my collection is complete!!! (sob)

[drakula63]

As mentioned on another thread, I’ve just won a copy of Brian’s 1969 album ‘The Illustrated London Noise’ on eBay. Well, it arrived yesterday! What can I say? The seller described it as EX/EX+ and he wasn’t exaggerating. In fact, I’d say it was actually as near to being Mint as you could hope to get. There’s a slight mark on the back cover, but it’s been well repaired and doesn’t really detract from it. The record itself is immaculate – not a mark on it! Just listened to it and, frankly, it looks and sounds like it hasn’t been played in 40 years! Amazing! A fantastic album and, as Phil Jarvis said in the other thread, a unique drum sound from Brian. Indeed, I’d say that I have never heard toms sound like this on any other record. Brian truly is one of a kind. Oh yes and even the inner sleeve is in pristine condition and what makes this nice is that it features advertising for a number of other EMI albums of the time – including The Shadows’ ‘From Hank, Bruce, Brian and John’; Cliff’s ‘Good News’ and ‘Cliff in Japan’ and a certain album by The Beatles called ‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. That’s a bit surreal, seeing that album advertised with all the others almost as being just another album. Or maybe it was, back in 1969? All in all, the best £36 (+£3 P&P!) I have spent in a long time.

However… It was with a little twinge of sadness that I realised that my record collection is now complete. I now have, on LP, every Shadows and Shadows-related album that I have ever wanted. For years and years there was always the odd one missing, but now I’ve got them all. Not all the albums, but all those that I have wanted and have been hunting for – in some cases for many, many, many years. So, what do I do now? Sit and play them all, I guess! A slightly strange feeling - good, in many ways, but slightly sad in others. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll get over it. Perhaps I’ll just go and play my latest acquisition again. Maybe that’ll cheer me up…

Thanks Brian, if you are reading this, for being the last piece of the jigsaw to fall into place! It’s been a while coming, but it was certainly worth the wait!

[captainhaddock]

Hi Chris,
Many congratulations on reaching your goal.I remember building up my collection of The Shadows on vinyl from the age of about 10 and the thrill of discovering something new to me is something that remains to this day. I can even recall where and when I found some items and hurrying home to listen for the first time to the more obscure tracks.
I remember the day when I was able to reach completion myself. I was about 20 at the time, and I received my mint, mono copy of "From Hank, Bruce, Brian and John" through the post as the result of an advert in "Record Collector" magazine. I also remember a similar "What next" feeling and so decided to try to collect everything on Cassette. As we all know, not everything was made available on Cassette and so I set about making up cassette copies to bridge the gaps.
I must have been around 28 when I spotted a wonderful inovation in Asda, it was called a Compact Disc. The title of it was
"Listen to the Shadows" and so the whole wonderful cycle started again. Spending my hard earned cash on every Shadows CD that I could find in order to satisfy that completist urge. I remember buying the 6 CD box set "The Early Years" for £52.40 and the joy of owning such a gem brought home to me the need to buy a CD player. I believe that I have every track released by the Shadows, but I have not gone so far as to buy every CD compilation as there seems to be so much duplication of the same tracks. I scour e-bay regulaly in the vain hope that something will emerge that I haven't got and live in hopes that The Shadows or EMI will unlock the archives and release some of the stuff that remains hidden even if the quality is as bad as some people say. I just want that thrill of finding something new to me one more time !

[iefje]

My father and I share our big The Shadows and Cliff Richard & The Shadows collection. My father started it way back in 1962 with his first vinyl single ever, the Dutch issue of "Guitar Tango", with B-side "Nivram". I got interested in The Shadows also quite long ago, back in around 1987/1988, when I listened to some audio tapes, my father compiled from his Shadows records. From then on, the collection grew even more, after we, for the first time, visited an international fan meeting in Tilburg in 1993. We now have every Shadows track on CD (apart from those still unique to vinyl), including all those of course we also already had on vinyl. The collection includes some ultra rare issues from Japan, South Africa, Australia and even the United States. About 99% of the alternative versions and different mixes of each track are covered by our Shadows archive. Malcolm Campbell's acclaimed Shadows books and website have been of absolute value here!

That's 'only' The Shadows! In addition, we have all recordings and rarities by Hank solo, Bruce solo, Brian solo (including all of his contributions to the KPM library music LP's, but not all by Music House International and Bruton Music), Jet solo, Tony solo, Jet & Tony, Brian Locking solo, John Rostill solo, John Farrar solo, Alan Jones solo and Cliff Hall solo.

[Geoff Alderton LH]

Hi Chris. Good to hear you have all the LPs you have been looking for. Can I ask if you play your LP's? or do you just collect them. I myself have a good Shadows LP collection allong with a good vinyl playing system and I have to admit that The Shadows LP's dont get as mutch playtime as my other LP's. I tend to listen to The Shadows on CD. I do have a favourite Shadows LP and that is, Rock On With The Shadows, I must have got hold of a very good pressing as the sound reproduction on my copy is outstanding. Played at a decent volume its easy to hear why LP's, if looked after correctly,and you have a good copy to start with, give superb sound at realistic volume levels.
Are there any other members on the site who play their Shadows LP's, or any other LP's, on a regular basis. Or do we all go for the CD's when it comes to listening to the Shadows music.
Regards Geoff.

[roninnes]

Interesting thread.

I too over the years collected the vinyl as it was released, fortunately I am old enough to have started with "The Shadows".

When I returned from Canada I had my complete collection of vinyl stolen which was worth a considerable amount of money as I had rare pressings, coloured vinyl etc.

Over the past 14 years I have replaced as many of the Shads albums as I can find, mostly on ebay, and other bands.

Regretably I do not have a vinyl of Illustrated but do have the cd version, but it's not the same.
From a collecting point of view vinyl is it ,but I mostly listen to cd's just in case I wear out the vinyl or even worse scratch it. And yes I am extremely careful.

Ron

[Iain Purdon]

GONE! (I addressed the post that was here to Ron not Chris by mistake. Sorry!)

[drakula63]

Geoff, Ivo and Phillip (in no particular order of course!),

Yes, I do actually play my old LPs! I have always tried to keep them in good nick and some of them (most of them?) actually look and sound as good as the day I bought them! Which is remarkable really! My first Shads LP, by the way, was 20 Golden Greats, way back in 1977. My first single was Love DeLuxe. Firstly I set about getting all the LPs advertised in the 20GGs inner sleeve and then just carried on from there! My collection is not as extensive as some, but I have now got all those that I can honestly say I want. They have seen me through some amazing times, both good and bad, and albums such as String of Hits, Change of Address, Tasty, Paris Olympia and, of course, 20GG have some amazing memories attached to them. Personally, I love the sound and 'feel' of vinyl and I am one of those who feels that music is best listened to in the medium for which it was originally recorded. Yes, I do have plenty of CDs, but, believe me, the LP of Rockin With Curly Leads gets played far more often than the CD! As a matter of interest, the very first CD I ever bought was, I think the above mentioned 'Listen to the Shadows' - or it may have been 'Compact Shadows'. I bought it in 1989 from a record shop in Leeds. Sadly, it was stolen a few years later (those burglars had good taste!), but I managed to replace it with a copy I found on eBay. Oh eBay. Without which I would not now have the original LP of The Shadows Live in Japan, Brian's 1960s solo albums, three or four copies apiece of Marvin, Welch & Farrar and Second Opinion (including two in Quad) and a mint edition of Marvin and Farrar. And did I mention the 8-track of RWCL? Other favourites in my collection are both versions (different sleeves) of the Dutch double groove 12" of Argentina/Cavatina.

So, there we have it. The collection is complete. Although my hi-fi is not brilliant, there are few things I enjoy more than putting a nice shiny vinyl disc on the turntable, placing the needle in the groove and sitting back and enjoying. Even the odd crackle here and there doesn't bother me - they've become like old friends over the years! Do you know, Kon Tiki on my 20GG jumped for years in exactly the same place. Then, one day it just stopped doing so. It's never sounded quite right since...

Thanks for reading and joining in.

[alewis41]

Hey Chris,

Enjoyed your review of Shades of Rock in the latest Shadsfax. It's been my least favorite Shads album for decades but you've prompted me to check it out again.

Cheers

Andrew

[drakula63]

Hey Chris,

Enjoyed your review of Shades of Rock in the latest Shadsfax. It's been my least favorite Shads album for decades but you've prompted me to check it out again.

Cheers

Andrew

Cheers, Andrew. I'm sure that Hoffers and those nice people at RPM will also be pleased. For my part, if I have encouraged someone to buy (or even listen again to) this criminally overlooked classic album, then I will be very, very pleased indeed!
I can recommend the CD re-release, as the booklet/photos/notes are interesting. Glad to have been of service.

Cheers!

Chris

[tim.cooper5]

Hi All

Interesting reading.

Just wondered if anyone can say they have everything, and what everything would be.

Say, if you just counted UK releases.

You would have all the 45s, did they have any 12" singles, cassete singles, cd singles, ltd edition singles?

Then the eps and lps.
I assume some copies were released in both mono and stero format.

Then the re-issue lps, and all this before we start talking about cd releases.

Then, do you go for all the demo copies of the 45s.

Then, as already mentioned, all the solo projects.

All the artist they have produced, backing vocals etc.

Then, dare I mention Cliff, would you get all the records that the Shads have played on with Cliff?

And I hav'nt even mentioned over seas releases.

I collect Cliff stuff (sorry!), and my ambition is to have a complete set of Uk releases.
(I do have some Shads stuff also!)

Collecting Cliff I guess is a bit more straight forward, even so to be complete, there are artist Cliff has produced/backing vocals for etc.

I have most things, but with mono/stero releases, I have one or the other, not always both, and still short of a couple of 78s.

Anyway, enjoy collecting, and I hope everyone that still is looking for something, finds it.

Tim