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--- In , Brian Neal <brian@s...> wrote:
>
> Did anyone hear how their "final" tour went off? Ivan?
According to everything I heard, it was a HUGE success! I don't
have any numbers, but I think all the shows were either sold-out or
very close, and they were playing some large venues. There were a
lot of disappointed continental-Europe fans who complained that the
Shads didn't play any shows there, so though the tour and the band
were supposed to be finished in May of 2004, they decided to add
another 'leg' to the tour - they'll be touring Scandinavia and
France and some other places through March, April and May (or around
that time, anyway). It seems that everybody in the band was very
surprised about the incredibly enthusiastic response to the tour.
All of a sudden all these cool UK music magazines that would only
mention the band to put them down were running long stories about
the legacy of the band and their importance in the UK R&R history.
So, the Shadows became cool last year again for the first time in
about forty years (well, I think there was a period in the late
seventies where the same thing happened, but a decade of really crap
releases in the eighties put an end to that - I guess a sufficient
amount of time has lapsed since the eighties that people only
remember their good sixties stuff and had forgotten those synth/drum-
machine atrocities).
Anyway, I have a feeling that all the band members may be rethinking
the whole 'final' bit after last year. I know for sure that Bruce
Welch is (he loves touring and playing Shadows stuff), and I suspect
Brian Bennett may as well. Hank was the one that kept touring and
recording through the nineties, and it seemed he's had enough and
just wants to call it a day. I think he's the one pushing for this
being it, but we'll see if the response managed to change his
mind....
Ivan
