The Shadows At Sixty

[Unsospero]

Some good news at last.

Just read on Cliff's facebook page that the Shads documentary is to be screened on BBC4 on Friday 1st May.

[Unsospero]

Sorry now managed to copy the details as posted on the Cliff site

The Shadows At Sixty is the story of one of the UK’s greatest bands as they celebrate 60 years since their inception, and tracks their journey from backing band to bona fide stars in their own right.
The Shadows were Cliff Richard’s backing band in the 50s and at that time, were known as The Drifters. They changed their name to The Shadows in 1959.
The group produced some of the most memorable and loved tracks of the last 60 years, including hits such as Apache, Kon-Tiki and Wonderful Land. During the 60s, they also appeared with Cliff Richard in films including The Young Ones, Summer Holiday and Wonderful Life.
The Shadows are one of the most successful acts in the UK singles chart, with 36 of their singles reaching the UK Top 40 and 20 reaching the Top 10. The Shadows At Sixty is a biographical and a richly textured document of changing times, charting how the private and public lives of this extraordinary band has helped to shape music for over half a century.
The Shadows At Sixty is produced by Spun Gold TV. Rory Robertson is the Production Executive for Spun Gold TV. It was commissioned for the BBC by Owen Courtney, Commissioning Executive, BBC Music TV.

Graham

[SJB]

Some good news at last.

Just read on Cliff's facebook page that the Shads documentary is to be screened on BBC4 on Friday 1st May.

Could you please tell us the time. Thanks

[drakula63]

Brilliant news! Thanks! I shall be watching and recording! Three weeks and three days (including TODAY) if this info is correct!

(I cannot find any confirmation of this on Cliff's official facebook page or his website. Perhaps you could post a direct link to it?)

[strongbow]

It showed up two or three days ago on the Cliff Richard Radio Facebook page, which is run out of NZ by Paul Dyer. Then it seemed to disappear.

Perhaps Paul, or whoever put it up, got a little too far ahead of things.

[drakula63]

It showed up two or three days ago on the Cliff Richard Radio Facebook page, which is run out of NZ by Paul Dyer. Then it seemed to disappear.

Perhaps Paul, or whoever put it up, got a little too far ahead of things.

Yeah, I suspect that when there's an official announcement, we'll all know about it! I would guess that it will be prominent news on the official Cliff site and maybe even Brian Bennett's facebook page. I would also suspect that Leo's Den will be 'in the know', so to speak. Probably worth keeping an eye on the BBC Four schedules online, etc.

Friday 1st May seems plausible, as these kind of documentaries usually go out on a Friday night - about 9pm - and we are now officially into the 'summer'. So, I'm quietly confident that this is either correct or not too far off the mark. But I think we'd all better wait until it's 'official' before we get too excited or quote things.

[Kawarthabass]

Some good news at last.

Just read on Cliff's facebook page that the Shads documentary is to be screened on BBC4 on Friday 1st May.

Unsispero: Any indication from the BBC if the program will be available on DVD at a later time?

[Fenderman]

It'll probably be a 1 hour show. Hard to fit 60 years into that amount of time but just glad their getting some kind of recognition. Hope there's new interviews from Hank, Bruce & Brian.

[drakula63]

I have a friend who works at the BBC. He's considered a 'key worker', so he's still at work. I emailed him about the Shads doco...

"Don’t know anything about the Shadows at 60 stuff, but I expect its true, a lot of things are going out early, so May 1st might be correct.
If I find out anything, you’ll be the first to know."

I can't see the BBC giving much thought to releasing it on DVD at this point, probably far too many other things to worry about. It's possible that the initial broadcast date has been brought forward a bit, since they may be having to use stockpiled programmes if new programmes are currently not being made. Friday May 1st seems like a pretty good date to me, since it's Bank Holiday weekend and I can't see many people going anywhere at the moment. So, ironically, it'll probably be 1 minute for every year! I think it's 100% safe to say that Hank, Bruce and Brian will have been interviewed (I can't imagine any scenario where this would not be the case!), along with Cliff Richard and as many other 'Shadows' as they could get. Might be worth keeping an eye out for a skype interview with Hank on the BBC Breakfast show nearer the time!

[Tone]

I'm wondering about the title. The extract from the Cliff site quoted by Unsospero mentions 'they celebrate 60 years since their inception.' That being the case, why wasn't the documentary aired in 2018 or, if you wish to be pedantic and take it from the year the band changed its name, 2019?

Is it possible that it's been 'in the can' for the last couple of years and has been brought out because of the lack of new programmes due to the Covid crisis? If that is so, had it not been for the crisis it might never have been aired at all.

Just a thought!

Tony