led by guitarist Hank Marvin<\/a>. Although The Shadows were another backing band, specifically supporting Cliff Richard during his early career, they worked independently and managed to chart hits without their singer on numerous occasions.<\/p>\nIn a somewhat ironic twist, The Beatles themselves acted as a backing band while attempting to get a recording contract. It was during their run playing gigs in Hamburg, Germany, when the band were approached to be Tony Sheridan\u2019s backing group for a recording of \u2018My Bonnie\u2019. They agreed, and when they entered the studio, they were allowed to record two tracks without Sheridan. One of those tracks was an original instrumental called \u2018Cry For a Shadow\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a bit disappointing because we\u2019d been hoping to get a record deal for ourselves,\u201d George Harrison recalled in Anthology. \u201cAlthough we did \u2018Ain\u2019t She Sweet\u2019 and the instrumental \u2018Cry For A Shadow\u2019 without Sheridan, they didn\u2019t even put our name on the record.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harrison was correct: the record was released as \u201cTony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers\u201d. \u2018Cry For a Shadow\u2019 was the only composition ever credited to \u201cLennon-Harrison\u201d, and was one of the only instrumentals the band ever recorded. The name of the track directly references The Shadows, as Lennon and Harrison were attempting to do their own version of The Shadows\u2019 recording of \u2018Apache\u2019, a number one hit in the UK around that time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Hamburg, we had to play so long, we actually used to play \u2018Apache\u2019,\u201d Harrison recalled in 1987. \u201cBut John and I were just bullshitting one day, and he had this new little Rickenbacker with a funny kind of wobble bar on it. And he started playing that off, and I just came in, and we made it up right on the spot.\u201d The truth is, they were just emulating their heroes. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s fair to say that in Britain, before The Beatles, there was\u00a0Cliff Richard\u00a0and The Shadows. The group were the closest thing Britain had to a rock \u2018n\u2019 roll band and drew on a lot of American inspiration with a slight British twist. While the band\u2019s song \u2018Move It\u2019 and Richard\u2019s performances definitely shaped some of their work, it was the way the band dressed that landed most heavily.<\/p>\n
Harrison, later reflecting on his influence, commented: \u201cCliff Richards and the Shadows became the big thing. They all had matching ties and handkerchiefs and grey suits, but we were still doing Gene Vincent, Bo Diddley, you know, Ray Charles things. So when we got back to England that was the big thing.\u201d The band had returned from Hamburg with their live show tuned, but their image was way off. \u201cA year or so after that, When Brian Epstein came on the scene, he said, \u2018You should smarten up because nobody wants to know you\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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