Happy Birthday ShadowMusic

[Admin]

It seems fitting that our 3000th member joined on what is almost exactly this site's 5th birthday and I'd like to welcome all those who have joined recently, whether it's to find out a little more about the music of The Shadows, reply to a specific topic, become an active member or just browse occasionally. All are welcome.

For the most part the site has continued to be relatively peaceful. There have been just one or two minor issues which have been solved fairly easily so I'd like to thank all the members for their continuing support of the site and for their contributions to the discussions.

Without the moderators, this site could not run. It is a sad fact of modern life that someone has to read all the postings to make sure nothing illegal or unacceptable is posted and the moderators do an excellent job, acting if and only when absolutely necessary. My thanks to the forum and club moderators for their tireless efforts in keeping the site safe.

Spammers are getting cleverer every day and a lot of effort is spent keeping them out. There have been a couple who slipped through the net, discovered and removed quickly. For the most part they have been few and far between and thanks go to those members who have alerted the moderators to suspect members.

Because the IT industry is run by a bunch of 12 year old idiots it proved necessary to 'upgrade' the site software because otherwise it would simply have stopped working. While most modifications were easily and satisfactorily restored, the gallery is a lot more complex and I will get round to fixing it as soon as I can. It's still there intact; it's just the access to it which I have to rewrite.

The site is only just funding itself through the advertising found at the bottom of the page and I'd like to thank all those who have used the adverts found there and hope that they have been useful. There have been just a couple of donations towards site costs during the year and I'd like to thank those members who have contributed for their donations.

Finally, thanks again to all members and moderators for your continued support of ShadowMusic. May it continue for many more years to come.

Bob.

[David Martin]

Good of you to remind us Bob...

And here's where we say thanks to him for providing us with this "new" home five years back. Without that, I doubt the site would have survived. The history?

I started ShadowMusic in 1998 I think - though Big Al will no doubt correct me - as an experiment to see what I could do with, then, new Microft Web Communities software after the demise of the Australian SCOFA site... It took off big style, and spawned several offshoots as a result of online disagreements... The two longest standing were The Shadows Are Here, and Friends of The Shadows.

In time, Microsoft withdrew the service, and we all had to find a new home. And the three sites came back together again... After a short time on a Chris Kenward's server, Bob came forward, and provided both a home and his technical service for ShadowMusic.

My original aim was to provide the lone player of Shads music with contacts, support, advice and info... And look what happened! Perhaps even more important is to engage a new generation of younger people to carry the music forward as The Shadows' generation passes away... Why? Because the music is good enough to survive, together with the memory of the men who made it.

Thanks Bob... I'm hitting the "donate" button now and I hope others will do so too...

[Gary Allen]

I reckon the site generated enough interest in getting The Shads back together so that speaks for itself,also...I raise my cup of tea to members that are gone to the great gig in the sky. Gary

[dave robinson]

Five years has flown by, it seem like only yesterday I found the old MSN site. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then and a lot of discussion and arguments ( I often wonder where some of those people have gone that helped liven the place up) but largely I like to think that I have contributed by helping people achieve what they were looking for sound-wise and hopefully saved them a bob or two on the way. There has been a lot of good and just as much bad advice offered on the site and I have learned the hard way and sorted it out all to my advantage and I'm grateful for that. By being here, my intention is to help others avoid the pitfalls of spending too much money on the wrong stuff.
Thus far it is working out fine.
As far as The Shadows go, we don't have anything to look forward to in the way of concerts, but we do have a priceless legacy of what went before and as Gary mentioned , we were partly instrumental in encouraging their final tour ten years ago. Because of the original site, doors opened for me and I ended up playing for a few years with Warren Bennett & Mark Griffiths in the Vibratos with Brian Bennett on drums sometimes - how good is that ? The power of the internet is amazing and I love using it to help others, information is everything and I appreciate everything that comes my way to do with our business as you never know everything, but somebody here can always tell you a little bit more than you knew, that's why I like this place. However there are always those who have a green streak and will try to spoil and I deal with that in my own way that doesn't always suit some, but I have to work at that, as it isn't the real me - I don't understand some people and why they want to 'have a go' all the time, I always reply by telling it as it is, but we cope and move on trying to keep the place sane for the majority. Onwards and upwards !

[iefje]

Congratulations to ShadowMusic! I've been a member of ShadowMusic since the very first version of the website back in 1999/2000 on the old MSN domain. I've learned so much about The Shadows since then and really enjoyed helping other members in collecting information on various subjects about The Shadows as well. Well done and thank you to David Martin and all others who have helped to make the website what it is today!

[Ryan]

Happy Birthday and congratulations to Shadow music
The story behind me joining this web community is as follows... due to heart failure condition i was considering selling my Burns Shadows Marvin custom edition guitar but i wasn't sure how much it was worth, I hadn't used it much due to wanting to keep it in good condition.
A few years ago i brought the UB Hank backing tracks and tabs from Mustang Music, and since then they had sent me the occasional flyer with shows and performances they thought i might enjoy. One of these was for Zoe McCullock and the Crickettes, i then had a look on Zoe's website which was on the flyer.
This year I emailed her, asking if she knew anywhere that might be interested in buying this guitar from me, as i wanted it to go to someone who would appreciate it for what it was.
She answered with a shop name that would probably give me a good price on it and also suggested i had a look on this website, to see if a shads fan would like it. I wasn't aware of any Shadows forums until i looked it up after she had suggested it ( Thanks Zoe )
So I joined your community and posted about this guitar, for which i received a number of replies offering advice on value, but most were saying to keep it as i would probably regret it if i let it go. As such, i took this advice and have decided to keep it and enjoy it myself
I have read with interest, the numerous posts in the various sections on this forum. I have asked many questions and been given loads of informative answers and advice from a variety of different people.
I still have heart failure and am awaiting a heart transplant, BUT.... i still have my Burns guitar and thanks to this website i still have something to keep my mind occupied (which is a big help)
So long may it continue and Thanks to everyone

[kipper]

Congratulations to ShadowMusic and thanks to bob for keeping it going. not forgetting all administrators behind the scenes thank you all and a donation onits way. peter

[Didier]

I started ShadowMusic in 1998 I think

Wasn't it in 1999 ? I discovered it in may 2000 and immediatly joined, and was the first french member. Thanks to you David for starting it and to all of those who keep it running now.
In 2004 we started a french Shadows forum based on the ShadowMusic model intended to french speaking Shadows' fans not fluent enough in english to come here. We have now 360 members...

Didier

[Iain Purdon]

1962!