bruces rock n roll book

[kipper]

hi all just finished read bruce welches rock n roll i gave you the best years of my life. very good read it is to. was there an update to this or a new one as it is old now and only covers up to about appox 1986. i didnt relize they were so young when bruce and hank started out. thanks peter

[captainhaddock]

I must agree, Bruce's book is a first class read. It is actually worth reading even if you are not a Shadows fan. Sadly, it has not been updated since publication although there should be scope to produce a definitive Shadows book given that the band is essentially finished. I had hoped that Jet's biography "Survivor" would be published and provide us with some more information etc, but given that Jet withdrew co-operation, the subsequent book "In spite of everything", has a rather un-balanced edge and offers a rather negative if not un-pallatable view of things.
Come on, there must be a definitive Shadows history out there somewhere, complete with facts, anecdotes and a little less muck raking, please!!!!!!.

[Paul Childs]

I would like to see 'The Shadows By Themselves' reissued although it will probably never happen. I read it back in the 60s and it was a great book at the time.
Unfortunately the copy I had back then was stolen

[George Geddes]

I would agree that the definitive Shadows biography is still to be written. The biggest problem is that I doubt very much that such a book is commercially viable. With the exception of Mike Read's book and Bruce's autobiography, most of the books about the group have been self-published by fans, and that requires a major financial investment. A totally text based book would be quite dull, and paying for the rights to use photographs would considerably increase the cost and therefore the price. For total sales of, say, a few thousand if you were lucky?

George

[captainhaddock]

Would it be more economically viable if Mike Read were to update his book?. I know that we are living in different times than when he first published his book, but if it was viable in the Eighties, wouldn't it still be viable now. I sometimes wonder if we appreciate just how popular The Shadows really are worldwide. If you look at you-tube , there seems to be an open ended number of Shadows style guitarists who seem prepared to spend money on their hobby. There is a German issued picture book which includes Cliff admittedly, but it retails at about £45 and finally the reunion DVD + Final tour DVD sales worldwide must prove that there is a market for a book still? I hope so!

[George Geddes]

The original Mike Read book was published at a time when the Shadows toured regularly, appeared from time to time on TV and were making new CDs. 25 years on, they are doing none of that. If you are publishing a book only targeted at the fanbase, as a limited run, it might succeed but at a hefty price...

George

[drakula63]

Personally, I think it's a criminal shame that there are no new books on the Shadows, especially if their potential lack of 'commercial viability' is to blame. For God's sake, this band was one of the most successful and influential of the 1960s, it's not as if they were, or are, in any way 'obscure'. There are way too many bloody books on The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Led Zep and Elvis, most of which tend to rehash what is already in print, and yet no truly definitive book on the Shadows. It's just wrong and I know I'm not the only one to feel this way. Personally, I tend to think that if the Shads had led a more debauched lifestyle, i.e. groupies, drugs, smashing up hotels, etc... then they would be given more prominence and, ironically, 'respect' today. As it is, because they were serious professional musicians with some integrity and not particularly interested in hell-raising or getting smashed, they are generally sidelined. Ironic really, when you think of all the hellraising rock and heavy metal bands they inspired. Personally, I find the Shadows story just as interesting, if not more so, than those of most bands I can name. There was a great documentary on the Foo Fighters on the other night that lasted an hour and 40 minutes or something. As I watched it I couldn't help thinking what an equally engrossing documentary the story of the Shadows would make - even if it only covered the first five years!!!!

I've got The Shadows by Themselves, bought from a market stall about 30 years ago, so until something else comes along, I shall make do with this...

[drakula63]

Perhaps I should also point out that I have also got Bruce's book and the Mike Read book -- both rivetting.

[captainhaddock]

Thanks Chris, I couldn't put it better myself. I should add that Malcolm Campbells' books make very good reading and contain
contributions from both Rob Bradford and George Geddes, take a bow gentlemen

[Jiggerz]

Well said Chris, nothing further to add m'laud.