(First in a series of various articles / writing about the Shads, that I've never seen posted or written anywhere else. And if my only image of said article is really bad quality, then I'll transcribe them!)
So this is the best copy of this article I have, I took it from an image of an old Shadows scrapbook I found for sale online a while ago. Luckily you can still read the text - just! While the scrapbook had a few interesting things in it I've never seen before, I wasn't going to pay ~£100 for a few pieces of paper! If I was a billionaire I'd maybe consider it...
Issues of Boyfriend magazine are highly collectible and are quite hard to find. I do have a couple issues that I found by chance for cheap - one of them originally came with a Shadows poster but unfortunately that's missing from my copy. I do have a very nice poster of Bruce though from a 1963 issue.
Anyway, this might not be anything too special - it's only a throwaway article from what is really a teen magazine after all - but it's still a nice little 'artifact'! When you read this it's clear that it was written, or more likely "written" by Cliff Richard. Tony must have still been lying about his age at this point - as it says he's born in 1942... Also it's funny how Hank is described as a "handsome hunk" ! Well to be honest I do find him quite handsome, but is he a hunk?! Nah!!!
Here's the article, transcribed verbatim:
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'The Boys Behind That Cool Noise'
Golly. . . even more queries this week about my Shadows! Seems just
about every bundle in my much-awaited mail bag is 50 per cent queries on
Hank, Bruce, Jet and Tony. And I can tell you the boys are really
overwhelmed by your wonderful interest. . . me, too.
We get a big
kick noticing all the little things you girls notice about us when
we're doing a show. We're always amazed at what sharp eyes you have. . .
the way you spot an untied shoelace, an off-beat tie pattern or a
split-second smile. You note all these things and yet it doesn't seem to
distract you one bit from listening to every note and every word of our
numbers. Certainly keeps us up on our toes, all this pinpoint
attention! We think it's the nicest compliment stars can recieve from
their fans — so thanks a million, girls.
And getting back to
those little things you notice. . . here's a perfect example from Della
John in Cardiff, Wales. She spotted me wearing specs in one of my I.T.V.
shows recently — "do you usually wear them?" she asks. "Well no, Della.
. . I leave the spec speciality to that handsome hunk, Hank — being
"framed" makes him look handsomer than ever. Maybe it's because glasses
call attention to those big smiling blue eyes of his that you girls go
overboard for. I don't know — you tell me!
Hank
What I do
know is that magical things start happening to Sandra Masson of
Northstead, Scarborough, whenever Hank (Brian) Marvin appears on stage
or screen. "More info, please!" is what Sandy writes. Well, Hank is the
one we dub the "gay one" of the group. He hails from Newcastle-on-Tyne
where he was born on October 28th, 1941. He has brown hair (slightly
tousled!) and stands at 5ft 11ins. Hobbies? Hank says he loves nothing
better than tinkering with cars or being lazy. Who can blame him for the
latter after all the hard work he puts into his work?
Jet
But
some girls go for the more serious types — like our Jet, or Terrence
[sic] Harris. . . for those who want to know his real name. In any case
he's the Shadow who attracts the mostest attention-wise from Sadie Brant
in Willsbridge, Nr. Bristol. "Why is he always so deep in thought? I
mean to me he always looks worried about something — he makes me feel
quite blue" says Sadie.
And she's hit the nail on the head, too.
We've dubbed Jet the worrier of the group. A good thing it is, too. He's
our best critic because he's always on the look-out for the tiniest
"wrong move" in our numbers. First to spot a jangled note or badly-timed
rhythm — that's our Jet. No wonder he looks serious about it. . . it's a
rather serious business!
But don't get the idea Jet is strictly a
"long-face" kinda guy. He's great fun to be with and joins in all our
crazy off-stage antics. Keen on cars and keen on girls who go for his
driving (bet that would include you, Sadie!)
Jet comes from
Kingsbury, is 5ft. 6ins. tall, has blue eyes and blond hair, and, well. .
. I guess I don't have to go any further as far as his heart-throb
looks are concerned, eh, girls?
Tony
Rounding off the
short and tall of our group are Tony (5ft. 6 1/2ins.) and Bruce (6ft.).
Tony, who plays both drums and guitar, has the corner on the
longest-names-ever department — real name, Daniel Joseph Anthony Meehan.
We have to call him just plain Tony or we'd never get onto the stage in
time!
Born in March, 1942 [sic], Tony is a Londoner with a yen
for playing snooker, playing weird music, meeting unusual people and
going horseback riding. He's got light brown hair and a very
light-hearted sense of humour — which we all appreciate in our
hardworking career.
Bruce
And Bruce? He's the practical
one. Says his first love is money. . . but in the group we know this is
only a necessity that goes towards Bruce's fabulous record collection!
Bruce comes from Bognor Regis where he made his original appearance on
November 2, 1941. He has dark brown hair, brown eyes and downs gallons
of tea. Keep that mail bag filled, won't you girls? Bye for now.
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