BBC Radio session questions

[ash]

Numero uno - Has there been any news on when we can expect the next batch of BBC radio sessions from Rollercoaster Records ? Hoping it will be The Shadows release and will feature everything known to survive 1958 to 1962. That Cliff/Shads release was awesome with the exception of Living Doll (which i hate with a vengeance).
part deux - this one's for Rob really - I picked up the Record Collector issue with your Cliff/Shads BBC radio listing. Brilliant research by the way.
You mention you'd drawn a blank on the Festival Of Light Music march 22 1960 with performers such as Edmundo Ros and Ted Heath. Did you ever find out more about this ? Did Cliff withdraw at the last minute or something. I may have some more info about that series of shows if you don't but i'm not sure if that includes confirmation of their appearance.
I had a couple of other questions about the article but my filing system and brain aren't up to the task right now.I'll be back.

[Fenderman]

I'm not a massive Cliff fan so i would prefer to see a Shadows only release, they could release another version with Cliff & The Shads.

[ash]

Oh yeah i agree. First a (complete) Shadows only followed by all the rest of the Cliff/Shads tracks up to Jet's departure.
I'm not a big Cliff fan either but it's worth diving in to some of his early rock 'n' roll. Move It,High Class Baby,Don't Bug Me Baby,Dynamite,Livin Lovin Doll (not Living Doll !!!) and a few others are corking British rock 'n' roll more than ably backed up by Hank and the gang. I've been getting a real kick playing that stuff to people and then asking them who it is. They never guess and you should see the look on their faces when i tell them it's Cliff. I think they feel unclean coz they were enjoying it until then....then they start feeling a bit weird...like their brains just can't handle it. Hilarious.
Remember - no Cliff, no Shadows. No Shadows, no Beatles (i'm guessing some of you would be prepared to make that sacrifice ! )

[Iain Purdon]

When I interviewed Brian Locking about his time with the Shadows he very kindly reminded me "we were Cliff Richard and the Shadows". They regarded themselves as a 5-piece in the early years. And of course, as mentioned above, there is some great group work going on in a lot of the C&S songs from the period.

[MikeAB]

People still seem scared to admit liking Cliff music - even Shadows fans.

He does make you cringe these days (eg the ghastly fringe) but his music output from say 1976 to 1985 stands up to anybody's doesn't it?

[Arpeggio]

Hi Ash,
I have no further info about the Festival Of Light Music show from way back in 1960! Refs: Rollercoaster & the Drifters / Shadows at the BBC... All I can say is that there were definitely plans to issue all of the surviving Drifters / Shadows appearances between 1959 and 1962. However, I haven't heard from John Beecher for well over a year now. Of course, as many people will be aware, there is now a 'dangerous' period approaching. John Beecher acquired the material from Bernie Andrews some years ago. He was able to issue the Cliff (+ a few instros) material quite legitimately because the 50 yr copyright had expired. It's now July 17th. In c. 16 weeks' time (early November)...the copyright term in music / sound recordings etc will be extended to 70 yrs & the copyright on any unissued BBC material wil revert to the BBC. Plus, as the Shadows were EMI artists when the BBC recordings were made, permission will then have to be sought from EMI (who will have been taken over by Warner Music by then). As I understand it (more knowledgeable please correct me if I'm wrong) - any material (oriiginally recorded up to 1962) already reissued on PD CDs etc will not be affected. But.....& pure supposition here...if, say, Rollercoaster did not issue the Shadows' BBC recordings before the end of October, 2013 - then both he and Shadows fans everywhere will be well and truly 'stuffed'!! I'm sure that he must be aware of the situation, but I have reminded him. Sadly, of one thing we can be certain, because of very complex legal / financial wrangling, come November neither the BBC nor EMI / Warner will sanction the release of this material.

Rob

[drakula63]

I notice that just about everyone (apart from the Shads) these days has a 'BBC Radio' CD available - there were even quite extensive BBC sessions on the Girlschool CD reissues from a few years ago - so why oh why can't this ridiculous situation be sorted out?!!!!! Surely once these recordings pass the 50 year+ mark (and especially if the BBC have no intention of releasing them) it would be OK to put them out?

(Just read Rob's message above. So it'll be 70 years soon and the whole situation - ridiculous as it seems - is far more complex than I had thought... Oh well...)

[ash]

People still seem scared to admit liking Cliff music - even Shadows fans.

He does make you cringe these days (eg the ghastly fringe) but his music output from say 1976 to 1985 stands up to anybody's doesn't it?

No

[ash]

I notice that just about everyone (apart from the Shads) these days has a 'BBC Radio' CD available - there were even quite extensive BBC sessions on the Girlschool CD reissues from a few years ago - so why oh why can't this ridiculous situation be sorted out?!!!!! Surely once these recordings pass the 50 year+ mark (and especially if the BBC have no intention of releasing them) it would be OK to put them out?

(Just read Rob's message above. So it'll be 70 years soon and the whole situation - ridiculous as it seems - is far more complex than I had thought... Oh well...)

The Rolling Stones are the major omission but as i already have all their stuff that survives (i think) that's their and ABKCO and the BBC's problem.
The Hollies BBC cd Radio Fun was so badly mishandled i can barely speak. Intros and outros were cut to remove Brian Bathtubes announcements so it sounds like Bobby Elliott (one of the best drummers of the era) can't start a song in time or end it properly. Plus it didn't include King Midas In Reverse. Fortunately i was able to render those points obsolete by obtaining naughty copies of BBC transcription discs. Well my parents paid for those sessions with their licence fee so why not ?
Problem is, none of The Shads (or Cliff's) 1958 to 62 or even 1963 sessions are available in that fashion so we are in danger of never hearing some fine recordings by one of our greatest bands. The word stupid comes to mind as well as many less pleasant ones.
Quick John, put them out.

[chronikman-ch]

Hi Ash,
I have no further info about the Festival Of Light Music show from way back in 1960! Refs: Rollercoaster & the Drifters / Shadows at the BBC... All I can say is that there were definitely plans to issue all of the surviving Drifters / Shadows appearances between 1959 and 1962. However, I haven't heard from John Beecher for well over a year now. Of course, as many people will be aware, there is now a 'dangerous' period approaching. John Beecher acquired the material from Bernie Andrews some years ago. He was able to issue the Cliff (+ a few instros) material quite legitimately because the 50 yr copyright had expired. It's now July 17th. In c. 16 weeks' time (early November)...the copyright term in music / sound recordings etc will be extended to 70 yrs & the copyright on any unissued BBC material wil revert to the BBC. Plus, as the Shadows were EMI artists when the BBC recordings were made, permission will then have to be sought from EMI (who will have been taken over by Warner Music by then). As I understand it (more knowledgeable please correct me if I'm wrong) - any material (oriiginally recorded up to 1962) already reissued on PD CDs etc will not be affected. But.....& pure supposition here...if, say, Rollercoaster did not issue the Shadows' BBC recordings before the end of October, 2013 - then both he and Shadows fans everywhere will be well and truly 'stuffed'!! I'm sure that he must be aware of the situation, but I have reminded him. Sadly, of one thing we can be certain, because of very complex legal / financial wrangling, come November neither the BBC nor EMI / Warner will sanction the release of this material.

Rob

22. March 1960 Tuesday
(Day 535 in The Shadows history since 5.10.1958 / Week 77) The Shadows: Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Jet Harris, Tony Meehan

Cliff stars in the BBC’s Royal Albert Hall concert
The BBC's Light Programme Of Sixth Annual Festival Of Popular Music, Called "Band Parade"
Also on programme: Ted Heath, Edmundo Ross, Sheila Buxton, Tony Eden and Chris Barber

hmr