After the departure of John Farrar, Hank, Bruce and Brian decided to continue as a "trio" employing freelance musicians when needed to work on recording sessions and tours .

Thus, Alan Jones (and Cliff Hall) were never actually "full" members of the Shadows but as they were regular fixtures on stage and albums for thirteen years, most fans regard them as "Shadows".

Alan first joined the band to play the bass guitar when they reformed again for their "Twenty Golden Dates" Tour in 1977 and became an integral part of the stage act for the next ten years. He fitted in perfectly with both the music and their gentle humour as if he had been a member of the group since the early days. His bass playing can be heard on all Shadows albums from "String of Hits" (1979) to "Steppin' to the Shadows" (1989). The "Guardian Angel" album, in particular, was a fine showcase for his bass guitar work. He also appears on the 1978 video and album of the "Thank You Very Much" concert.

Prior to joining the Shadows in 1977, Alan had spent the previous three years in America working and recording with Tom Jones (ironically as replacement for John Rostill). It was during this time in America that he was offered a position in Elvis Presley's backing group but had to decline as he was already under contract to Tom at the time!

Being a freelance musician allowed him to undertake other projects, however, and in 1986/7/8 he was in the Dave Clark/ Cliff Richard musical TIME. It was whilst he was involved with this project that he suffered horrific injuries in a motorway accident in 1988 which could have ended his life. Fortunately, Alan survived the accident but his injuries were so severe that he spent a lot of the next time years in hospital which meant that he wasn't available for (what appears to be) the Shadows final tour and album (Reflection) in 1990.
During the nineties, Alan has worked with Tangent, and can be heard and seen on their CDs and videos. He has recently been playing with Barry Gibson's LOCAL HEROES.

1995 saw the release of his solo CD. Originally begun in 1987 the album reflects the music which has influenced Alan's career. Hank Marvin plays lead guitar on the title track and even without that connection, this album is

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


available from
ZING RECORDS, PO BOX 93, WESTBURY ON TRYM, BRISTOL, BS9 4JH, ENGLAND

A Shadow in Time (part1)
Don't be Cruel
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
Good Rockin' Tonight
Let's Have A Party
All Shook Up
Blue Moon of Kentucky
Do You Wanna Dance?
C'mon Everybody
Blue Suede Shoes
A Shadow in Time (part 2)
Kansas City
Songbird
Ain't No Sunshine
Sleepwalk/Midnight
Apache Wardance
VIP RECORDS VIP CD 001



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