Cliff Richard & The Shadows on Radio Luxembourg

By Paul Rumbol

Preface by MC
The successive series of 'Me And My Shadows' programmes broadcast by Radio Luxembourg in the opening years of the 1960s have attained an almost legendary status among fans worldwide. The late 50s and early 60s generated a youth culture that thirsted for off-air pop music and found a source for a significant proportion of it on a fondly-remembered radio station which, for UK listeners (and for some listeners in mainland Europe too), was as often as not infuriatingly subject to all kinds of interference. Still, the crystal-clear airwaves of the BBC, with its studiedly well-spoken and distinctly un-hip announcers, and saddled with needle time restrictions, were tardy in catering for the new generation of kids and young adults who preferred to leave to adoring Mums and Dads the likes of The George Mitchell Minstrels, Billy Cotton, and Frank Sinatra.

A number of these Luxembourg recordings have been preserved, their reproduction ranging from good to poor, sometimes desperately poor. This is not surprising in the least, given that what has been rescued from oblivion derives almost exclusively from fans recording notoriously unstable signals on low-grade equipment – not that the totality of the recordings that have survived has reached anything like a wide modern audience of interested fans, a circumstance adding even more to their mystique. As a result, the recollections of most of those who tuned into the original broadcasts are bound to be extremely hazy and impressionistic. In this feature Paul Rumbol, who has an unrivalled specialist knowledge of, and in many cases first-hand acquaintance with, the work of Cliff Richard and The Shadows as preserved on film, radio, television and concert appearances, sets out clearly for the first time what is known about the material recorded by Cliff and The Shadows for these shows, describes the numbers that have survived, and sets them securely in context. I would like to thank him for and allowing me to adapt his paper to the requirements of web presentation and to add or adapt some details (I have appended under the heading "MC" very brief comments on most of the titles, with particular reference to the contribution of The Shadows), and indeed for agreeing to make such a valuable resource available to those with an interest in a fascinating and important slice of 60s life as it really was.

We are grateful to David Hawley for furnishing excellent scans from his collection of sheet music.

Note
Paul deals with the material in three main ways. After introducing the topic, he provides an A–Z listing with comment on the recordings that have been preserved. Then he furnishes programme dates and musical content so far as they are known.

Observations, additional information or corrections relating to any of the points raised, or indeed recollections of your experiences, whether in listening or in recording, as a Radio Luxembourg Cliff Richard & The Shadows fan in the early 60s, will be gratefully received and acknowledged: please contact either Paul Rumbol at rumbers@live.co.uk or Malcolm Campbell at shads@malcolmcampbell.me.uk – thanks!

Stop Press!
Heinz Rolli notes that New Musical Express for 5 May 1961 announces a three-month run for Cliff & The Shadows on Radio Luxembourg. It looks from this as if the second series started Sunday 7 May 1961 or not long after. Many thanks to Heinz for this valuable observation.

Introduction

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A Teenager's Romance

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All I Do Is Dream Of You

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Baby I Don't Care

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Blue Suede Shoes

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Bony Moronie

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