by JimN » 13 May 2012, 12:47
OK, so it seems that only a relatively few fans are aware (in a real sense) of the whole recorded catalogue. That really does surprise me. I note that the usual suspects (Alan T, Rob B, George G, Dave H, Hoffers) didn't answer, but I strongly suspect that all of them will have had the same experience as mine, given a little adjustment around the starting time. The same would, I'm sure, be true of Spencer Scott and I know it's true of my Liverpool Shads-fan friends (they know who they are).
In short, it started for me in 1961, when I was 10, seeing the group mime on "Thank Your Lucky Stars" to The Frightened City. Other, more worldly, friends at primary school were able to tell me that The Shadows had had a few other hits. Indeed, I was already aware of them, but only in connection with Cliff Richard, who frequently appeared on TV in those days. The pub my parents kept had one Shads record in the bar's collection: Apache, and I started playing this (and Duane Eddy's Because They're Young) when the pub was closed in the afternoon. After TFC, I kept up my familiarity with subsequent releases, but wasn't able to make a start on a collection of my own until the family got a new record-player to replace the 78rpm radiogram we'd had since before I was born. And that collection progressed slowly, for a variety of reasons. Standard-stuff UK releases - especially 45s and EPs, tended to be added - and studied intently - soon after release, whereas LPs usually took longer to acquire. Although I knew of it and had heard it, I didn't manage to get a (vinyl) copy of Chinchilla until the early 1980s, and that aboard a mint-condition French EP bought in an auction. The South African live tracks (about which I had known precisely nothing) only became known to me via Rob Bradford's sleeve-notes for the See For Miles releases circa 1989-1992.
But a round of applause for application and dedication to Didier, Donna, Ulrich (he didn't claim the encyclopaedic knowledge I know he has, but I'll attribute it anyway), Bob T, Clive W, and well-deserved plaudits for honesty to everyone else who answered!
Best wishes,
JN