The Shadows

The Shadows are a British instrumental rock group, and Cliff Richard's backing band, with 69 UK chart singles from the 1950s to the 2000s, 35 credited to the Shadows and 34 to Cliff Richard and the Shadows. The group, who were in the forefront of the UK beat-group boom, were the first backing band to emerge as stars. As pioneers of the four-member instrumental format, the band consisted of lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and drums. Their range covers pop, rock, surf rock and ballads with a jazz influence.

The core members are Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett. The sound was produced by Fender and Burns guitars, amplifiers by Vox and echo units Meazzi Echomatic tape and Binson magnetic disc. The Shadows, with Cliff Richard, dominated British popular music in the late 1950s and early 1960s in the years before the Beatles. Although they lost ground in the late sixties, the band had a second success from the late seventies.

The Shadows are the third most successful act in the UK singles chart, behind Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard. The Shadows and Cliff Richard & the Shadows each have had four No.1 selling EPs.

A Whiter Shade of Pale

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut single by the English rock band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The record reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached No. 5 on the US charts. One of the counterculture anthems of the 1967 Summer of Love, it is one of fewer than 30 singles to have sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

With its Bach-derived instrumental melody, soulful vocals, and unusual lyrics, written by the song's co-authors Gary Brooker, Keith Reid, and organist Matthew Fisher, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached No. 1 in several countries when released in 1967. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. As of 2009, it was the most played song in the last 75 years in public places in the United Kingdom, and the UK performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited in 2004 recognised it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years. Also in 2004, Rolling Stone placed "A Whiter Shade of Pale" No. 57 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Procol Harum

Procol Harum (/ˈproʊkəl ˈhɑːrəm/) are an English rock band formed in 1967. They contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", which is considered a classic of popular music and is one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for its baroque and classical influence, Procol Harum's music also embraces the blues, R&B and soul.

History

Origins, The Paramounts, early years and formation (1964–67)

The Paramounts, based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, led by Gary Brooker and Robin Trower and including Chris Copping and B. J. Wilson, scored a moderate British success in 1964 with their version of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's "Poison Ivy", which reached number 35 in the UK Singles Chart. Unable to generate any follow-up success, the group disbanded in 1966.

The Paramounts were signed to EMI UK for their releases; until one day before Procol Harum linked with EMI UK again, they were called The Pinewoods. A last-minute offer from Chris Blackwell's fledgling Island Records label was rejected by Brooker and band.

Shadow

A shadow is a space where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, or reverse projection of the object blocking the light.

Point and non-point light sources

A point source of light casts only a simple shadow, called an "umbra". For a non-point or "extended" source of light, the shadow is divided into the umbra, penumbra and antumbra. The wider the light source, the more blurred the shadow becomes. If two penumbras overlap, the shadows appear to attract and merge. This is known as the Shadow Blister Effect.

The outlines of the shadow zones can be found by tracing the rays of light emitted by the outermost regions of the extended light source. The umbra region does not receive any direct light from any part of the light source, and is the darkest. A viewer located in the umbra region cannot directly see any part of the light source.