XXV + XXXV

[drakula63]

It would be interesting to know what number 'The Shadows Silver Album' would have got to in the charts had it been eligible. Everyone seemed to buy it! One of my friends, who I hadn't spoken to for a while, literally phoned me up and said that he'd seen the advert for it on TV and would I buy it for him (as he was useless at doing all that mail order stuff). Then, in 2011 when I was briefly playing in a band again, I was looking through the guitarist's LP collection, as one does, and there it was! I'll guess that it must have sold enough to go top ten, maybe even top 5. And a better way to celebrate the Shads 25th anniversary than XXV.

[Fenderman]

During 1983 they were awarded an Ivor Novello Award for services to music. I think now they should get a lifetime achievement award but i won't hold my breath.

[iefje]

Main thing wrong with XXV is the Silver TV Album which I'm sure we'd all already purchased for the new tracks. A rip off yet again of the most loyal fans.

Yes and you had to buy them both to get all tracks: "Shadoogie" was only issued on "The Shadows Silver Album", while "The Modern Way" and "Liverpool Days" were only issued on "XXV".

I Started at the beginning of this thread thinking I hadn't played this for many years too. I searched for it and found I only had it on cassette, I played it through and have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I was surprised some vocal tracks mentioned on other posts aren't on it. It has 25 tracks its called 'The Shadows Silver Album' it was a teledisc records issue in 1983. Has anyone any more information on this and why the vocals were not included.

The vocal tracks in question, "The Modern Way" and "Liverpool Days" were recorded in the same month (August) that the double album "The Shadows Silver Album" was released, so couldn't have been included. They were issued on the "XXV" album in October, together with nine of the ten new tracks on "The Shadows Silver Album". The track "Shadoogie" (the new studio recording) remained unique to the double album. I think it was all down to marketing. So to obtain all the new tracks of 1983, you had to buy three releases: "The Shadows Silver Album", "XXV" and the single "Diamonds"/"Elevenis". If you also wanted to have the edited version of "Going Home", a fourth release was required to buy: the promo single "Going Home"/"Cat 'N' Mouse".

[Moderne]

....but in 1982 you got two LPs - Life in The Jungle and Live at Abbey Road - for the price of one...

[shadowriter]

Thanks Ivo, much appreciated information.
Norman

[JimN]

... in 1982 you got two LPs - Life in The Jungle and Live at Abbey Road - for the price of one...

Only if you were quick.

It was only good fortune that I got my double-LP. I was in Brent Cross on Saturday 25th September and saw it in Our Price. Until then, I didn't even know it had been released.

Obviously, I the recipient of one of the first 5,000 (because that is apparently how many copies of "Live At Abbey Road" were pressed on vinyl.

I'm not sure about cassette production though, but did manage to find a double-album (single) cassette a few years ago.

[strongbow]

In his autobiography, Bruce has described the Shadows Silver Album as selling 300,000 copies. So it would have been a major chart hit had it gone out via normal retail.

[Moderne]

... in 1982 you got two LPs - Life in The Jungle and Live at Abbey Road - for the price of one...

Only if you were quick.

It was only good fortune that I got my double-LP. I was in Brent Cross on Saturday 25th September and saw it in Our Price. Until then, I didn't even know it had been released.

Obviously, I the recipient of one of the first 5,000 (because that is apparently how many copies of "Live At Abbey Road" were pressed on vinyl.

I'm not sure about cassette production though, but did manage to find a double-album (single) cassette a few years ago.

Surely, you ought to have been one of the 'specially invited audience', Jim. Seriously - I love the date-specific info. I got several of my Shadows LPs at Brent Cross in the early '80s - I clearly remember buying Words and Music there around April 1982.

Back to XXV, I thought Queen of Hearts was one of the best things they ever recorded; great though the Dave Edmunds original was, I thought The Shadows' instrumental version was even better; but that's the genius of Hank Marvin for you!

[JimN]

Surely, you ought to have been one of the 'specially invited audience', Jim. Seriously - I love the date-specific info. I got several of my Shadows LPs at Brent Cross in the early '80s - I clearly remember buying Words and Music there around April 1982.

Back to XXV, I thought Queen of Hearts was one of the best things they ever recorded; great though the Dave Edmunds original was, I thought The Shadows' instrumental version was even better; but that's the genius of Hank Marvin for you!

I can be sure about the date because I was in London to start a new job on 27th September 1982 and I remember being at Brent Cross on the preceding Saturday. Playing the disc wasn't a runner - I was camping out at my dad's place in north London. I took the LPs over to the Putney flat of a uni friend and got him to dub them to cassette for me. At least I was then able to listen on a ghetto-blaster I had with me.

As for "XXV", well... I can't say I was a huge fan of that or of the Silver Album, really. It was all so perfectly-recorded and played - it sounded sterile (just like much of the music whose style was being copied). "Simply Shadows", of course was the best/worst example of that. I breathed a sigh of relief in 1989 when the "...At Their Very Best" LP came out. It was so reassuring to learn that they remembered Geronimo, The Boys, Theme For Young Lovers and others.

[drakula63]

... in 1982 you got two LPs - Life in The Jungle and Live at Abbey Road - for the price of one...

Only if you were quick.

It was only good fortune that I got my double-LP. I was in Brent Cross on Saturday 25th September and saw it in Our Price. Until then, I didn't even know it had been released.

Obviously, I the recipient of one of the first 5,000 (because that is apparently how many copies of "Live At Abbey Road" were pressed on vinyl.

I'm not sure about cassette production though, but did manage to find a double-album (single) cassette a few years ago.

I bought the LP/LPs of Life in the Jungle/Live at Abbey Road upon release in 1982. Sadly, the Life in the Jungle LP jumped and after taking it back and getting two replacements, which both jumped (!), I ended up settling for the cassette instead, which had Life in the Jungle on one side and Abbey Road on t'other. Sadly the cassette was stolen in a burglary in the 1990s. Just can't win can I...?