Bruce Welch - Good Luck!
Steve Cobham
I'd just like to wish him luck. This disease killed Zappa as it went
undiagnosed for a long while. Let's hope Bruce does a lot better.
Incidentally, shouldn't more be made of the Shad's pre-eminence as a
band in their own right?
Also, "Lonesome" Dave Peverett of Foghat and Savoy Brown died
recently.
> SHADOWS GUITARIST HAS CANCER
>
> A member of one of the most famous
> backing bands in rock 'n' roll history
> The Shadows, is battling cancer.
>
> Bruce Welch, 58, a guitarist in the
> band that supported Sir Cliff Richard
> in the early 1960s, is to have surgery
> for prostate cancer next week.
>
> Mr Welch, of Richmond on Thames, wrote
> two of Sir Cliff's most famous songs,
> Bachelor Boy and Summer Holiday.
Steve.
================================================
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================================================
Frank A Muller
> I'd just like to wish (Bruce Welch) luck. This disease killed Zappa as it
went
> undiagnosed for a long while. Let's hope Bruce does a lot better.
My nursing wife reckons this is perhaps the most undiagnosed killer. The
examination isn't too pleasant - but if it saves your life...
> Incidentally, shouldn't more be made of the Shad's pre-eminence as a
> band in their own right?
Absolutely. Who in Britain doesn't owe Hank a nod of acknowledgement and
admiration. Possibly the first Fender Strat owner in Britain - I remember
Kelloggs Corn Flakes running a competiton to win a Burns Strat copy with
Hank's name prominently featured in the advertising. So much so that for a
long time I thought he actually played a Burns... According to the man
himself in 'Contours, Curves and Body Horns' it was a jaw-dropping red
Fender Strat that he owned.
Remember their foray into vocals as well? Not too bad at harmonising -
although their take on 'Good Vibrations' was never going to compare to the
sublime original. That may have been Marvin Welch and Farrar rather than the
Shads per se. There have been many permutations of the Shads but I guess
alway Bruce and Hank at the helm.
Have a speedy recovery Bruce.
I believe Hank lives in Kalamunda - but I've never bumped into him at the
supermarket. My previous guitar tutor knew his son however, and thought very
highly of his prowess on the guitar.
Frank A Muller
Jonathan J Quick
news:38a21e0e$0$17...@echo-01.iinet.net.au...
>
> > I'd just like to wish (Bruce Welch) luck. This disease killed Zappa as
it
> > went undiagnosed for a long while. Let's hope Bruce does a lot better.
> My nursing wife reckons this is perhaps the most undiagnosed killer. The
> examination isn't too pleasant - but if it saves your life...
I had the examination recently, it's more embarrassment than anything else
that makes it unpleasant. The procedure lasts only a few seconds.
JJ.
--
Email: jjq...@foxtrot.co.uk
Homepage: www.foxtrot.co.uk
Band page: www.foxtrot.co.uk/cof.html
Cyril
<FAMu...@wantree.com> wrote:
>Steve Cobham wrote
>> I'd just like to wish (Bruce Welch) luck. This disease killed Zappa as it
>went
>> undiagnosed for a long while. Let's hope Bruce does a lot better.
>
Seconded (well, thirded) - I hope he makes a good recovery.
>My nursing wife reckons this is perhaps the most undiagnosed killer. The
>examination isn't too pleasant - but if it saves your life...
Ooerr! Better find out more as I know b*gg*r all about it.
>
>> Incidentally, shouldn't more be made of the Shad's pre-eminence as a
>> band in their own right?
Agreed - of course they first became famous as ol' Cliffy's backing
band, but they existed in their own right (albeit as the Drifters)
before Cliff became famous, and of course went on to have many hits in
their own right - certainly enough to be considered as more than just
a backing band.
>
>Absolutely. Who in Britain doesn't owe Hank a nod of acknowledgement and
>admiration. Possibly the first Fender Strat owner in Britain - I remember
>Kelloggs Corn Flakes running a competiton to win a Burns Strat copy with
>Hank's name prominently featured in the advertising. So much so that for a
>long time I thought he actually played a Burns... According to the man
>himself in 'Contours, Curves and Body Horns' it was a jaw-dropping red
>Fender Strat that he owned.
IIRC it was Cliffy himself who brought Hank back the coveted Strat
from the US.
A million spotty 'erberts picked up a guitar because of the Shads -
let's face it, apart from them we Brits didn't have many guitar heroes
to look up to at that time - the only other one of note was Bert
Weedon ;-)
>
>Remember their foray into vocals as well? Not too bad at harmonising -
>although their take on 'Good Vibrations' was never going to compare to the
>sublime original. That may have been Marvin Welch and Farrar rather than the
>Shads per se. There have been many permutations of the Shads but I guess
>alway Bruce and Hank at the helm.
In their early days (pre-Cliff) they were more of a vocal band (of
course accompanying themselves on instruments). Hank & Bruce were both
keen Buddy Holly fans and you can hear the influence on their early
stuff - I don't think Buddy himself would have been too worried by the
competition posed by them then though ;-)
But later on they proved they could manage quite well as a vocal group
without ol' Cliffy, ta very much - listen to their early albums for
proof.
Cyril
Steve Cobham
wrote:
>IIRC it was Cliffy himself who brought Hank back the coveted Strat
>from the US.
Hank was a great admirer of James Burton who was with Ricky Nelson at
the time. Wanting to sound like JB and also noting how he bent
strings, Hank and Cliff assumed that JB would be playing the most
expensive Fender there was to get this sound. So Cliff ordered this
from the US - a "red" (and there's some dispute over the name of the
colour, I believe) Strat with maple neck and gold hardware.
I don't know whether it was Cliff or the management who actually paid
for the Strat, but I seem to recall that Hank himself didn't have to
pay for it.
In fact, JB played a Tele and his bent notes - as I understand it -
were a result of a custom set of strings with a plain banjo string on
the top and all the rest of the strings moved "one down", dispensing
with the 6th string from a regular set.
This was also Clapton's preferred stringing during his Mayall and
early-Cream era. Of course, when I heard that this was how Clpaton did
it, I too rushed off and bought a Clifford Essex banjo first. It
worked, too!
Anyway, that's how his Hankness ended up with a Strat.
The rest is history.
Bruce Welch has it now.
Jim Nugent should really be answering this here.
No doubt I'm way off beam.
Damn those large blue alligators.
Steve Dix
<FAMu...@wantree.com> wrote:
>Steve Cobham wrote
>> I'd just like to wish (Bruce Welch) luck. This disease killed Zappa as it
>went
>> undiagnosed for a long while. Let's hope Bruce does a lot better.
>
>My nursing wife reckons this is perhaps the most undiagnosed killer. The
>examination isn't too pleasant - but if it saves your life...
>
>> Incidentally, shouldn't more be made of the Shad's pre-eminence as a
>> band in their own right?
>
>Absolutely. Who in Britain doesn't owe Hank a nod of acknowledgement and
>admiration. Possibly the first Fender Strat owner in Britain - I remember
>Kelloggs Corn Flakes running a competiton to win a Burns Strat copy with
>Hank's name prominently featured in the advertising. So much so that for a
>long time I thought he actually played a Burns... According to the man
>himself in 'Contours, Curves and Body Horns' it was a jaw-dropping red
>Fender Strat that he owned.
>
Actually they did play Burns for a while, Frank. Burns used to do the
"Marvin", which is still available from Burns UK as the Burns Legend.
Steve Dix ==================================================
http://www.snorty.net/ Weekly Mini-car cartoon
http://stage.vitaminic.co.uk/the_simpletons/ Hear our MP3s
JNugent
<38a21e0e$0$17...@echo-01.iinet.net.au>...
>Steve Cobham wrote:
>> I'd just like to wish (Bruce Welch) luck. This disease
killed Zappa as it
>> went undiagnosed for a long while. Let's hope Bruce does
a lot better.
>> Incidentally, shouldn't more be made of the Shad's
pre-eminence as a
>> band in their own right?
>Absolutely. Who in Britain doesn't owe Hank a nod of
acknowledgement and
>admiration
er, Bert Weedon?
>Possibly the first Fender Strat owner in Britain -
The first,,,
>I remember
>Kelloggs Corn Flakes running a competiton to win a Burns
Strat copy with
>Hank's name prominently featured in the advertising. So
much so that for a
>long time I thought he actually played a Burns... According
to the man
>himself in 'Contours, Curves and Body Horns' it was a
jaw-dropping red
>Fender Strat that he owned.
Hank *did* use his own artist-signature Burns (later
Baldwin) "Marvin" guitar from 1964 to 1972 (when the ones he
had were stolen from a van). He also used and still owns two
Burns Double-Six electric 12-strings.
>Remember their foray into vocals as well? Not too bad at
harmonising -
>although their take on 'Good Vibrations' was never going to
compare to the
>sublime original. That may have been Marvin Welch and
Farrar rather than the
>Shads per se.
No - "Good Vibrations" was an instrumental number on the
Shadows' 1973 LP "Rocking With Curly Leads". It did feature
the collossal, under-rated talent of John Farrar though.
>There have been many permutations of the Shads but I guess
>alway Bruce and Hank at the helm.
Not quite "always" - there was a Welch-less incarnation of
the Shadows in 1969/1970 that fetured ex-Checkmate Alan
Hawkshaw on keys (no rhythm guitar). That lin-ep produced a
single and an LP as well as a live album recorded in Japan
in 1969.
>Have a speedy recovery Bruce.
Absolutely. I will e-mail Bruce with the best wishes of
those who have expressed them here.
>I believe Hank lives in Kalamunda - but I've never bumped
into him at the
>supermarket. My previous guitar tutor knew his son however,
and thought very
>highly of his prowess on the guitar.
Ben? A stupendous player (sometimes a little reminiscent of
Farrar).
I understand that Ben has now moved back to the UK to live
(though that may have changed).
JNugent
<1MiiOOpq7TKBS1...@4ax.com>...
>cy...@noSPAM.fixed.abode (Cyril) wrote:
>>IIRC it was Cliffy himself who brought Hank back the
coveted Strat
>>from the US.
Almost right - it was ordered by post - none of them had
ever been to the States in 1959...
>Hank was a great admirer of James Burton who was with Ricky
Nelson at
>the time. Wanting to sound like JB and also noting how he
bent
>strings, Hank and Cliff assumed that JB would be playing
the most
>expensive Fender there was to get this sound. So Cliff
ordered this
>from the US - a "red" (and there's some dispute over the
name of the
>colour, I believe) Strat with maple neck and gold hardware.
Fender says "Fiesta Red", but Hank and Bruce swear that the
USA brochure they received when choosing the guitar (by
mail) specified "salmon pink".
>I don't know whether it was Cliff or the management who
actually paid
>for the Strat, but I seem to recall that Hank himself
didn't have to
>pay for it.
It was Cliff. That guitar actually belonged to Cliff, never
to Hank. Cliff sold or gave it to Bruce Welch many years
later. As you say, Bruce still has it.
>In fact, JB played a Tele and his bent notes - as I
understand it -
>were a result of a custom set of strings with a plain banjo
string on
>the top and all the rest of the strings moved "one down",
dispensing
>with the 6th string from a regular set.
There's a long story to be told about the history of the
"rock'n'roll" gauge guitar string set.
>This was also Clapton's preferred stringing during his
Mayall and
>early-Cream era. Of course, when I heard that this was how
Clpaton did
>it, I too rushed off and bought a Clifford Essex banjo
first. It
>worked, too!
So you are the one to start the tale... does the word
"Silvering" mean anything to you?
>Anyway, that's how his Hankness ended up with a Strat.
>The rest is history.
>Bruce Welch has it now.
>Jim Nugent should really be answering this here.
>No doubt I'm way off beam.
Not far...
Steve Cobham
<JNu...@AC30.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>Steve Cobham wrote in message
>
>Cliff
>ordered this
>>from the US - a "red" (and there's some dispute over the
>name of the
>>colour, I believe) Strat with maple neck and gold hardware.
>
>
>Fender says "Fiesta Red", but Hank and Bruce swear that the
>USA brochure they received when choosing the guitar (by
>mail) specified "salmon pink".
Fender were never too on the ball with colour and finish options. So
they wanted Salmon Pink and got Fiesta Red - hardly surprising really.
Lucky to get that close ;-)
>
>There's a long story to be told about the history of the
>"rock'n'roll" gauge guitar string set.
>
>>This was also Clapton's preferred stringing during his
>Mayall and
>>early-Cream era. Of course, when I heard that this was how
>Clpaton did
>>it, I too rushed off and bought a Clifford Essex banjo
>first. It
>>worked, too!
>
>So you are the one to start the tale... does the word
>"Silvering" mean anything to you?
Apart from what you have to put on the back of glass to make it into a
mirror, no.
What is silvering? - now you've got me really intrigued.
>>Damn those large blue alligators.
They closed down Dan's site...........
Frank A Muller
> >Who in Britain doesn't owe Hank a nod of
> acknowledgement and
> >admiration
>
> er, Bert Weedon?
Touche. (:-) [receeding hairline smiley]
> Hank *did* use his own artist-signature Burns (later
> Baldwin) "Marvin" guitar from 1964 to 1972 (when the ones he
> had were stolen from a van). He also used and still owns two
> Burns Double-Six electric 12-strings.
A veritable mine of info Jim. I doff my hat in your general direction.
> "Good Vibrations" was an instrumental number on the
> Shadows' 1973 LP "Rocking With Curly Leads". It did feature
> the collossal, under-rated talent of John Farrar though.
I sit corrected. The last time I heard the track was in 1973 in a record
shop in Northenden (where I worked part time). But who on earth was Curly
Leads? Any relation to Live At?
> There was a Welch-less incarnation of
> the Shadows in 1969/1970 that fetured ex-Checkmate Alan
> Hawkshaw on keys (no rhythm guitar). That lin-ep produced a
> single and an LP as well as a live album recorded in Japan
> in 1969.
I wasn't aware of that one, so now I stand corrected!
> I will e-mail Bruce with the best wishes of
> those who have expressed them here.
Well, Bruce wouldn't know me from a bar of soap (lovely Aussie expression!)
but my best wishes are nonetheless sincere.
> Ben? A stupendous player (sometimes a little reminiscent of
> Farrar).
Sorry Jim - I don't remember the name that was dropped on me by my former
guitar tutor, Russell Smith.
> I understand that Ben has now moved back to the UK to live
> (though that may have changed).
Why would anybody want to move FROM Kalamunda - Home In The Forest?
Frank A Muller
Not much progress with the new house. Earthworks and retaining walls are
proving to be rather expensive. Maybe THAT's why Ben moved from Kalamunda!
(It's mostly rock up here. A great deal of gardening is done with a pick
axe.)
Steve Cobham
<JNu...@AC30.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>Frank A Muller wrote in message
><38a21e0e$0$17...@echo-01.iinet.net.au>...
>>Have a speedy recovery Bruce.
>
>Absolutely. I will e-mail Bruce with the best wishes of
>those who have expressed them here.
That'd be great if you could do that, Jim.
Maybe it's because they've been around for so long, but the Shadows
are in danger of being taken for granted like many other famous,
national institutions.
It's difficult to think of another band who are regarded with quite as
much affection as the Shadows. Even the Beatles, who appeared not that
long after them don't seem to have quite the same capacity to inspire
such fond memories.
I'm sure that for many of us who were around when the Shadows first
appeared they really do hold a special place in the hearts of those
who were moved by the experience to find out more about this guitar
playing lark.
So, as well as extending our best wishes for a speedy recovery to
Bruce, could you also please thank him for his unique contribution to
guitar and his part in inspiring some of us to take up the instrument
and stick with it.
Ross Edwards
> JNugent wrote:
>
> >Frank A Muller wrote:
>
> >>Have a speedy recovery Bruce.
> >
> >Absolutely. I will e-mail Bruce with the best wishes of
> >those who have expressed them here.
>
> That'd be great if you could do that, Jim.
>
> Maybe it's because they've been around for so long, but the Shadows
> are in danger of being taken for granted like many other famous,
> national institutions.
>
> It's difficult to think of another band who are regarded with quite as
> much affection as the Shadows. Even the Beatles, who appeared not that
> long after them don't seem to have quite the same capacity to inspire
> such fond memories.
>
> I'm sure that for many of us who were around when the Shadows first
> appeared they really do hold a special place in the hearts of those
> who were moved by the experience to find out more about this guitar
> playing lark.
>
> So, as well as extending our best wishes for a speedy recovery to
> Bruce, could you also please thank him for his unique contribution to
> guitar and his part in inspiring some of us to take up the instrument
> and stick with it.
>
> Steve.
Indeed - I wouldn't be playing now if I hadn't heard "Apache" and "..Flingel
Bunt" when I was a nipper...
In fact, my first ever guitar was a strat-shaped plastic toy thing (with a
vibrato!)... I remember being given the choice between black or red.. red
won hands down!
Ross.
(whose collection still includes a red strat...)
--
Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
JNugent
><JNu...@AC30.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>>Fender says "Fiesta Red", but Hank and Bruce swear that
the
>>USA brochure they received when choosing the guitar (by
>>mail) specified "salmon pink".
>Fender were never too on the ball with colour and finish
options. So
>they wanted Salmon Pink and got Fiesta Red - hardly
surprising really.
>Lucky to get that close ;-)
Those original Fender "custom colours" will always be the
best: the red (whatever its name), that understated pale
blue (as used by the Escorts and Gerry Marsden), and the
white as used by Shane Fenton and the Fentones and the
Tremeloes (and a little later by the Shadows as well as by
the Beach Boys). The three-colour sunburst took some beating
too - they've never really looked as good since Fender
started changing the materials - remember those Jaguars and
Jazzmasters with tortoise-shell scratchplates?
>>There's a long story to be told about the history of the
>>"rock'n'roll" gauge guitar string set.
>>>This was also Clapton's preferred stringing during his
>>>Mayall and early-Cream era. Of course, when I heard
>>>that this was how Clpaton did it, I too rushed off and
>>>bought a Clifford Essex banjo first. It worked, too!
>>So you are the one to start the tale... does the word
>>"Silvering" mean anything to you?
>Apart from what you have to put on the back of glass to
make it into a
>mirror, no.
>What is silvering? - now you've got me really intrigued.
OK.
You remember that in the UK up till about 1967,
"light-gauge" meant a set of guitar strings that we would
one day come to know consisted of approximately 0.011" -
0.052"? With "medium gauge" (Gibson Sonomatic, Cathedral,
Monopole, Rotop, etc) being about 0.013" - 0.056"?
Well, around 1966/67, news started to circulate (mainly via
Chris Hayes' "Any Questions?" column in the Melody Maker)
that some blues guitarists (mainly Clapton, but also Beck)
were "slack-stringing" their guitars in order to simulate a
hitherto unknown and even lighter gauge, in the style of
"the Nashville players".
Chris Hayes reported Clapton's answer (to a reader's
question) that he used an "ordinary" set of Gibson strings
(mediums), but staggered them across the neck, using the
high E for B, B for G, and so on (ie, not using the low E at
all). He reported that Eric had told him that he used either
an extra high E for the high E (ie, that string wouldn't
feel "light") OR that if he could get one, he would use a
Clifford-Essex banjo string for the first E. That CE banjo
string was of lighter gauge than the E would have been out
of a standard set of guitar strings. The name of the
Clifford Essex banjo set was the "Silvering" set. And CE
used to advertise their banjo strings in the musical press
for a little while (around 1966/67) as substitutes for light
gauge guitar strings (though only the one string was being
used by most hip players of the day - with the other five
being taken from a standard guitar set). The CE string was
the only really light string available in the UK over the
period.
AAMOF, the "Silvering" set strings had an odd feature - like
the strings for a mandolin, they did not have a ball or
nipple at the anchor end, but instead had a loop. This made
for difficulty in fitting the string to many electric
guitars (Fenders, for instance) and eventually,
Clifford-Essex announced a Great Leap Forward - the
"Silvering first with a ball end, available singly.....
But by about mid-1967, news reports were coming in of a new
string maker in the States who was making sets which didn't
need any of this mixing and matching; his name was Ernie
sonething-or-other. Certainly, by 1968/69, R'n'R strings
were becoming the norm and ordinary "medium" strings with a
wrapped third were starting to be hard to find (these days,
lots of shops don't stock any such sets).
For many of those of us who were around at the time,
Clifford Essex "Silvering" banjo strings will always be a
part of that revolution that happened in the mid- to
late-sixties. You'd probably just forgotten the name on the
packet.
BTW, Clifford-Essex did start producing full light-gauge and
R'n'R-gauge sets of their own, but they'd gone out of
business by the early 70s.
PS: We've all gone soft; some guitarists now regard a set
0.011"-0.050" as "heavy"....
steve_cobham
<JNu...@AC30.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>Those original Fender "custom colours" will always be the
>best: the red (whatever its name), that understated pale
>blue (as used by the Escorts and Gerry Marsden),
Lake Placid Blue?
> remember those Jaguars and
>Jazzmasters with tortoise-shell scratchplates?
Now making a comeback - the scratchplates, I mean.
>
>>What is silvering? - now you've got me really intrigued.
>
>OK.
>
>You remember that in the UK up till about 1967,
>"light-gauge" meant a set of guitar strings that we would
>one day come to know consisted of approximately 0.011" -
>0.052"? With "medium gauge" (Gibson Sonomatic, Cathedral,
>Monopole, Rotop, etc) being about 0.013" - 0.056"?
Don't forget "Black Diamond"!
(Red paper pack with black lettering. )
>
>Well, around 1966/67, news started to circulate (mainly via
>Chris Hayes' "Any Questions?" column in the Melody Maker)
>that some blues guitarists (mainly Clapton, but also Beck)
>were "slack-stringing" their guitars in order to simulate a
>hitherto unknown and even lighter gauge, in the style of
>"the Nashville players".
Yup - that's where I saw the idea.
We're showing our age, Jim.
Remember the other questions to Clappo? What's that sound you get that
lets a note ring on and should I take the chrome covers off my
humbuckers?
(That's where I read the tip about hardening fingertips from a bongo
player. Dip them in urine.)
>Chris Hayes reported Clapton's answer (to a reader's
>question)
>he would use a
>Clifford-Essex banjo string for the first E. That CE banjo
>string was of lighter gauge than the E would have been out
>of a standard set of guitar strings. The name of the
>Clifford Essex banjo set was the "Silvering" set.
We went to the local music shop and didn't buy one because it had the
loop on. Some people used a ball end from an old string IIRC.
Then, a while later, but you're getting to that...........
>
>AAMOF, the "Silvering" set strings had an odd feature - like
>the strings for a mandolin, they did not have a ball or
>nipple at the anchor end, but instead had a loop. This made
>for difficulty in fitting the string to many electric
>guitars (Fenders, for instance) and eventually,
>Clifford-Essex announced a Great Leap Forward - the
>"Silvering first with a ball end, available singly.....
And that was the start of light gauge strings for me and a lot of
other players.
(Feels waves of nostalgia washing over him!)
>
>But by about mid-1967, news reports were coming in of a new
>string maker in the States who was making sets which didn't
>need any of this mixing and matching; his name was Ernie
>sonething-or-other. Certainly, by 1968/69, R'n'R strings
>were becoming the norm and ordinary "medium" strings with a
>wrapped third were starting to be hard to find (these days,
>lots of shops don't stock any such sets).
I believe that Epi semis are now shipped with a wound third. Maybe
there's a jazz fan out there in Korea at the Epi factory.
I think my first proper light gauge set were Picatos in the round,
green placcy box. Although I believe Rotosounds brought them out
around the same time.
>
>For many of those of us who were around at the time,
>Clifford Essex "Silvering" banjo strings will always be a
>part of that revolution that happened in the mid- to
>late-sixties. You'd probably just forgotten the name on the
>packet.
Blue packet, yes? With black print?
>
>PS: We've all gone soft; some guitarists now regard a set
>0.011"-0.050" as "heavy"....
I now have 10s on my Strat and 11s on the Les Paul. Going to go up a
gauge soon, too.
Then I'm going to do 100 press-ups twice a day..........
Bob Plews
not visited this ng for a while and only heard from
a mate in the band I play in that Bruce was poorly.
1. Best wishes to Bruce (please pass on)..........
2. Bruce is the supreme rhythm guitarist - a role
that is dreadfully under-rated.
3. Anyone over the age of 40 who doesn't rate
the Shadows as a seminal influence in their early
playing days doesn't recognise their roots
4. If you're under 40, whatever music you play, you
owe much of your style to the Shadows.
5. Hank played a sort of pink Strat in the very early
days - I know this 'cos I got the chance to hold it
(cuddle it, even) at the Cavern.
6. As to the Shadows, their set of instrumental stuff
before Cliff appeared was wonderful - more embarassing
for Cliff was their harmony singing - perfectly chosen,
beautifully performed..either Hank or Bruce could have
sung or played him off the stage. But they weren't quite
so pretty, sorry, promoted.
Very best wishes to Bruce and his family - I've done this particular
"gig" and it is eminently survivable. I'm surviving perfectly well
thank you very much - it's no big deal!!
Steve Cobham wrote in message ...
>On Thu, 10 Feb 2000 21:53:10 -0000, "JNugent"
><JNu...@AC30.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>Frank A Muller wrote in message
>><38a21e0e$0$17...@echo-01.iinet.net.au>...
>
>>>Have a speedy recovery Bruce.
>>
>>Absolutely. I will e-mail Bruce with the best wishes of
>>those who have expressed them here.
>
>That'd be great if you could do that, Jim.
>
>Maybe it's because they've been around for so long, but the Shadows
>are in danger of being taken for granted like many other famous,
>national institutions.
>
>It's difficult to think of another band who are regarded with quite as
>much affection as the Shadows. Even the Beatles, who appeared not that
>long after them don't seem to have quite the same capacity to inspire
>such fond memories.
>
>I'm sure that for many of us who were around when the Shadows first
>appeared they really do hold a special place in the hearts of those
>who were moved by the experience to find out more about this guitar
>playing lark.
>
>So, as well as extending our best wishes for a speedy recovery to
>Bruce, could you also please thank him for his unique contribution to
>guitar and his part in inspiring some of us to take up the instrument
>and stick with it.
>
JNugent
<887pqb$33g$1...@testpig.localnet>...
>Sorry, I've come to this thread a bit late, but I've
>not visited this ng for a while and only heard from
>a mate in the band I play in that Bruce was poorly.
>1. Best wishes to Bruce (please pass on)..........
Done, with pleasure...
PS: Love the bit about the Cavern Club! Was that the night
that Jet was a bit, er, erm, "worse for wear"? And the Remo
Four (led by the late Colin Manley) reputed to have put on a
better performance? :-)
Bob Plews
JNugent wrote in message <889k6e$4t2$1...@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk>...
The Shadows only played the Cavern once as far as I can
remember - and I was there every Wednesday night
(pop/Beatles night). It was a jazz club most of the time...
but my recollection is that Jet Harris was regularly
"worse for wear", usually vodka induced, but a nice bloke.
The night I saw them at the Cavern, there was
no support band. I've seen many bands technically
better, but none better - if you see what I mean.
The Shadows? Shit hot! I owe them!
Bob Plews
>
>
Bob Plews
JNugent wrote in message <889k6e$4t2$1...@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk>...
>Bob Plews wrote in message
><887pqb$33g$1...@testpig.localnet>...
>
>>Sorry, I've come to this thread a bit late, but I've
>>not visited this ng for a while and only heard from
>>a mate in the band I play in that Bruce was poorly.
>>1. Best wishes to Bruce (please pass on)..........
>
>Done, with pleasure...
>
>PS: Love the bit about the Cavern Club! Was that the night
>that Jet was a bit, er, erm, "worse for wear"? And the Remo
>Four (led by the late Colin Manley) reputed to have put on a
>better performance? :-)
Jet Harris was, as I recall, often er, erm etc.
The Shadows only played the Cavern once, as far as I recall,
and there was no support band.
Bob
>
>
Steve Dix
<JNu...@AC30.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>Bob Plews wrote in message
><887pqb$33g$1...@testpig.localnet>...
>
>>Sorry, I've come to this thread a bit late, but I've
>>not visited this ng for a while and only heard from
>>a mate in the band I play in that Bruce was poorly.
>>1. Best wishes to Bruce (please pass on)..........
>
>Done, with pleasure...
>
>PS: Love the bit about the Cavern Club! Was that the night
>that Jet was a bit, er, erm, "worse for wear"? And the Remo
>Four (led by the late Colin Manley) reputed to have put on a
>better performance? :-)
>
For those who haven't heard the story, Jet was somewhat worse for wear
due to overimbibing, and fell off the stage at the Cavern. Bruce
explained "Sorry, but Jet isn't very well tonight" and some wag in the
audience shouted "That's because he's pissed!" (in UK pissed=drunk)
There's a huge section on the Shadows in Mo Foster's "17 Watts?" in
which this story is recounted.
Whilst we're at it, what about John Rostill, who co-wrote a lot of
stuff with Bruce as well as playing bass, until a rather unfortunate
end when he was accidentally electrocuted by his bass. (Bruce found
him). Everybody seems to forget him.