The Shadows are usually thought of as the quintessential British instrumental group and, along with the American band the Ventures and the Swedish group the Spotnicks, one of the most popular instrumental groups in the world. But that barely tells the story of their true significance in the history of British rock & roll — including the fact that they were the first home-grown British rock & roll band to dominate the U.K. charts; or that they weren't originally an instrumental group, either. The band's roots go back to Chesthunt, Hertfordshire, in early 1958, when a young Indian-born singer/guitarist named Harry Webb joined with drummer Terry Smart and guitarist Norman Mitham to form a group that they ended up calling the Drifters — at the time, none of the records by the American R&B group of the same name, founded by Clyde McPhatter, had been released in England, so they had no inkling of the name's already being used.... The Shadows — often referred to informally as "the Shads" by their fans — officially disbanded in 1968, on the tenth anniversary of their signing to EMI. Bennett devoted himself to a second career as a producer and arranger, while Marvin and Welch formed a Crosby, Stills & Nash-type trio with John Farrar in the '70s, with harmony vocals to match. But in spite of some gorgeous recordings, they were never able to leave the Shadows legacy behind, and by 1973, the group had been officially reactivated with Farrar as a member. The group remained active throughout the '70s and '80s, switching to the Polydor label with the start of the latter decade and still selling large numbers of records and CDs, as well as concert tickets in England and around the world. Marvin embarked on a solo career in 1990 which left the Shadows inactive for the next decade or so. But they reunited in 2004 for a series of farewell concerts that ended up being extended into the following year, and yielded a live album and a concert DVD.
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