#5A. Hank Marvin – 12 Entries
Overview
1959 DRIFTIN'
1961 STAND UP AND SAY THAT
1963 I WANT YOU TO WANT ME // GERONIMO
1966 I MET A GIRL // THE DREAMS I DREAM
1967 A BETTER MAN THAN I // THE DAY I MET MARIE
1968 THE AVERAGE LIFE OF A DAILY MAN // TRYING TO FORGET THE ONE YOU LOVE
1975 SPIDER JUICE
1989 SHOBA
An interesting cluster of tunes with words here, suggesting that Hank took more than a passing interest in the beat vocal boom of the 1960s. THE DAY I MET MARIE has proved the most distinctive and enduring of them.
1959 LP:
DRIFTIN'
On the April 1959 No. 4 live LP Cliff, subsequently newly recorded for a Single (JET BLACK/) released in July of the same year without achieving chart success. It was put out as an A-side in Japan in 1966, reflecting the group's growing popularity there.
1961 LP:
STAND UP AND SAY THAT
One of three numbers, this piano-led, on the group's enormously influential chart-topping debut LP never to have been put out as a Single track overseas.
1963 B-Single:
I WANT YOU TO WANT ME
A Beatles-tinged vocal that served as the flipside of the No. 2 Jerry Lordan-penned instrumental Single ATLANTIS.
1963 A-Single:
GERONIMO
Still popular with fans, this was the first Shadows Single since SATURDAY DANCE not to make the Top 10 (stalling at No. 11).
1966 A-Single:
I MET A GIRL
This was the second Shadows' Single to miss the Top 20, stalling at No. 22, as had RHYTHM AND GREENS in 1964.
1966 A-Single:
THE DREAMS I DREAM
Earlier in 1966 the instrumental A PLACE IN THE SUN had made it to No. 24; despite the switch to a vocal more in keeping with the musical climate, this could only struggle to No. 42, an all-time low for Shadows' Singles to date.
1967 LP:
THE DAY I MET MARIE; A BETTER MAN THAN I
These two songs were featured on the non-charting LP From Hank, Bruce, Brian And John.
1968 B-Single:
TRYING TO FORGET THE ONE YOU LOVE
The flipside of the dismal DEAR OLD MRS BELL, the last UK Single from Hank, Bruce, Brian and John, and a non-charting one at that.
1968 LP:
THE AVERAGE LIFE OF A DAILY MAN
A slight, below average song on the commemorative No. 30 Album Established 1958.
1975 LP:
SPIDER JUICE
One of the fine instrumental pieces on the No. 30 Album Specs Appeal.
1989 LP/ CD:
SHOBA
On the No. 11 Album Steppin' To The Shadows.
#5B. Hank Marvin & Others – 4 Entries
IT'LL BE ME BABE has its admirers, though its delivery is on the forced side. GEE WHIZ IT'S YOU on the other hand is a wonderfully flowing rocker.
Peter Chester
1959 A-Single:
SATURDAY DANCE
Preceded by two unsuccessful Singles from the group under the name of The Drifters, this Shadows' vocal could not quite make the Top 30 of the day.
John Farrar
1976 A-Single:
IT'LL BE ME BABE
Not a chart success. The group had a lean time of it in the Singles market after the Eurovision entry of 1975; their fortunes would take a turn for the better with the release of DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA in December 1978.
John Rostill
1965 LP:
DEAN'S THEME
On the No. 4 Album The Sound Of The Shadows. It would crop up in Greece as a B-side the following year.
Ian Samwell
2004 CD:
GEE WHIZ IT'S YOU
A spectacularly fine rocker revived in a medley of group-sources compositions taken into the charts by Cliff Richard; it was performed on the Final Tour of 2004/2005, and released on the 2CD/ DVD arising from that.
Note: red font = vocal track