Guitar Reviews 4U - D'Addario Strings - Should I put heavy or light gauge strings on a guitar to get 'vintage sound'? We investigate....

 

Guitar Reviews 4U - D'Addario Strings - 

Should you put heavy or light gauge strings on a guitar to get 'vintage sound'? 

Here's a look at whether to go 'heavy' on string gauges and what this could do 

to your guitar to get the 'sound' and the potential damage to your guitar.

Most of my Stratocasters run with these 9-42 strings - 

a mix of standard 9 gauge Light top and 10 gauge bottom strings works great.

 D'Addario also make  9 gauge acoustic strings which I use on some acoustics

D'Addario show this great guide to string loading on the back of their

string packaging with the Brooklyn Bridge 'gauge' of string tension loading -

you can easily see just how much more load you create by going heavier! 

There has been a fad over recent years for some players wanting to recreate a more 'authentic' they perceive guitar sound, by using heavier gauge guitar strings. 

The reasoning often being that in the past, heavier gauge strings were only available and used then as standard fitment as the lighter string gauges were not then available.

Back in history, guitarists such as Eddie Cochran and James Burton used to get around this situation of heavy strings by using a light gauge Banjo string on the top E string and by discarding the low E string and installing the rest of the the strings A,D,G & B on the 6,5,4,3 & 2 positions with the 'ultra light' by the standards of the day string on the top E string position.

This allowed James Burton to get his famous sound. He could at least bend the top strings in his lead guitar work much easier.

On the Shadows tour in 2004, guitarist Hank B. Marvin of The Shadows used one of his Stratocasters strung with heavy gauge strings with a 13 gauge top to replicate his early 1959 Stratocaster sound for some of the old 1960's numbers played. His other stage Stratocasters on the tour were strung with more 'normal' modern 10 gauge strings.

Normally Hank might play a 10 top set, sometimes with a 52 bottom E in a 10-52 set rather than a 10-46 so he could get the heavier bass string sound of the old days without the need to fit the complete heavy gauge strings of a 13-56 set. This would allow the lighter '10 top' string unwound 3 strings to be used which are easier to play.

On this subject, some of the heavier sets now offer a wound 3rd like the early 1960's strings, Hank's early Stratocaster strings had the wound 3rd and some 'purists' use those to emulate the sound.

Going to heavy 13-56 range strings will appreciably load up the string tension on a guitar and in so doing, will put more strain on the structure of the guitar woods and the hardware. It does also make the guitar harder to play, there is more string tension to overcome when bending strings or using the trem arm.

I have used D'Addario strings since 1984 and I have also tried other string makes - Fender, Gibson, Ernie Ball, Rotosound and a host of others. Ernie Ball and D'Addario are really my primary choice now as they have a relatively low string 'pull' tension - I tend now to only really use D'Addario strings and Ernie Ball on a Buddy Holly style Stratocaster.

On a Stratocaster, changing makes even of the same string gauge range say 10-46 in both sets can cause problems, installing Fender 10-46 vintage strings for a tryout on a Stratocaster pulled my Trem block up some and led to me having to do some adjustment of the action.

When I put a new set of D'Addario 10-46's on a guitar that is new from a music shop and has the original 'from the factory' 10-46 strings on, the D'Addarios have less tension and sound much better. 

Over the last 40+ years I've tried different string makes and my conclusion is that the D'Addario strings are easy to play, have lower string tension and stay bright and in tune much better than others. Quality does not vary from set to set and I have only broken one top string in all the years playing them.

Back to the original question - heavy or light gauge? So, we consider the player wanting to replicate an artist's 'vintage' sound- they buy the guitar of their desire and decide to install the heavier gauge strings. 

Yes, you might get a louder sounding instrument with the higher mass strings, but you will find the strings harder to bend and perhaps harder to play, the guitar action will need adjustment to compensate for the string change.

The real issue for me as someone who has built and repaired guitars is the added load on the instrument, especially a vintage guitar made decades ago. The heavier load strings will put added loading on the structure of the guitar and may cause damage to the structure. Some old guitars were constructed using animal glue that can give out under heavy string loading. 

Older Gretsch guitars have tenon joint necks with screw location and these necks can move with age, so increasing the string gauge is not kind to them at all! It might have been ok when the guitar was new but some of these classics are now 60 years plus old and that has to be considered.

Personally after 40+ years of playing, I use a standard 9-42 set on most of my mainly Squier and Mexican Stratocasters and a 9-46 set on those I want a more vintage sound with the slightly heavier bottom strings such as a custom shop Maple neck 1959. My Tokai guitars have 9's on now a couple of 1983 TST 50's and a 2014 Goldstar Sound TST50. 

I use 10-46 universally on my Gretsch guitars - although the 5420's now come new with 11 gauge sets fitted, I usually swap those right away in any case and often as I install a Tunamatic roller saddle bridge and often swap the B60 Bigsby for a B6C 'V' style unit - all of which improves the sound and tuning stability greatly.

For acoustics, on acoustic 12 strings I use a 9 gauge set, on standard 6 string acoustic I have used the 9 gauge D'Addario strings and the 10 gauge set - the 9 gauge is a lighter string with less volume but is kinder to guitars I play less frequently. The 9's on a six string do have less volume but it is a trade off and I use them at home only. My Gretsch Rancher from 2013 has 9's on and sounds and plays very nicely. One of the best guitars for playability and sound.

To compensate for 'vintage' string sound you can if you use an amplifier modeller and a mixer as I do a lot, ramp the gain up (and presence if that is on your modeller) a touch and this will give a bit more 'alive' and 'loaded' vintage type sound.

An example of this vintage sound being found on The Shadows 'Man of Mystery' it is a great recording from 1960 and Hank's 1959 Stratocaster has the original heavy strings on, into a Vox AC15 and it really sounds fabulous.

Modern technology can to an extent be used to simulate the 'heavier' string gauge and that would be my route to follow rather than load up your instrument with strings that are more difficult to play and could also cause problems for the guitar structure.

Guitar Reviews 4U - Remembering the great, King of Twang, Duane Eddy

 

Remembering Duane Eddy - King of Twang

The sad news of the passing of guitarist Duane Eddy a lifelong influence on my music came earlier this week. I was just one of countless players that were inspired by that great sound he created.

Duane Eddy - with his original Gretsch 6120

My introduction to Duane Eddy came from some Camden records cassette tapes my uncle brought probably back from the far East in around 1980. I thought they sounded great!

By 1983 I had gone 'electric' and was into instrumental guitar music in a big way, playing along to music by the Shadows, Cliff Richard's backing band, The Ventures and Duane Eddy. Hank Marvin of the Shadows would later record with Duane around 1995.

I marvelled at Duane's sound back in the 80's, a school friend of mine Dave who was studying electronics made me a super spring reverb unit in 1983. That thing sounded amazing and I could get a real Duane Eddy sound from that and my old Vox AC4 amplifier, played into by a 1974 Gretsch Viking or a Tokai TST50 Stratocaster.

Sadly the reverb failed and Dave has promised to build me a new one. I had 'Dance to the Guitar man' on a compilation album in 1984 and I could get quite close to Duane's guitar sound with that old reverb tank! Happy days.

 Duane Eddy - with his Guild Duane Eddy Signature guitar

Duane Eddy went 'electric' in the mid 1950's with a Gibson Gold Top Les Paul guitar, before chopping that in for a 1957 Gretsch 6120 guitar. Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins were also 'Gold Top' players for a while. Duane saw that the Bigsby on the 6120 was something he could use and the Gold Top was traded in.

In the 60's, Duane had his own signature guitar made by Guild that was equipped with a Bigsby vibrato and Dearmond Dynasonic pickups, a format that was as on his Gretsch 6120 and vital to his sound and playing style. The Guild was in a natural wood finish rather than the 'Western Orange' found on the Gretsch.

and a Gibson Duane Eddy Signature

Duane Eddy later had a signature guitar made by Gibson, likely after the endorsement deal with Guild had finished. 

Duane's major chart successes came from around 1959-63, however the British invasion of the American charts in 1964 by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kinks, the Who and others largely put paid to instrumental music in the US mainstream pop music charts, although groups such as the Surfaris, Ventures and Chantays found success in the far East, notably in Japan with their instrumentals.

and finally honoured with his own

Gretsch 6120 Signature model

Duane's next brush with success in the UK, was in 1976 with the tune 'Play me like you play your old guitar.' It was a song I immediately liked, aged 10 and at the time I was learning to play the guitar. Mine was a rather asthmatic Spanish guitar with creaky ribs and was just about fit for the fire. A long way removed from Duane's electric guitar!

In 1986 Duane made another surprising chart entry with a British avant garde music group called the art of noise, with a reworked version of Duane's 1960 classic the theme from Peter Gunn, a 1960's Detective show on American television.

I worked in a warehouse at the time this was in the charts and when this Peter Gunn record was played on the radio at the time, I marvelled at the sound of that guitar reverberating off the hard surface walls, it sounded bloody fantastic! I was rather spoilt musically at this time as the Shadows were back making records again.

Fast forward to the 1990s and Duane was given a third signature guitar, this time by Gretsch, along the lines of his original 6120, in fact a good representation of his original guitar. With a pair of Dearmond Dynasonic  pickups, Bigsby vibrato and stunning orange finish, with Duane's signature on the pick guard and truss rod nut cover, it was a superb guitar.

 Duane Eddy with Hank Marvin of the Shadows -

Duane and Hank recorded 'Pipeline' for one of Hank's solo albums

 Brian Bennett (Shadows), Duane Eddy, Dick Plant (producer)

& Hank Marvin (Shadows) at the recording of 'Pipeline' at Brian's studio

Hank Marvin of the Shadows was making some solo albums in the 1990's and Duane was invited to duet with Hank on 'Pipeline' an old Chantays surf number. Hank had started out in 1959 at around the same time as Duane, playing instrumentals.

The recording was made at Shadows Drummer Brian Bennett's home studios in Hertfordshire, with Dick Plant producing, Dick had written a great instrumental named 'Hammerhead' which was the best track and also the opener on the 1984 Shadows album called Guardian Angel.

 Duane Eddy was still touring and delighting

audiences with his 'Twang's the thang' sound

Duane Eddy maybe sadly no longer with us but his music will live on. I'll keep playing it, on a Gretsch 6120 with plenty of reverb!

 

Guitar reviews 4U - Dearmond 610 & Fender 725 Volume & Tone Pedals comparison & review

                                            

Guitar reviews 4U - Dearmond 610 & Fender 725 Volume & Tone Pedals review

Today's review covers the vintage Dearmond 610 and the Fender 725 pedals that allow you to control the volume and tone of your guitar or instrument signal.

Dearmond 610 & Fender 725 Pedals

Dearmond (Rowe Industries) and Fender have figured historically in the American musical instrumentation industry since the 1940's. Dearmond like Fender, is famous for guitars, pickups and foot pedals.

Close up of the Crinkle finish used on the Dearmond - 

this finish was popular in WW2 on Motorola Handie Talkie, Jeep regulator covers etc.

Both of these pedals reviewed are mono in and mono out using standard 1/4 jacks and standard wiring configuration guitar leads. They are passive, non-powered pedals.

Early 1950's 602 Volume Pedal Mk1 type - 

The foot grip pattern is cast onto the top plate, the Mk2 had rubber ridged pads

the 1/4 jack wire on the left to the Amplifier was hard wired on the Mk1 model

Dearmond 610

The 610 is the follow on development from their successful 602 Volume only Pedal, introduced in the early 1950's, hence the retro look of the design. However the one featured here is the Mk2 type produced until at least 1978. 

The 602 Volume only Pedal, this is the slimmer width Mk2 version.

It utilises 1/4 input and output jacks, taking standard guitar leads

Both the Mk2 602 and 610 look identical from above at a distance.

The 602 Volume Pedal found favour with the Pedal Steel and early electric guitar players from around 1950. The original slightly fuller 'jelly mould' shape of the original 502 was 'streamlined' down into the MK2 version shape of the pedal which was also adopted for the 610 as well.

Dearmond 610 Volume and Tone Pedal inside -
The upper, horizontal rack actuates the Tone pot via a gear on the pot shaft

The vertical lower rack actuates the Volume pot gear via a gear on that pot shaft

The construction on both the MK2 pedals is very similar, with the difference on the 610 of the additional horizontal toothed rack and pinion gear arrangement, the swivel top pedal plate and the extra Tone pot and wiring. The 602 pedal is restricted to up/down movement only. Only the 610 has the additional left to right sweep movement capability.

The 610 pedal top 'swivel' - 

towards the Treble bias position and pedal down for full volume

Showing the 610 pedal top 'swivel' - 

with pedal in the up position, volume fully off

The 602 had a 'straight' up and down volume pedal control, with flat 'down' being full volume and with the pedal plate raised 'up', being volume off. Again, the volume control on the 610 like the 602 is actuated by a vertical mounted toothed rack and pinion gear mechanism.

Fawn Brown Crinkle finish was used on this 1961 610 Pedal

Common to the later Mk2 Pedals are the pedal top rubbers, the top one with vertical ridges and the lower with horizontal ridges, these rubbers were applied to both the later 602 and 610 pedals to keep costs down, even though the vertical ribbed pattern was superfluous on the 602 which was an up/down pedal and not an up/down/side to side function as on the 610. (On the Mk1 the top plate had a 'grip' pattern cast into the top of the plate.)

On the 610, the vertical ridge patten helped the sole of your shoe grip the plate and move the plate as required from left, to centre and to the right depending on what tone was required. Centre was a neutral tone position - neither bass or treble accentuated.

A 1968 example in an olive green Crinkle finish

Colour finishes varied on the Dearmond pedals used a 'Crinkle' pattern paint effect finish. Early Dearmond pedal paint finish examples are a dark slate grey on the Mk1, Mk2 pedals used a Dark Grey, some were an Olive Green and some 60's examples were in a rarer Fawn Brown finish - all using the 'crinkle' pattern paint finish. I have seen both 602 and 610 in the Fawn Brown Crinkle which seems to be rarer and less used than the dark grey or Olive green paints.

Baseplate of a 1968 610 showing the Ink Stamp date

Crinkle finish paint was often seen used in WW2 on items such as the Motorola Handie Talkie walk-talky personal radios, on other electrical items like the Willys MB/Ford GPW Jeep Autolite Voltage Regulator boxes and the finish was also used on Radio Set sheet metal work.

In use

The genius of the 610 combined Volume and Tone is immediately apparent in use, a Lead guitar player can keep the pedal top flat down at the '12 O'Clock' position for rhythm playing, but slide the pedal top to the right and the treble gives you a treble biased level for lead note playing.

Whether by accident or design, this function was soon exploited by many players looking to overcome that old problem of needing volume to cut through for lead single note playing work on soloing and not having to mess around with volume pedal height.

Pedal Steel Players likely first found this function very useful and later guitarists discovered this feature too. In the UK Shadows guitarist Hank B. Marvin in the 1960's discovered this unique feature of the Dearmond 610, later Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd (an admirer of Hank Marvin's style also adopted the 610 and both players also used the Binson Echo machine).

One drawback some say of the Dearmond pedal is that the inputs are less conveniently handed on the base unit, than on the Fender version. 

Fender 725 Volume and Tone Pedal

The Fender 725 Volume and Tone Pedal -

a reissue of a 1960's model

Fender Musical Instruments in California were not slow to get their own pedal to the market, as they also made Lap Steel guitars, popular in Hawaiian and Western Swing and Country music styles, in addition to their guitars, bass guitars and amplifiers. 

Players soon developed the use of the volume pedal to allow them to play the start of the plucked note with the pedal in the up 'off' position and then dip the pedal down to the full 'on' volume position to achieve a 'sweeping volume' playing of a note. Some call this playing style 'violining'

This technique can be done on both the Dearmond and Fender pedals. Guitarists and Pedal Steel players found this technique added an extra dimension to their playing. Think Santo and Johnny on 'Sleepwalk.'

The side plate view of the Fender 725 - 

one of the inputs here is for a guitar tuner

This view shows off the folded metal construction and top pedal plate

Fender brought out their own rival to the Dearmond pedals in the 1960's. The Fender version was more 'boxy' shaped, being made from pressed and folded sheet metal construction, rather than Dearmond's cast metal construction. However, operation of the Fender Volume / Tone is the same as on the Dearmond equivalent.

Inside the Fender 725 - Nylon cord is used rather than plastic gearing

to enable movement actuation of the Volume and Tone pots

The Fender 725 uses an equally ingenious method of actuating the volume and tone controls, as the above picture shows. The nylon cord is easier to replace on the Fender rather than having to try and find a spare rack and gear for a Dearmond, however with 3D printing common now, that available process does help fix any replacement problems on a Dearmond.

In operation

As with any vintage equipment, wear and tear inevitability takes its toll, however, I have found the Dearmond 610's quite robust and if treated with care can last, I believe the 610 in this Mk2 shape was made until at least 1978.

A 1978 advert for the Dearmond pedal range -

the old 610 Mk2 is still in the lineup!

Both units are easy to use and do the job without any problems, as you would expect from these premier corporations. Some players might prefer one brand over another, say if you have a vintage Fender Pedal Steel, you might go for the Fender pedal for completeness reasons.

Both pedals are the passive type and any slight volume loss of pedal versus direct to amplifier via a guitar lead sound level, should be minimal. Pots can with age be a bit scratchy, switch cleaner like Servisol works nicely. However, the Tone Pot on the 610 is virtually impossible to find as an OEM Dearmond part so you might have to find an alternative if that pot is non functional on a 610.

One facet of the 610 and of the Fender equivalent is that by moving the pedal plate from side to side does give a wah-wah type of effect. Hence, this type of pedal was likely developed on into an up/down motion pedal in its own right for that purpose after discovering that sound, one which was easier to operate in an up/down operation, rather than having a side to side actuation style.

I have used a Dearmond 610 with a 1955 date (the date was ink stamped on the baseplate) which was the later Mk2 shape one for live work in the 1980's and it was great. I have three 610's at present.

Value wise, 602 and 610 pedals can be picked up cheaply if people don't appreciate what they have got! From less than the £100 / $100 mark upwards. 

 

Tokai TST50 Stratocaster 1983 in Fiesta Red - 40 years on, the guitar that changed it all for me!

 

The Tokai TST50 in Fiesta Red -

One of my top guitars of all time!

On Monday 19th November 1983, I purchased a guitar that change everything for me - the Tokai TST50 Stratocaster in Fiesta Red for £199 from ABC Music in Surrey. 40 years later, I am still enjoying a couple these fine 1983 guitars, both in Fiesta Red.

For some years starting in the 1970's, I had been making do with unsuitable guitars whilst learning to play and because I had no money to buy a decent one. Occasionally I would be able to get my hands on someone else's guitar to try and to realise what I was missing or what was eluding me.

The controversial Tokai TST50 -

it outclassed the Fender guitars of the day  

I was ideally looking for a guitar suitable for the playing I wanted to do and the sound I wanted to create. In those pre-internet days, that meant looking at guitar magazines, visiting guitar shops and hoping the advice from the shop was good and not from someone looking to offload a guitar.

                                       1985 on stage with the Tokai TST-50 guitar

In 1980 when I was 14, the Shadows released an album called String of Hits and this was the right sound at the right time for me to aspire to playing and creating, for a short time, this was mostly attempted on a Starway Stratocaster copy guitar borrowed from my English Teacher at school. 

                                      1985 at the Hope Pub in Richmond, London 

                                                playing the Tokai TST-50 guitar

The Shadows at that time were recently back on tour and in the singles charts with singles from the string of hits album such as Don't cry for me Argentina and theme from the Deerhunter, I could see on their television performances and hear on the record a guitar style and sound I wanted to perform - that of the Shadows lead guitarist Hank Marvin.

1983 Tokai TST50 - the equal of the pre-CBS 1959 Stratocaster

The string of hits LP cover had artwork by a studio called Cream, and their album art was a joy in itself to look at, clever, stylish and just outstanding.

By early 1982, I was now playing often in various short lived bands with people at school, I was round my friend Dave Kent's house when he played me a 7 inch single from 1960, called 'Apache.' Like many before me, it had changed their playing and Dave and I listened to this single again and again, the 7 inch record material seemed to give it a special resonance, almost ethereal. What a fantastic sound. Dave purchased a used Musima guitar made in the GDR which was sort of Stratocaster like and had a trem arm.

The Shadows first album from 1961 -

it features Hank's first Stratocaster on the cover -

It would take me 17 years to get the same 1959 year guitar 

After leaving school, some months later I got back in touch with Dave around late 1983, I had only then recently purchased the Tokai, at the time I was working in London on an evening shift for a wine company, so in the mornings I had the time to myself and one Monday in November 1983 went to buy this great guitar so I could try and emulate the Hank Marvin sound I was after, whilst the house was empty.

The price of the guitar at £199 was then for me 4 weeks wages for this new icon and worth all of it. Getting home that day with the guitar in a cardboard box under my arm, which I had walked home 2 miles with, I only had a brief time to try it  out.

I plugged it in and briefly played along with a Shadows record. This was the sound and the right looking guitar. It even looked like Hank Marvin's guitar. This was the start of a journey. 40 years later it is still inspiring me to play.

The Shadows String of Hits album from 1980 - 

I was lucky to find this signed copy on sale

Soon enough with 3 schoolfriends and Dave's brother, we had ourselves a small band going and for a few years made a lot of noise down at the local youth club! I was meanwhile learning the Hank Marvin style and have been doing the same thing since.

Hank Marvin playing his 1958 Stratocaster in the late 1980's

Recently I put a book together with pictures of every guitar I have owned since 1977, it was called 150 guitars later, because that is where I am now, 150 guitars on from 1983.

A barely played 1983 one owner TST50 with rare decal mistake!

One thing is for sure the Tokai TST50 is one of the great guitars I have owned and has been seldom equalled. Nowadays I have 2 of these TST50's to hand, both from 1983. Next to a maple neck 1959 Stratocaster I restored in 1999, the Tokai is on a par with that, not much else is, except the recent Mexican made 50's guitars from 2018 onwards.

Playing eat again on the 19th November 40 years on, it is still one of the best guitars ever.

Summer Holiday film at 60 - when Cliff and Shadows were at the height of the their fame

 

Cliff Richard in the cab of a London Transport RT Bus 1962

Its 1962 and London faces a shortage of Bus drivers and Cliff Richard and The Shadows are the top selling group in the British music scene - this spectacular collision of circumstances perhaps provided the ideal recruiting vehicle for London Transport and another Cliff film that would only increase his fame. So, how has society changed 60 years on?

By the end of 1959, the early rockers that Cliff had idolised were now mostly gone or in decline. Elvis was in the Army, Buddy Holly died in a plane crash, Little Richard had found religion, Jerry Lee Lewis had married his 13 year old cousin causing opprobrium when he toured England and Chuck Berry had his own minor problems, so to speak.

Apart from Bill Haley, most of the artists were in decline and out of the charts, music was changing from the 'old' Rock n' Roll and the new, slick, 'Booby' style was here. Bobby Vee was the personification of that new era, a young college-educated man in a smart sport coat, neatly cut hair, with a smart car and an adoring girlfriend from a white picket fence house in middle class America.

America was on the ascendant, buoyed by years of solid, commercial growth, with WW2 and the Korean war having made seemingly little impact on it financially.

In Britain, the post-war economy was starting to grow, but the nation was still heavily laden with debt from the recent last war and adding further debt by the purchase of Atlas missiles it could really ill afford, from America as part of the Cold War nuclear deterrent.

From 1956 in Britain, the economy did start to lift and by 1960 it was certainly on the up.

In 1960, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent were on part of a package deal in Britain, it would end tragically, as did Buddy Holly's similar part of a package band travelling show would in 1959. Gene Vincent's US career was on the decline and Eddie agreed to go to buoy it up (and make it perhaps more marketable) by being an act and a draw as their music was still popular with British audiences. 

Supported by British musicians, due to a Musician's Union embargo, for Eddie this included a backing band with Joe Brown on guitar and a pre-Shadows Brian Bennett on drums. On the way back to London, the car they were travelling in with Gene and Sharon Sheelley (Eddie's girlfriend) as passengers, was involved in an accident at Chippenham and Eddie died shortly after in hospital. Perhaps that is when the original music died commercially.

This seemed like the coda for the original American rockers.

On their US tour in 1960, Cliff and the Shadows saw a lot on their tour that influenced their music, including the segregation in some of the US states which shocked them, something that they never saw in Britain which had a mixed race society. 

They did pickup the way the performers were dressing, watched their stagecraft, studied the whole presentation of the artist and the direction the music was going. It was a tremendous head start they could implement when they returned to Britain.

Although Cliff and the Shadows had remained popular since 1958, other artists of the time slowly lost ground and often through poorly chosen material by management and record companies, suffered poor chart placings and eventual obscurity that even a hardcore fan base could not provide sufficient record sales to help them with.

Thus many artists of the '2I's' era  of the late 1950's through no real fault of their own gradually faded from the charts over the next few years, artists and bands like Billy Fury, Marty Wilde, Terry Dene, Wee Willie Harris, The Vipers, to name but a few waned, whilst Cliff and his Shadows rocketed.

Theirs was a clever mix, a backing band who could perform in their own right and with Cliff, made them more marketable. With their No1 hit Apache, the Shadows set the tone for millions of guitarists to follow and as a result, many bands ditched their singers and went instrumental.

With chart hit after hit with Man of Mystery, The Frightened City, Kon Tiki for the Shadows, their success looked rosy. Cliff was reportedly paid £1000 a week, when the average wage in Britain was about £10. Heavily taxed on this by the British Government, Cliff was still doing very nicely. Plus the songwriting royalties were a bonus for the band too.

Through 1961 and 1962, Cliff and the Shadows both as individual units and collectively, had the British music scene just about sewn up. To the effect that the Beatles could not get a look in until at least 1963 and not gaining any real foothold until 1964, much to the chagrin of some of the Beatles members! 

John Lennon did say though that before them (Cliff and the Shadows) that 'there hadn't been much British music worth listening too'.  'Move it' really hit the spot musically and still sounds exciting and fresh today. With the gift of a Fender Stratocaster to Hank Marvin, the music just developed beyond expectation.

Cliff's 1961 film extravaganza 'The young ones' had been a great success, they continued as a unit recording and touring and in 1962, Summer Holiday was created as their next film project.

The opening sequence of a small brass ensemble playing on a bandstand in some godforsaken British coastal town (playing the Summer Holiday theme tune) before having to abandon the performance due to driving rain, summed up a lot of things in Britain.

The 'old guard' was on the wane. In Britain, national military service for 2 years had been abandoned in 1960 largely as a waste of time, although the reality was it was necessary to have troops in Germany in large numbers in case of the Cold War starting another military fracas and also to assist the West German nation to rebuild and restructure, the denazification of Germany as fares it went had to an extent been done.

By 1960, the teenager had been identified in Britain as a marketable commodity that could be marketed to and exploited financially. With disposable income, hire purchase finance and new found freedom, the teenager of 1960 had in some cases a life that their parents and grandparents, some from the Victorian and Edwardian eras certainly never had.

Modernity through design was now changing the face of Britain, modern looking cars, modern buildings, house furnishings, interior design, paint colours, all these were echoing post war America about 10 years earlier and casting aside the dusty and the old hat way of things.

Cliff and the Shadows did have one thing extra, they appealed to both the Bikers and the Mods. The guitar driven music appealed to the more working class Biker types, often to be found at the Ace Cafe in Willesden, North London and also to the suited and booted Mods, as the Shads and Cliff dressed in sharp, modern design stage clothing.

Summer Holiday also ushered in the era of the package holiday. Aviation had now made great steps in jet flight technology possible, with passenger jets able to reach many parts of the world in a few hours or less.

This opened up the 'package tour' era with flights and hotel accommodation combined in one deal price by Travel Agents. 

Summer Holiday's premise of 4 London Transport mechanics from the Aldenham bus overhaul works taking an older London bus across Europe to Greece on a self-contained package tour seemed the ideal vehicle as such for the basis of a film and perhaps to attract badly need drivers.

The late Lionel Blair put forward Una Stubbs for the role of Sandy, leading to a life long friendship and also to one that she had with Cliff until her death sadly this year. Although she was 5 years older than Cliff in real life in the film, she looked around the same age as he did then.

To serve the American market, American actress Laurie Peters was brought in so that the film might be saleable in that country, although she seems to have faded off the performing scene since and the film did not enjoy the success it did in Europe. A young Peter Yates is on the credit, famous later for his Directing role in the 1968 Steve McQueen film Bullitt, with its iconic car chase (in 1967, Yates directed a film with Stanely Baker called 'Robbery' where a precursor of the Bullitt car chase was filmed, leading to Yates's role in Bullitt).

Factor in the Shadows to provide musical support providing some great instrumentals and songs for the film and you have success all round. 

Summer Holiday featured the third Shadows lineup with Brian Bennett on Drums and Brian 'Licorice' Locking on Bass, a group of three Brians and a Bruce - as Hank B Marvin's name was originally Brian Robson Rankin!

The Shadows musical performance sequences could have been longer and the film's plot was very tame and perhaps syrupy by today's standards. The appeal of the film and the group was what sold it, the young women wanted Cliff to be their boyfriend or husband and the young  wanted to be the Shadows players.

It was only in 1963 it seemed that Britain discovered sex, in the Lady Chatterley's lover obscenity trial. Perhaps, it was the point when things started to go downhill with morals and standards diminishing by the day, some believed? With the events of the Profumo affair only adding more Petrol to the flames of discord.

Undoubtedly, the Cliff and the Shadows combination ensured that their joint and individual success due to their wide fan base would let them continue to be charting and successful years after more modern and different music formed most of the charts.

By the 1962 Summer Holiday era, Britain was really starting to prosper again for many. It was by no way out of the woods financially and the problems set in after the middle of the decade with trade unions demanding more pay and better conditions which helped to make Britain uneconomic as a manufacturing base, ultimately driving jobs abroad.

But from 1960 to 1968, Britain was the place to be, London was again on the map and even the Americans had to take notice. Thanks to Summer holiday, the package tour era had arrived!

The shadows first album from 1961 - 60 years later

 

The Shadows - their debut album from 1961

A rare Stereo version, signed by 3 on the back

The first Shadows album from 1961 was eagerly awaited, following the release of their groundbreaking instrumental single 'Apache' in June 1960.

Cliff Richard's backing group The Shadows shot to fame in their own right with their instrumental hit single "Apache" written by Jerry Lordan in June 1960, displacing a single they had written which Cliff had taken to no.1 in the charts. 

Following on from 'Apache,' they released a succession of hit singles -  'Man of mystery,' 'Kon Tiki' and 'The Frightened City' - chart singles that followed in fairly rapid succession and established their success as the leading group of the day.

It was in 1961, sometime after their initial success in their own right that they released their self-titled first LP. Rather than just go down the easy route of re-releasing their previous hit tracks as part of the new album as a compilation, they took a rather daring and different step.

None of the tracks on the new album were from their chart hits. This was a masterstroke in that it gave the buying public 14 brand new tracks to enjoy and also showed the Shadows had a musical direction and ability.

With 4 tracks on this new album penned by themselves, the Shadows started a path that they would continue to follow during their career - that of mixing the output between established tunes along with a few of their own compositions.

 

From Shadoogie, side one's opener, the classic Blue Star (covered later by the Ventures), Nivram, the jazzy Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Jet Harris theme with a great bass solo, See you in my drums featuring Tony Meehan's drumming talent beyond his years, All my sorrows a nice vocal ensemble piece - compare it to the Drifters (as they were) 'Feeling fine' single from 1959, the studio sound is a world away with 'Sorrows' showing how much they had matured musically and benefited from a great studio set up. Stand up and say that rounds off side 1, with Hank Marvin on piano giving his best Floyd Cramer style performance - Hank had started on piano and banjo before gravitating to guitar.

Side 2 kicks off with 'Gonzales', a rip roaring track that took 58 takes to get on tape - even though this version has a couple of minor errors it still has great energy, Find me a golden street evokes a street scene from some old late 50's B movie, Theme from a filleted Plaice shows the Shadows having fun with the title wording which they would use throughout their career and on this track, the doubled guitar sounds good (a technique that was also explored on Nivram), 'That's my desire' is a quality ensemble vocal, 'My resistance is low' is a great old track given the echo laden guitar treatment by Hank with the notes becoming almost ethereal in the highest part, 'Sleepwalk' has become a Shadows and Hank Marvin live performance favourite for decades and the album rounds off with 'Big Boy' - likely based on the American Steam locomotive's beat - there was a locomotive called the Big Boy in America.

This album is pure quality, even 60 years later the tracks sound fresh, the playing and the studio sound is superb and this lineup of Marvin, Welch, Harris and Meehan lasted a mere year and a half lasted for one album, before Tony Meehan departed to be replaced by Brian Bennet for 'Out of the Shadows' their second album.

(This next line of Marvin, Welch, Harris and Brian Bennet lasted a short time before Brian 'Licorice' Locking joined for about a year until 1964, when John Rostill became the Shadows Bass player until their split in 1968). The early Shadows lineups (pre John Rostill) were drawn from the old 2I's Club in Old Compton Street players - all those had played in various bands in that famous venue. Out of the Shadows featured some Jet Harris and some Brian Locking tracks.

The treat of the first album's colour cover photo is to see Hank Marvin's original mythical Fender Stratocaster guitar in the famous Fiesta Red colour bought by Cliff Richard, looking a lovely pinky shade here. As with many of their future album covers, they were almost an unnofficial advertising opportunity for Fender instruments! The album was mostly sold in the Mono version as few people had proper true Stereo record players then, so the album pictured a 1961 Stereo version is very rare, more valuable being signed by 3 band members. I have one of these Mono LP's signed by all 4 members which is very rare as they were not long together in this lineup before Tony Meehan left not long after the LP's release.

Indeed, many Fender instruments were sold on the influence and sound the Shadows had. Demand for Fiesta Red Fender guitars was driven across the world by the Shadows without a doubt and demand could not keep pace lithesome being refinished in Britain to keep up with the demand. As George Harrison later said 'No Shadows, no Beatles.' 

I came to this album in 1983, I had just purchased a Tokai TST50 Stratocaster as close to Hank's Fender as I could get and ironically copied from the same 1958 era guitar as Hank played on this album!

With a Sound City Valve amplifier and tape echo machine I was well on the way to the Hank Marvin sound. Now I use Vox Valvetronix AD60 or 120 and Tonelab Studio and Stage SE boxes to get that great sound.

I was able to follow the style and technique of Hank Marvin and this has given me a lot of pleasure over the last 40 years! Even today when I hear the tracks on this album, they still sound fresh. I have backing tracks from this album and enjoy playing along to them.

This band was immensely talented back then and remain so. This album is a musical milestone of the early 1960's from a band that helped define the music of the decade that followed.