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THE SHADOWS AT EMI - THE VINYL LEGACY

EXTRACTS: 'A GIRL LIKE YOU' & 'KON-TIKI'


June 1961
#36
Cliff Richard and The Shadows
  • Single, Columbia 45-DB 4667:
    ‘A Girl Like You’ / ‘Now’s The Time To Fall In Love’

    • SHADOWS PERSONNEL
    Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Jet Harris, Tony Meehan

    UK CHART PERFORMANCE

    Date of first chart entry:22 June 1961
    Highest position in chart:3
    Weeks in chart:14
    Weeks in Top Twenty:11 (29 June-7 September):
    13. 5. 5. 3. 5. 8. 7. 12. 11. 15. 18

    Cliff was back with a bright and breezy number from the pen of Jerry Lordan which benefited from a beautifully judged accompaniment by The Shadows, combined with a harder sounding Welch/ Chester composition, sporting some funky lead guitar. ‘A Girl Like You’ jumped from 13 to 5 on 6 July, and remained in the Top Five for three further weeks. It stalled at 3 on 20 July, failing to get past The Everly Brothers’ ‘Temptation’ and Del Shannon’s ‘Runaway’ (the previous chart-topper); the next week it was overtaken by Eden Kane with ‘Well I Ask You’ en route to Number One, and by Helen Shapiro with ‘You Don’t Know’ (likewise).

    CD ISSUES / VARIANT VERSION

  • ‘A Girl Like You’: (Mono) Hit List 1/11; (Stereo) 40 Golden 1/10, 20 Original 6, Dance 1/12
  • ‘Now’s The Time To Fall In Love’: (Mono) The Single Collection 2/12 (Norway 1995); (Stereo) Wonderful Cliff 16 (Italy 1994) - (Stereo, undubbed, viz. without Shads backing vocals) Rock ’n’ Roll BOX 2/24



    • September 1961
    #37
    The Shadows
  • Single, Columbia 45-DB 4698: KON-TIKI / 36-24-36

    • PERSONNEL
    Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Jet Harris, Tony Meehan

    DISTRIBUTION
    UK, and Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Holland, India, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa [78 rpm], Turkey

    UK CHART PERFORMANCE

    Date of first chart entry:7 September 1961
    ~ re-entry 23 November 1961
    Highest position in chart:1 ~ (re-entry) 37
    Weeks in chart:10 ~ (re-entry) 2
    Weeks in Top Twenty:8 (14 September-26 October; 9 November):
    7. 5. 4. 1. 3. 3. 10; 19

    The glorious KON-TIKI with its jaunty and much-admired flipside, both showcasing Jet Harris’ deft basswork, came in at 24 while THE FRIGHTENED CITY [#32] was on its way out. In the course of the following nine weeks of its chart life the only other beat instrumental to make an impact on the Top Forty was Duane Eddy’s ‘Drivin’ Home’, but only between 14 and 28 September (at 37, 33, 30). When KON-TIKI made its re-entry for a fortnight THE SAVAGE [#42] was already in the Top Twenty.

    It hit the top in the fifth week of release, on 5 October, pushing past the leading three of the week before, John Leyton’s ‘Johnny Remember Me’ (now in its ninth week of release), and two former Number Ones, Shirley Bassey’s ‘Reach for the Stars’ (now in its tenth week), and Helen Shapiro’s ‘You Don’t Know’ (thirteenth week). But its stay here was to be short-lived. Both Helen Shapiro and John Leyton now had new songs up and coming (‘Walking Back To Happiness’ and ‘Wild Wind’ respectively), and The Highwaymen’s ‘Michael’ had been climbing steadily to emulate its transatlantic success by reaching the top spot by 12 October. KON-TIKI started to slip dramatically by the eighth week of release (26 October), with a number of powerful contenders on the way up - Cliff Richard with his ‘When the Girl In Your Arms (Is The Girl In Your Heart)’ [#39] being one of them.


    [a 8] KON-TIKI


    COMPOSER
    Michael Carr

    STATUS
    Mono; first UK Stereo release: #166

    VINYL RECORDS

  • Singles
    KON-TIKI was four times relegated to the status of a B-side: in France (THE FRIGHTENED CITY/, 1961), in USA + Japan (MAN OF MYSTERY/, 1962), in Argentina (GUITAR TANGO/, 1962) and later in Germany (FBI/, 1975). - There was also the four-track APACHE / FBI / GUITAR TANGO / KON-TIKI, Germany 1978.
  • EPs
    It was one of three A-Singles on the UK EP Spotlight On The Shadows (see #48). Other issues in this format (* = 36-26-36 also included):
    • Kon-Tiki*Spain 1961
    Shadoogie*Denmark etc. 1961
    The Frightened City* (1)France 1962/1964 =
    id.* (2) [same tracks, diff. running-order]South Africa 1962
    The Shadows (11)Portugal 1964
    The Shadows (15)Argentina 1968
    Serie 2 + 2 Vol. 42Germany 1978

  • LPs
    Near the top of the pile in terms of popularity on vinyl: see Appendix 1. First airing on a compilation: What’s Mysterious Sounds? (Japan 1962). UK compilations: #75/166, 167, 176, 193, 197, 199, 202, 205.

    ALTERNATIVE VERSION
    For an edited version of this track see Introduction to 1975 under "Overseas Exclusives".

    CD ISSUES
    CD Guide pp. 178-9; recommended: Early Years 2/1, Original Chart 1/7, Shadows Are Go! 7 (USA 1996)


    • [b 8] 36-24-36


    COMPOSERS
    Bruce Welch/ Hank Marvin/ Jet Harris/ Tony Meehan

    STATUS
    Mono; first UK Stereo release: #166

    VINYL RECORDS

  • Singles
    A B-side for APACHE (Holland 1972).
  • EPs
    Room was found for this number on a UK EP in 1962: Wonderful Land Of The Shadows (see #57). Four other issues are itemised on KON-TIKI above; add to those Greatest Hits (1) (Thailand 1963).
  • LPs
    A fairly common choice, see Appendix 1. It first surfaced on compilations in 1963, with The Shadows’ Greatest Hits (see #75), Hits All The Way (South Africa), and Top Flop (Holland). Other UK compilations: #187, 200, 201.

    ALTERNATIVE VERSION
    For a Dutch Album presenting this track with a brief intro (it is otherwise identical) see Introduction to 1968, under "Overseas Exclusives".

    CD ISSUES
    CD Guide p. 124; recommended: Early Years 2/2, First Twenty 1/16, Shadows Are Go! 8 (USA 1996); (Mono) 20 Rock ’n’ Roll Hits 14 (Sweden 1995)

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