The ShadowMusic Web Community

I saw Olivia in concert in the U.S. several times. Those shows were great - So many hits! Olivia always surrounded herself with a great band. And as I posted on Facebook, I was very fortunate to get to meet her at the Farrar's house in Malibu. I also wrote a couple articles for Olivia's fan club magazine. 

Her passing has been a major news story, particularly in the U.K., U.S. and Australia. Although a big star in the U.K. she had more chart success in the U.S. and the Shads were a major part of that, particularly before she moved to California in the mid seventies.  

Here are just some of the Shads connections to Olivia's fantastic career...

John Rostill: Wrote or co-wrote 3 Top Ten U.S. singles hits including Please Mr Please with Bruce. John's Let Me Be There and If You Love Me (Let Me Know) were covered by Elvis Presley. Tragically, John did not live to see the huge success Olivia had with his songs in the U.S. 

Bruce Welch: Co-produced Olivia's first 4 albums. Co-wrote several songs that Olivia recorded.

Brian Bennett: Drums on all of Olivia's early albums.

Hank Marvin: Wrote or co-wrote several songs that Olivia recorded, most notably Sam, which was a Top Ten UK hit and Silvery Rain. 

John Farrar: One of the most successful partnerships in pop music history. 15 Top Ten U.S. singles, 100 million records worldwide. John wrote 4 U.S. Number 1's including You're The One That I Want - 5th best selling U.K. single ever. 

Alan Hawkshaw: Won a Grammy for his arrangement of I Honestly Love You. 

Others involved with Shads connections include Dave Richmond, Tarney & Spencer, Peter Vince, John Fiddy and of course Cliff who featured her on his weekly show It's Cliff Richard. Olivia sang on the Heathcliff soundtrack and recorded Suddenly with Cliff for the Xanadu movie. 

Olivia was such a huge "star" that sometimes I think her actual singing talent is overlooked. She had a fantastic range and could also sing different styles - country, pop, rock etc. More importantly than all of that, she was a great person who is sadly missed by family, friends and fans alike. 

Feel free to add more Shads connections to this thread. 

Andrew 

Olivia sang on The Shadows' version of "The Day I Met Marie" from the "From Hank, Bruce, Brian And John" album. She also played a recorder solo on Marvin & Farrar's "Music Makes My Day" from their only album and first single as a duo. Olivia also sang with Cliff on the B-side "Don't Move Away".

Great thread, Andrew.

I believe she and Pat are on the double live album 'Cliff Goes East'.
The Shads recorded an instrumental version of 'You're the One that I Want' on the 'String of Hits' album, and Hank did 'Have You Never Been Mellow' on his 'Guitar Syndicate' album (which also featured an instro version of 'Silvery Rain'..

bgohara wrote:Great thread, Andrew.

I believe she and Pat are on the double live album 'Cliff Goes East'.

They definitely are.

And on the "cut down" version released on the MfP label in 1976 ("Cliff Richard Live!").

bgohara wrote:The Shads recorded an instrumental version of 'You're the One that I Want' on the 'String of Hits' album, and Hank did 'Have You Never Been Mellow' on his 'Guitar Syndicate' album (which also featured an instro version of 'Silvery Rain'..

bgohara wrote:I believe she and Pat are on the double live album 'Cliff Goes East'.

And also on the full double album version "Cliff 'Live' In Japan '72".

There is also the John Rostill song " Fairy Tale Hero" which Olivia recorded, but is not easily available on physical format (a Japanese import CD?)
This song was also recorded by Marianne Faithful.

Oh and of course John Rostill wrote "The Biggest Clown" B-side of "If Not For You"

Thanks Andrew - sorry...only just seen this - I've been away. It's so sad to lose such a great talent and lovely person. What a brave battle she fought for almost 30 years! Yes...Bruce once said that although the Shadows themselves never made it in the States...their songs (in the mid-'70s) couldn't have been more successful. By that he meant hits for Olivia. And although the situation re Bruce and Olivia's relationship/engagement must have been unbelievably traumatic at the time, I reckon without the involvement of Cliff and the Shads...would Olivia have had the career she had?

Hi Phil,

Some great names there. Big Jim taking over from John Farrar when John decided to stop touring.

Sadly several of the drummers have passed away… Jeff Porcaro, Carlos Vega and Mike Botts (who played on John Farrar’s solo album). I chatted briefly with Dan Wojciechowski after one of Olivia’s shows. He’s a nice guy who now plays with Peter Frampton.

I’ve also met Lee Ritenour (who co-wrote Tied Up for Olivia) and saw a show of his in Vegas a few months ago.

Andrew