Many years ago (thirty-three to be precise!), I misguidedly thought that I had a complete Shadows discography. I had to modify it after obtaining Established 1958. "Record Collector" (July, 1980) was also useful as were assorted issues of "Gandy Dancer". Then I discovered George Geddes’ fantastic "Foot Tapping", shortly followed by 1981’s "The Shadows" from the same author which was even better!! Dave Holbrook also sent me an incredible listing of foreign releases, which totally eclipsed my own version!! Thereafter, I became aware of Ulrich Sasu, Bernard Broche, Otto Kasper (superb German/ English discography book) and many more.
Now in 2001 we have "The Shadows At EMI (1959-1980 The Vinyl Legacy)" the latest discographical offering from Dr Malcolm Campbell. Its 464 pages are crammed with a vast amount of incredibly detailed information. His overview of 45 singles (84 tracks), 26 EPs (106 tracks), 12 original LPs (152 tracks), plus numerous compilation albums (PLUS all Cliff/Shads recordings too) is awesome. Shadows recordings were released in 32 different countries. Malcolm set himself the daunting task of documenting every known vinyl release from every country, complete with catalogue numbers etc. Naturally, he has drawn upon all the resources mentioned above and many more. The author’s remarkable skills are demonstrated in the manner in which he draws all these sources together to summarise them, analyse them and synthesise every salient point. It is an astonishing work and is definitely the most accurate and authoritative single volume on the subject. Malcolm’s attention to detail is stupendous. It’s more than just a discography (which would have been a major triumph in itself) though, as it contains a wealth of other information and comment. Some examples? 1) Detailed composer credits. 2) Group line-ups. 3) Year by year summaries/ chronologies. 4) Information on mono tracks, stereo tracks, mock-stereo tracks, re-mixes etc. 5) Exclusive overseas releases. 6) Detailed tracking of the UK chart performance of every single 45/ EP/ LP release. 7) A survey of general instrumental releases (particularly 45s/ EPs) by other artists/ groups. 8) Comprehensive listing of alternative versions and where to find them. 9) Complete alphabetical title listing of every track recorded for EMI (superbly cross-referenced). 10) Complete listing of every 45/ EP/ LP from up to 32 different countries. I could go on! It is a wonderful book as well as being an outstanding work of research and reference. No Shadows fan should be without it! Definitely indispensable and an essential purchase.
