By mid
April, Hank had flown in from Australia and rehearsals for the tour began in
earnest in a rehearsal room in South London. By all accounts, things progressed smoothly and by the end of the month,
the reformed Shadows were ready to go! Just
prior to the start of the tour, the 45-track compilation CD ‘Life Story’ was
released by Universal. The first
disc of this double CD consisted mainly of the re-recorded classics that had
originally seen the light of day on the album ‘The Shadows at their Very
Best’ in 1989. The remainder of
the album was made up of favourites from their Polydor years, as well as the
aforementioned brand new recording. Released
on April 26, the album was aggressively marketed on television and
because of this (and due in no small way to the inclusion of the new track) it
crashed into the album charts at number eight! The following week it would rise to a very respectable number seven (its
highest position) and would remain in the Top 20 for the entire duration of the
tour, earning them a gold disc along the way! EMI fought back with the release of no less than normal" four Shadows compilation albums – the brand new double CD ‘The
Essential Shadows’, the repackaged four CD set ‘The Complete Singles:
1959-1980’ and the reissue on CD of their two greatest hits compilations from
the ‘60s. If nothing else, these
releases offered proof, if such proof was really needed, that any new album
bearing The Shadows name would be welcomed by their legion of fans from all
around the world. 
And so, on
Friday, April 30, in Scarborough, the moment every Shadows fan had
waited for. After almost fifteen
years of separation, personal ups and downs and solo successes, Hank Marvin,
Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett took to the stage once more. The standing ovation that greeted them (lasting for at least
as long as any of the numbers that would follow it) would be repeated on every
single night of the tour. The boys,
as they say, were back in town!
Nostalgia
and authenticity seemed to be the order of the day and it appeared that no
expense had been spared in order to make this final tour that extra bit
‘special’. For starters, Brian
Bennett dusted down his old silver sparkle
Ludwig drum kit, or rather, several different kits, and combined them to make
possibly the best looking and best sounding kit he had ever played! Gone were the syn-drums and timpani introduced in the 1970s,
because, according to the man himself, he hated them! Instead we were treated to a full-on ‘60s approach which,
it has to be said, suited classics such as Shadoogie, The
Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt and Brian’s unsurpassable drum solo, Little
‘B’, down to the ground! 
Either
by luck or judgement, Burns of London chose 2004 to launch a limited edition of
the legendary Marvin electric guitar
that was used so effectively by the Shads between 1964 and ’70.In addition to the familiar red Stratocasters, Hank was pleased to
endorse this stunning new instrument by playing it on the tour. So, together with Bruce’s original and a specially built Shadows
Bass for Mark Griffiths, the new Marvin put in an appearance during the aforementioned
Flingel Bunt and the 1965 vocal hit Don’t Make My Baby Blue. 
As
his main instrument, ‘Griff’ chose a red Fender bass (with a dark
tortoiseshell scratchplate), which sounded fantastic and looked not dissimilar
to the bass favoured by ‘Liquorice’ Locking during his 18-month spell with
the band. Bruce, meanwhile, rounded
things off nicely by playing an acoustic guitar on stage far more extensively
than had previously been the case. With
this warmer, richer rhythm sound, Geronimo,
Gonzales and 36-24-36 (amongst others) sounded almost identical to the originals. 
Having said that, their 1975 Eurovision hit, Let
Me Be The One, was dug out, as were a couple of brilliant, if sadly
undervalued, gems from their Marvin, Welch and Farrar era. Lady of the Morning and My
Home Town were an absolute joy to hear and affirmed, not that this was
needed, that the Shads were really quite excellent singer/songwriters. Watching the band run through their pantheon of hits, it was almost
impossible to believe that, firstly, they were all in their 60s and secondly
that they hadn’t played together since 1990! The intervening years hadn’t left a mark on them and they looked and
played better than most people could remember.
The sound, the style, the panache and, above all, the energy and
enjoyment of what they were doing seemed to shine through. Here was a band that, if they wanted to, you felt could easily kick-start
their career all over again. As it
was, it was turning out to be a farewell tour of which any self-respecting band
would be justly proud. 
The rapport
between Hank and Bruce, in particular, was sparkling – fast, funny and full of
affection. If, as reported, they
hadn’t spoken for 14 years, then it didn’t show. They were two old friends, on stage together, playing the music they
loved and enjoying each others company. This,
in itself, made it all worthwhile. As
the tour progressed, so the media (usually only interested in the latest trends)
gave them plenty of coverage and it wasn’t unusual to see the Shads turning up
regularly on national television and radio, as well as being given valuable and
significant column inches in the national press. Everyone, or so it seemed, was aware of The Shadows. To top
it all, their sell-out concert at the Cardiff Arena (in front of 6,000 people)
was recorded for posterity! And
then, far too quickly, it was all over. Except,
that is, for one final and very big surprise!
Towards
the end of the by now standard three hour show, a lean figure sporting a pink
jacket bounded on stage, to be greeted with a mixture of applause and screaming
(and that was just from the Shads!). Cliff
Richard, their erstwhile lead singer and pop music’s first Knight, joined them
for rousing renditions of Summer Holiday (very apt!), Bachelor Boy and The
Young Ones. Before he left the
stage, he gave both Hank and Bruce a heartfelt and affectionate hug and, in that
moment, it became clear just how much these guys meant (and continue to mean) to
each other. And then, as normal Cavatina and Wonderful Land
gave way to a supercharged and emotional finale that consisted of FBI
and Apache, it was all over. To
the sound of tumultuous applause, from an audience which, to the last one, was
on its feet, the house lights went up and The Shadows left the stage.
The autumn
of 2004 saw Brian and Bruce travel to Buckingham Palace to receive their
much-deserved OBEs and Hank perform at a huge musical extravaganza at Wembley
Arena to celebrate fifty years of the Fender Stratocaster. November also saw the release, on DVD and CD, of the Cardiff Arena gig of
5th June. The Shadows’ incredible performance was presented in its
entirety and with its combination of spectacular visuals and crystal clear
sound, the DVD version became an instant best seller. Entering the official DVD music charts at a very respectable number nine,
it would eventually climb to number three the following year. As a bonus, the DVD also included a specially recorded 45-minute
interview with Hank, Bruce and Brian, which, quite honestly, was worth the price
of the disc on its own!