Hello all,
New member here.
Originally from Wolverhampton and now living in Witney, Oxfordshire.
I first heard The Shadows music as a 10 year old in 1962. We used to visit my "Auntie' Majorie in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton. Her two daughters were keen fans of Cliff & The Shadows (amongst many other acts). I used to spend the entire time during these visits sitting in the kitchen listening to all those singles. We eventually got a record player at home and I can still remember catching the bus into town and buying Wonderful Land, my first ever single. There then followed a lifetime of enthusiasm and love of music, The Beatles and all the great pop stars of the early sixties and then quickly the whole blues and progressive scene and onto a love of Neil Young and guitar music generally.
Now in my sixties my fondness for The Shadows has never diminished and like many others it seems I have recently taken the plunge and decided to try and actually learn to play some of those brilliant tunes myself. It's early days and I know I will find this site most helpful.
There is one aspect of The Shadows that I simply do not understand. And that is that it has been, and still is, occasionally referred to as 'Surf Music'. I really do not understand this term. To me The Shadows felt a wholly British act completely encapsulating the thrill of the early years of Rock 'n' Roll and pop. They had nothing to do with Surf Music as I later understood the term mean and used in relation to west coast American pop music.
So can anybody enlighten me as to why this term has been used for The Shadows. It seems entirely inappropriate... ??
Thanks in advance and I'm sure I will enjoy this forum.
Best Wishes,
Nic.