Hits of The Shadows Trivia Quiz

Answer:

The best known line up of The Shadows consisted of Hank Marvin on lead guitar, Bruce Welch on rhythm guitar, Jet Harris on bass guitar and Tony Meehan on drums. Harris and Meehan left the band and had some success as a duo. Brian Bennett replaced Meehan and was a long time member while Brian Locking took over from Harris although he stayed for less than two years. He did play on several of the hits listed in the quiz though.

The first solo hit for the band came in 1960 with 'Apache' reaching number one in the UK and followed by a number five hit with 'Man of Mystery'. 1961 brought more success with four singles reaching the top ten - 'F.B.I.' (number six), 'The Frightened City' (number three), 'Kon-tiki' (number one) and 'The Savage' (number ten). 'Kon-tiki' was named for the raft used by Thor Heyerdahl for his trip from South America to Polynesia in 1947.

'Wonderful Land' was something of a departure, featuring a string backing. Like 'Apache', the tune was composed by Jerry Lordan. It was a huge success, staying at number one for eight weeks in the early part of 1962. The Shadows followed this with a number four hit called 'Guitar Tango' while 'Dance On!' gave them another number one for the year.

1963 brought another trio of top tens, with 'Foot Tapper' being another number one, 'Atlantis' reaching number two and 'Shindig' number six. A fourth hit, 'Geronimo', stalled at number eleven. 'The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt' brought another top ten hit in 1964. The Shadows then released 'Don't Make My Baby Blue' in 1965, and it crept in at number ten on the charts. Unusually, though, it wasn't an instrumental so hasn't been included.

The band broke up at the end of 1968 although they still performed occasionally and also became a vocal trio, with John Farrar, performing as Marvin, Welch and Farrar. The Shadows also performed the UK's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975. Their song, 'Let Me Be the One', finished a creditable second.

Later in the 1970s, they had their final two instrumental chart hits. 'Don't Cry for me Argentina', from the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, reached number five in 1978. 'Cavatina', the theme from the film 'The Deer Hunter', became a number nine hit in 1979. These two hits became the final charting records for the band, although they continued to perform including backing Cliff Richard in reunion tours.

Of the other answers, all instrumental hits, 'Telstar' was taken to number one by the Tornados in 1961 - there is a cover version by The Shadows lurking around the internet but it was never released as a single. 'Green Onions' was a hit for the American group Booker T and the MGs, while Mason Williams took 'Classical Gas' into the charts in 1968. Duane Eddy, king of the twanging guitar, gave us 'Because They're Young' in 1960 while Acker Bilk and his clarinet performed 'Stranger on the Shore' in 1962.