Fed Up With EMI? (Shadows At The BBC)

[anniv 63]

Pity Guy Fawkes isnt still around . He could stick some powder in a certain echo chamber!!! But sadly its
probably well insured so no worries for them either!!

[Bill Bowley]

Take it all to China and release it there -they (China) won't care.

[hbmartin]

hbmartin . . . maybe EMI did look at my website and see CDR's you wanted me to sell for you . . .

Huh.....?

[Iain Purdon]

It could even be argued that there is more interest abroad now than in Britain, where the Shadows image may be a little tarnished perhaps by association with a certain singer.

Interesting. There's always been greater interest abroad. But I don't get this 'tarnished' idea at all. The young movers and shakers in the business today are probably unaware of the connection. And it was that association that made C&S such a potent force in the early days. Compare the recent general interest in the C&S tour vs the Shads tour. If there are parallel BBC tapes of Cliff, a joint project might be more appealing to EMI. Are there?

[Arpeggio]

Sadly, because (as is by now very well known) the BBC regrettably cleared out a large part of their own Popular Music archive - there is precious little surviving from Cliff Richard & The Shadows. Nothing at all from the classic period 1958 - 1963 for example. Nothing. Because of filming, touring and EMI recording commitments - Cliff & The Shads only recorded two sessions for the BBC between July 23rd 1963 and December 15th 1965! All that survives from those programmes: "I Could Easily Fall" / "Wind Me Up" / "Dizzy Miss Lizzie" / "Angel" / "Blue Turns To Grey" and from 1966's Christmas Eve Saturday Club: "Time Drags By" / "In The Country" / "Finders Keepers". That is it!! That is all (I believe) that remains in the BBC's own archive of Cliff Richard & The Shadows - 8 tracks. Yes...the BBC wiped or threw out c. 140 Cliff & the Drifters / Shadows tracks. What a tragedy.

But......Bernie Andrews (as he did for the Shadows) taped quite a lot of Cliff / Shadows material during 1959 -1962. Only John Beecher knows for certain exactly what Bernie taped....but there was certainly scope for 80 or so of the 'lost' tracks. But....Bernie didn't always tape every track of every show (usually Saturday Club). As with the Shadows' BBC material....by December this year....ALL of the 'Bernie Andrews' Tapes' will be out of copyright. I do know that John Beecher is well on the way to finalising a legitimate release of virtually everything that remains (in the best sound quality that we will ever hear) of Cliff Richard & The Shadows (occasionally Drifters) at the BBC (1959 - 1962). What a collection that will be if the Rollercoaster 10" LP from two years ago is anything to go by!!

That is the reason why EMI have never bothered with a Cliff Richard / Shadows at the BBC. 1) Only 8 tracks in the BBC's own archive 2) The BBC blocking (as they did with the Shadows) the use of the 'Bernie Andrews' Tapes'. Now...when the copyright expires.......whoooooo boy. Fabulous. Can't wait.

Rob

PS: I don't claim to be the greatest authority on Cliff. If anyone has any further info on his BBC tracks - then I'm happy to be corrected.

PPS: For further info....all of Cliff's 1967 and 1968 BBC recordings did not feature the Shadows at all.

[Uncleboko]

Oh for a time machine and an Edirol R09!

[iefje]

I just don't get why EMI Records must hinder a release of this eagerly awaited set, even if they don't have to release it themselves, but let another record label do it. It almost looks as though they only want to show how much power they possess. Irritating...

[dave robinson]

If it's the stuff that I recently heard on that bootleg CD, I understand fully if the band don't want it released, it isn't very good. Sorry but I played it once and hid it in a drawer somewhere.

[Pinner Fan]

Very difficult to fathom out why / how EMI totally lost the plot in recent years. Was it due to being owned by Guy Hands and his private equity company Terra Firma ?

Look at all the major acts that they, EMI, lost in the last few years.

Artists who just walked away from them; Rolling Stones, McCartney, Queen, Radiohead, Robbie Williams, Kate Bush, etc, etc .... the only ones who seemed to stay were Pink Floyd. Any company who lost these major artists needs help.

Many who left were quoted in the press as stating that the EMI management were hopeless and they they, the artists, were unable to work with them. Guy Hands was mentioned by name by some.

The upcoming Rollercoaster "Drifters vs Shadows" release will be well worth waiting for and the 1958/9 - 1962 period material would make a very full double CD and will all be out of copyright come January 2013 and arguably this was The Shadows best period.

[Didier]

Very difficult to fathom out why / how EMI totally lost the plot in recent years. Was it due to being owned by Guy Hands and his private equity company Terra Firma ?

The answer is certainly yes. He knew nothing about the music business and was unable to manage EMI. For him it was only a finantial gamble, which he lost...

Didier