock group formed in 1958. Initially a backing band for singer Cliff Richard, they began scoring hits in their own right when their single “Apache” reached No. 1 in the UK in 1960. They remained Richard's backing band until 1968, and joined him for several reunion tours in subsequent years. The Shadows dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, achieving 69 UK chart singles from the 1950s to the 2000s, 35 as the Shadows and 34 as Cliff Richard and the Shadows, ranging from pop, rock, surf rock and ballads with a jazz influence. The group, who were in the forefront of the UK beat-group boom, were the first backing band to also achieve commercial success in their own right.

The first settled line-up comprised Hank Marvin (lead guitar), Bruce Welch (rhythm guitar), Jet Harris (bass) and Tony Meehan (drums). Brian Bennett replaced Meehan in 1961, while Harris left in 1962, from which time the group had various bassists. As pioneers of the four-member instrumental format (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass and drums), the Shadows built their signature sound on Fender guitars and Vox amplifiers, but around 1964, they replaced their Fenders with Burns guitars, with Bruce Welch citing tuning issues as the main reason.