The Shadows
Everything in British pop was American before The Shadows hit
Number One. Tommy Steele, Cliff
Richard - they all looked to Elvis and
the US for inspiration.
Then, from behind Cliff, The Shadows stepped out and achieved
success in their own right in 1960 when Apache took them
to the top chart spot in the UK. Hank Marvin may have sported
Buddy Holly's specs, but the Shads
were British boys.
The mainstays of the group, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, had
joined Cliff at the very start as members of The Drifters (not to
be confused with the American band of the
same name). Bruce (real name Bruce Cripps) and Hank (born
Brian Rankin) originally played behind Cliff alongside Ian
Samwell (who wrote Move It) and Terry Stuart.
 Jet
Harris (real name Terence Harris) replaced Samwell while his
friend, Tony Meehan (born Daniel Meehan) replaced Terry Stuart.
Quickly developing their own unique sound and identity, The
Shads became the most successful and most copied British
instrumental group of the era, reaching the top again with Kon-Tiki,
Wonderful Land, Dance On! and Foot Tapper.
Lead guitarist Hank Marvin precipitated the most widespread
guitar-buying epidemic since the days of skiffle.
An early casualty of the band's punishing tour schedule and
oddly dour vibe was its rebellious rhythm section. First,
boy-wonder drummer Tony Meehan, then blonde-quiffed boozer and
bassist Jet Harris (pictured at left) fell out of the ranks.
Meehan became an A&R man and producer for Decca, and Harris
(supposedly the owner of the first electric bass guitar in
Britain) was one of his signings, so it was only natural that they
would play together again.
Their first single as a duo was Diamonds,
composed by the extraordinary Jerry Lordan - a young man from
Finchley with the curious knack of writing chart-topping
instrumentals.
Lo and behold, a massive Number 1 hit, roughly following The
Shadows' shuffle/twang blueprint, played on a tuned-down Fender
Jaguar guitar and featuring a drum solo and a nifty middle-eight
played by a sax section.
They split up in 1969 but re-formed in 1977 when a hits
compilation became the second biggest selling UK album of that
year.
John Rostill was electrocuted on 1 November 1973. He was only
31. Tony Meehan died on 28 November 2005 as a result of head
injuries sustained following a fall down a staircase at his London
flat in Maida Vale.
Jet Harris died of cancer, aged 71, on 18 March 2011.
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