The Shadows' 10 greatest songs, ranked
16 April 2025, 14:59
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Believe or not, they're one of the most successful bands Britain ever produced.
Only The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Madonna, and Cliff Richard have achieved more charting singles on the UK music charts than The Shadows.
Led by generational guitarist Hank Marvin and his Buddy Holly-esque stylings, The Shadows took instrumental rock to the mainstream.
In fact, the band had a stranglehold on the British music charts for a good number of years, thanks to their close-knit relationship with Cliff Richard.
Dallying with various music genres such as surf rock, country, jazz, and rock 'n' roll, The Shadows played as Cliff's backing band for some years, but achieved huge success on their own terms too.
- When The Shadows let Cliff Richard play lead guitar on a storming version of 'Apache'
- When The Shadows represented the UK at Eurovision without Cliff Richard
- George Harrison said seeing Cliff Richard inspired him to play guitar: "I could do better than that"
- John Lennon claimed Cliff Richard was the best thing to happen to British music
At the forefront of the beat-group movement, The Shadows were the first backing band to make it big themselves, scoring five number one hits and a further eleven top ten hits during their storied career.
Warning to any loyal fans of Cliff's however: because they had so many hits during their reign as the world's premiere instrumental rock band, we've included songs by the band only.
So, if you're starvin' for a bit of Hank Marvin, here's the ten very best songs from The Shadows, ranked from top to bottom:
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The Rise And Fall Of Fingel Bunt
The Shadows - The Rise And Fall Of Fingel Bunt (1967)
Written by all members of The Shadows, 'The Rise And Fall Of Fingel Bunt' was inspired by the 1960 crime movie, The Rise And Fall Of Legs Diamond.
Creating the song around the story of the titular fictional character, The Shadows kept pace with the British Invasion bands of the time by showcasing their bluesier fretwork.
Released in 1964, the song peaked at number five in the UK charts.
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Theme From The Deer Hunter (Cavatina)
HANK MARVIN LIVE "The Theme From The Deer Hunter" with Ben Marvin and Band
Stanley Myers' 1970 song 'Cavatina' is arguably one of the most beautiful classical guitar pieces ever written.
The masses certainly believed that to be the case, especially after the song's association with the 1978 Vietnam War drama The Deer Hunter, once virtuoso John Williams re-recorded the composition.
Not one to be undone by anybody else's guitar skills, Hank Marvin worked his magic on the piece for The Shadows' release of 'The Theme From The Deer Hunter (Cavatina)' in 1979, reaching number nine in the UK singles charts.
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Dance On!
The Shadows - Dance On - The Final Tour - 2004 - 4K
The Shadows took on the Tango with 'Dance On', an infectiously danceable song and scored themselves a massive hit.
It drew criticism from some quarters for resembling American rock 'n' roll artists like Duane Eddy, though fans didn't care.
'Dance On' was yet another chart-topper in 1961 for The Shadows, which encouraged British singer Kathy Kirby to record her own version two years later with lyrics.
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The Frightened City
Frightened City - The Shadows
'The Frightened City' saw Hank Marvin and his fellow Shadows delve into the dusty scenery of Western movies, making cultural history across the pond.
An atmospheric track showcasing each of the member's unique talents - including Jet Harris' precision basslines - 'The Frightened City' could have easily soundtracked a face-off in a Wild West saloon.
In fact, the song was written by composer for the 1961 neo-noir gangster film of the same name which starred Sean Connery, though The Shadows' version shone a spotlight on the film too.
Reaching number three in the UK charts, the song's Western-leaning tones weren't enough to help The Shadows crack America.
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Kon-Tiki
The Shadows :::: Kon-Tiki.
Few instrumental rock tunes make you want to shake your hips by the sea as the sun goes down, but 'Kon-Tiki' is one of them.
Written by composer Michael Carr (who had penned several songs for The Shadows), 'Kon-Tiki' became another massive hit for the band after it reached number one in 1961.
Fun fact: the song was named after the legendary raft used by Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl for his 1947 expedition across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands.
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Foot Tapper
Foot Tapper (Stereo) (2004 Remaster)
'Foot Tapper' might be known for its appearance in the 1963 movie Summer Holiday, but that might not have been the case if filmmaker Jacques Tati had his way.
After seeing The Shadows perform live in 1961, the French director asked the band to write music for his upcoming film.
His film Playtime didn't get a released until 1967 however, so the band offered up 'Foot Tapper' for the bus scene in Summer Holiday.
It was a massive hit for The Shadows, scoring them their fifth and final number one hit in 1963.
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The Savage
The Shadows - The Savage (HQ-STEREO COMPLETE)
'The Savage' is The Shadows at their most vigorous, a song brimming with reckless abandon typified by Hank Marvin's forcefully twangy guitar lines.
Used to promote Summer Holiday, Marvin later revealed that the song "is undoubtedly a mediocre record and should never have been released as a single", as "it hasn't a strong enough melody for a single release. It is a run-of-the-mill number with little to recommend it".
Nevertheless, 'The Savage' was released as a single and reached number ten in the UK charts.
Despite Marvin's protestations, it must've been an earworm for most people, even fellow stars - it sounds like Andy Williams pinched the phrasing in the chorus for his 1967 hit 'Music To Watch Girls Go By'.
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Sleepwalk
Sleepwalk (Stereo) (1999 Remaster)
'Sleepwalk' technically wasn't a hit for The Shadows after they recorded it in 1961, as it was never released as a single - but the influential number remains a beloved song in their extensive repertoire.
The song was originally written and recorded by instrumental rock 'n' roll duo Santo & Johnny in 1959, and can stake its claim to having inspired some of the most iconic musicians that followed.
- 'Free as a Bird' and 'Real Love': The story of the previous "new" Beatles songs
- 'Albatross' by Fleetwood Mac: The story of the instrumental chart-topper
John Lennon said 'Free as a Bird' was inspired by 'Sleepwalk', likewise with George Harrison's 'Marwa Blues' and Fleetwood Mac's 'Albatross'.
The Shadows gave the song a whirl themselves several years after the original was released, which has seen the four-piece gain new fans with new generations.
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Wonderful Land
The Shadows - Wonderful Land (From "The Final Tour" DVD)
'Wonderful Land' was a reference to America, the hallowed country where The Shadows failed to achieve any meaningful success. Perhaps that's why the song's composer, Jerry Lordan, disliked the song's title:
"I'm pretty feeble with titles and I could not think of a title for that instrumental," he later admitted. "Hank called it 'Wonderful Land' and I don't like it. I wish I could have come up with something better."
The song itself is a bonafide classic however, one that reached the top of the UK charts in 1962 and stayed there for a total of eight weeks.
What may've helped propel the song to the chart summit was the inclusion of orchestration, the first instrumental rock song to do so.
The Shadows' guitarist Bruce Welch recalled: "What we'd done wasn't enough. We had it in the can for 9 months and while we were on tour, Norrie added French horns, strings and a little vocal bit. Then it was a classic record and we were so excited about it. It was the first time that a rock group had used an orchestra and it was No.1 for weeks."
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Apache
The Shadows - Apache (1960) 4K
Guitar riffs don't come anymore iconic than this: what else could top a list of The Shadows' greatest songs than 'Apache'.
The soaring instrumental track stands as one of the most influential songs of all time, at least when you consider the sheer amount of guitarists that Hank Marvin would've inspired to follow in his footsteps after the song was released in 1960.
The Shadows' fourth ever single release as a standalone group - although they'd released two singles under the moniker The Drifters - 'Apache' not only topped the charts in the UK, but was also a number one hit in Australia, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, and South Africa.
The surf-rock staple with an ambitious Old West motif is undoubtedly The Shadows' most recognisable song,
Written by Jerry Lordan, the songwriter got the idea after watching epic 1954 movie Apache starring Burt Lancaster as the Apache warrior Massai. "I wanted something noble and dramatic, reflecting the courage and savagery of the Indian," Lordan later revealed.
John Lennon once claimed that The Shadows were one of the only things in British music "worth listening to" before The Beatles came along. An entirely valid point.
