THE SHADOWS – “Foot Tapper”
Slightly anaemic end to the Shadows’ run of number ones, the title illustrative of reduced ambitions: from the exotic vistas of 1960 to a little something to get the toes going (follow-up sadly not called “A Nice Tune You Can Whistle”). Feet do indeed tap but the liveliest thing about this record is the vigorous workout the drumkit gets – a spark is definitely missing.
4
I think the spark went after Tony Meehan and Jet Harris left. Brian Bennett was a technically much better drummer but boring and Jet Harris was the punk face of the Shadows – Licquorice Locking and John Rostill were anonymous bass players by comparison
Licquorice Locking also seems responsible for the Born Again Christian aspect to Cliff & The Shads. Accounts of their Great Leader in the early thralls of stardom suggest an out of control libido; Jet Harris’s alcoholic tendencies had something to do with the singer shagging his wife. Jet, a true hero, won’t hear a word against Cliff. In such circumstances he’s a better man than I – and it’s easy to see why Cliff took to religion.
In the teeny singles satchel I had inherited from my parents* Foot Tapper held a special place amongst the Beatles and the Dusty singles. It was the only instrumental. Thus as a star struck tiny, I had a slight suspicion that while it was quite snappy, it wasn’t quite finished. Therefore it was exciting, and incumbent upon me to write lyrics for it. Not actually being able to write all that well (I was 5) I developed a form of scat singing over Foot Tapper except for the thoroughly unimaginative chorus which went:
“Your a Foot Tapper
I’m A Foot Tapper
We are all Foot TAPPERS”
*My parents got a high end stereo in the mid seventies, which became the provenance of my Dad, who had been convinced by the salesman that playing of any record older than 1970, mono or anything not Prog would damage it. Their loss was my Dansette gain!
I should point out that this was originally commissioned for a Jacques Tati film but Tati never used it and thus it was seconded for Summer Holiday purposes. Has also had a useful extended second life as the theme tune for Brian Matthew’s Sounds Of The Sixties R2 show.
Tom – the follow up wasn’t called ‘A Nice Tune You Can Whistle’, but the flip of ‘Guitar Tango’ in ’62 was ‘What A Lovely Tune’.
Next up was the quite beautiful Atlantis which shares Wonderful Land’s wide-eyed vision. It stalled at 2 but (from memory) was once voted the best record ever by anyone on a Radio Merseyside poll.
As Tom says, this one does what it says on the tin but not a whole lot more. Pleasant but a bit lame.