Competition Page

Win a copy of this book!

All you have to do is tell me Hank Harvin's real name.

Email your entry here

I will announce the winner on the 20th September 2026, so that the book can be prepped and sent out when it's released a few days later!

Details of the book are below!

This is the first definitive biography of the Shadows, one of the most influential British groups of all time. A book that rightly places the band in the pantheon of all time British greats who changed music forever. It is a story of soaring triumphs and crushing lows. Of Soho coffee bars and northern cabaret. Of faith and disillusionment and of some of the most unique and deathless recordings of all time.

Told by lifelong fan and bestselling, critically acclaimed music historian Bob Stanley, this is the first definitive story of how a group of working-class boys from Newcastle Upon Tyne and London became the biggest act in the UK. Scoring 34 hit singles under their own name, The Shadows landed a further 35 hits alongside Cliff Richard who – along with other surviving members – has spoken exclusively to Bob for the book. With a legion of famous fans including David Gilmour, Neil Young, Brian May, Mark Knopfler and Pete Townshend, Bob Stanley explores the group’s humble beginnings to becoming one the most significant and commercially successful British bands of all time As Hank Marvin and Cliff Richard get ready to celebrate their respective 85th and 86th birthdays this is the perfect time to celebrate the legacy of the band that changed British pop forever.

Bob Stanley said: ‘I've loved the Shadows' music since I was old enough to read the label on my dad's copy of FBI, and the second album I ever bought was 20 Golden Greats (the first was More Hot Butter, if you're interested). The sound of their instrumentals fired my imagination - there was a wild, half-imagined America in there, but also the soundtrack for an optimistic new Britain, post-war but still pre-Beatles. They had many imitators, but no one else could catch them. I've been lucky enough to interview all four original Shadows over the years, talking to Hank, Bruce and Brian Bennett on multiple occasions. I wanted to share my love of their music and also to reposition them, to remind people that they were the first British rock'n'roll group. The chronology should read Shadows, Beatles, Sex Pistols - they were that important and influential.’

Pete Selby, managing director of New Modern, who acquired the UK and Commonwealth rights from David Godwin said: ‘The Shadows are, in their own right, one of the most influential groups of all time. There is a good argument to suggest they were also one of the very first pop groups in the UK. That their story hasn’t been seriously or comprehensively documented before now is a surprise. That it has taken a writer and fan with Bob’s compassion, articulacy and insight to definitively capture the history of The Shadows nearly seventy years after their first single is not; there is no greater combination of author and subject. ‘The Shadows’ is a long overdue and essential addition to the canon of popular music writing’