THE SHADOWS - “Kon-Tiki”
(7th October 1961)
The title hints at exotica, and The Shadows’ instrumental fantasies are escapism of a kind, but the Kon-Tiki expedition wasn’t celebrating the mysteries of the Other, just solving them. Thor Heyerdahl’s exploits would have been familiar to the Shadows from childhood - they were the right age to have been caught up in the Thormania of the early 50s - but what did Kon-Tiki stand for? Endeavour, drive, heroics, curiosity, clean-limbed struggle, a deep respect for simplicity. It’s an apt title for one of the band’s more straightforward and bracing hits - listen to that echo and twang and breathe in the salt Pacific air! 6
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