Albums we'd like to see

[RayL]

Some interesting comments about making your own compilations. Speaking personally, a great deal of my listening is done to compilations that I have made myself. That way they can be a full a full 80 mins and they can be a 'best of' (so no Quatermassters Stores) (tin hat on!)

Ray

[Didier]

Do The Shads actually make money when a compilation of the hits are released ?

They don't for everything recorded for EMI. According to what Bruce wrote in his book, the Shadows didn't renew their contract with EMI in 1980 because they were denied a better contract involving rights on their future recordings.
Of course they still have royalties for their own compositions.

Didier

Not renewing a recording contract simply means that the artist is no longer contracted to make records. It doesn't mean that they don't get royalties on recordings they've already made.

If EMI issue a CD with Apache on it (and they're about to just that), the Shadows members (estates or successors in the cases of Tony and Jet) will still receive a royalty.

On the other hand, if one of the current crop of issuers of royalty-free records issues a Shadows track more than fifty years old, there'll be no royalties on sales of that disc.

JN

Here is what Bruce wrote in his book :

"Since 1959 we had always been signed directly to the company, which meant that they paid for all our recording sessions, but the records we had made over the years were owned by EMI themselves and they had the power to release and repackage them whenever they wanted to. Obviously they wanted to renegociate the contract on basically the same terms, because we were having success. But we wouldn't agree. After all these years, hank, Brian, and I had decided that we wanted to sign a lease-tape deal with them instead, which would give us our independance. We wanted to make and finance the records ourselves, and then lease them to EMI tp be released in the same way as before. It meant that we retained the rights to our own material at all times, and after a period of five years it reverted back to us. Then if over that period of time we had enjoyed a great deal of success and the record company wanted to release a series of compilation sets, or a "Greatest Hits" album, they would have to pay us a royalty for the privilege...
We negociated for five months but couldn't come to terms...
The fact that they already had a similar deal with Queen was ignored...
We formed our own company, Roll Over Records, and eventually arrived at a very favorable agreement with Polydor."

Didier

[Didier]

Hi Jim, Does this mean that anyone can release a compilation of Shads hits? regards Gary

Provided that they are not sourcing from a copyrighted digital re-master, anyone can currently re-release any recording which was released at least fifty years earlier. Actually, that has long been the situation; it isn't new.

It is part of the reason why (for instance) the Hallmark label constantly re-releases albums on CD where the material has clearly been lifted from a vinyl LP.

I understand that this situation will change before the end of 2013.

In September 2011 the European Union approved a directive External Link which will extend copyright term for sound recordings and performers' rights in sound recordings from 50 to 70 years. The Directive must be implemented into UK law by 1 November 2013 and the Copyright and Duration of Rights in Performances Regulations 2013 will come into force on that date.

It's not clear if this will apply to former recordings or only new ones. If it applies to former recordings, those who want to reissue fo free early Shadows' recordings (over 50 years old) better hurry up !

Didier

[howarddobson]

I think the copyright on the recording expires at 50 years at present but not us about the publishing side of it- thought that was after someone had died.

[Iain Purdon]

Going back to home-made compilations, I do it every time we're doing a one-off gig. Assemble all the tracks in the intended running order onto one CD and listen a lot. Not only does it give me something to study and rehearse to, it also gives a foretaste of how the tracks will flow at the gig.

I also have my own copies of a number of albums where I stick to the published order but leave out the tracks I'm prone to skipping anyway. Good for the blood pressure!

[The Midnight Special]

I, for one, would like to see a compilation of Polydor 'B' sides. As a shadows fan for over 30 years I am now re- buying most of my shadows collection on CD (to replace cassette and vinyl which I can't now play) and buying some albums I never had in the first place. I'm now at the frustrating stage of buying CDs for just the odd track. Eg the other day I bought a second hand copy, online, of the 'Another side of Hank Marvin' just for one track ('Janine'). There are a few others such as 'Shady lady' & 'Fender bender' which fall into this category. And of course a re-release/reissue of 'Guardian Angel' would cheer me up no end. Have you seen how much it goes for on ebay ? Strewth !

[JimN]

...I am now re- buying most of my shadows collection on CD (to replace cassette and vinyl...) and buying some albums I never had... I'm now at the frustrating stage of buying CDs for just the odd track. Eg the other day I bought a second hand copy, online, of the 'Another side of Hank Marvin' just for one track ('Janine').

Everyone bought that CD just for that track when it was released. We were waiting for it.

There are a few others such as 'Shady lady' & 'Fender bender' which fall into this category. And of course a re-release/reissue of 'Guardian Angel' would cheer me up no end. Have you seen how much it goes for on ebay ? Strewth !

Shady Lady and Fender Bender were re-released (and well catered for) on CD quite early in the digital era. "Guardian Angel" (the album) has been re-released on CD at least once.

JN

[iefje]

With a few exceptions, all Polydor B-sides and originals have been reissued together on the 1998 See For Miles Records CD "Shadstrax". "Guardian Angel" has indeed been reissued, also in 1998 and in expanded form: "Guardian Angel...Plus". It contained the original album, with two tracks otherwise unavailable on CD up till that point: the single edit of "Equinoxe (Part V)" and the 12" extended version of "Dancing In The Dark", as well as some other tracks from the 1980's, which had been issued on CD before, but sometimes only once. Hank Marvin's compilation album "Another Side Of Hank Marvin" (again from 1998) also contained the single version of "The Trouble With Me Is You", which was its first CD release, as well as "Janine" of course. The problem now is, that these CD's have been released fifteen years ago and new copies as well as second hand copies are getting more difficult to obtain. They do sometimes appear on eBay, so catch them if you can!

[Iain Purdon]

Shadstrax to me is the CD to have. It sums up the Marvin-Welch-Bennett contribution to the Polydor era. No covers. I have it on in the car a lot a lot. Track it down if you can.

[The Midnight Special]

Thanks for the interesting and helpful comments, folks.

And yes, Shadstrax is the first thing I seek when thumbing through charity shop racks. It's kind of fun having something to hunt down. In a way, if and when I do acquire everything I'm after, the thrill of the chase will be gone! And if, in the mean time, I do get the urge to listen to something I don't have on CD, there's always youtube.

I did have a big splurge of buying CDs of the EMI stuff back in 2006, not really bothering with the Polydor stuff. I managed to get all the EMI stuff that was available at that time, save a few EP tracks which weren't on the 3 'See For Miles EP collection' CDs. I actually downloaded those few EP tracks from a lovely Shadows site (I can't remember the name, although it might have been part of Leo's Den) which I think must now be defunct, and which offered everything, all arranged nicely with picture cover thumbnails to click on. I expect you guys know the one I mean. At that time all the digipack albums were available at reasonable prices. I doubt if they'd be so easy to get if I tried to buy them now.