Shadz member bio - Graham Gibson

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Graham Gibson

"Bruce" Gibson

(2nd Guitar/Vocals)

"My dad was a swing band pianist so, at age 10,  I was "encouraged" to learn piano and theory. Then, at 14, I discovered 5-Minute Books and taught myself to play basic ukulele and guitar. Next step - a couple of local, acoustic "skiffle" groups formed with neighbourhood kids in St Heliers Bay, Auckland. The second group, fronted by Roger Skinner, went electric and morphed into a 2-guitar/bass/drums outfit called 'The Versatones', which became very popular and always had work.
 
"We were resident showband/danceband for three consecutive major Christmas-New Year beach carnivals (Red Beach, Orewa, Ohope Beach) and, in 1963, enjoyed a 6-month residency at Auckland’s popular Shiralee nightclub. We also served as the 'Pepsi Showband', playing events to promote the newly launched Pepsi-Cola brand.

"After five successful, enjoyable years, this group amicably disbanded in 1964 when Roger took up a proposal to form a full-time Mersey-style group ('The Pleasers') and the rest of us focused on our somewhat neglected university studies. A short-lived reunion in 1964-65, with a new lead guitarist, saw me taking on lead vocals. I did some session work for Viscount and briefly played rhythm guitar with the 'Graeme (Gray) Bartlett Combo' at the Monaco before lapsing into playing for party singalongs. Moving from journalism/PR into advertising in 1975, I would spend the next quarter-century as a copywriter/creative director and prolific writer, producer and commissioner of TV/radio jingles. I also created, scripted and produced a host of music-driven, choreographed, themed shows for dealer conventions and new product releases, featuring celebrity performers. After managing an international ad agency branch in Singapore, I returned to Auckland in 1986 and later set up my own corporate event production business.

"In 1993, following an advertising stint in Jakarta, Indonesia, I drifted back into band work when the original 'Versatones' reunited (as the 'ReVersatones') for a mate's 50th Birthday party. This led to gigs for similar functions, performing as 'The Young Once', and to playing in the house bands for Roger Skinner’s annual '60s Musos Bash events. Early in 2009, I was invited to join the newly forming 'North Harbour Rockers Band' on lead guitar/vocals. Over the next five years, we were busy performing danceable covers at RSAs, Rock’n’Roll clubs, private functions, country-rock festivals and charity events around Auckland, Northland and the Bay of Plenty.

"In late 2012, Garry Betti called to say he was holding auditions for a "Bruce Welch" to complete a Shadows tribute band lineup. How could I resist this chance to come full-circle to my rhythm guitar roots and play the music I've loved since first seeing Cliff Richard & The Shadows perform live at the Auckland Town Hall in 1961."

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Shadz member bio - Alistair Taylor

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Alistair Taylor

"Jet" Taylor

(Bass Guitar/Vocals)

"I had piano lessons at about age 10, then taught myself the guitar from about age 12. Played rhythm/lead guitar in the North Shore Youth Orchestra for about two years at age 15-17 and worked in school bands during my high school years. After leaving school, I formed a band with four others and we stayed together for about 15 years, playing “middle of the road rock”, mainly for weddings and sports club functions.

"It was during that time that I started playing bass guitar as we had a female bass player who couldn’t sing and play bass at the same time but she could also play rhythm/lead. The band didn’t have a name because none of us could agree on one, but there was no shortage of work. This band eventually folded with the advent of “disco” and a sharp decline in demand for our kind of music. Members were getting married and work commitments took precedence.

"After that, I didn’t play professionally for about 20 years until I met Garry Betti, our drummer, about 10 years ago. That led to me playing bass with 'Indigo Blue' for about five years. I also played rock and jazz with a couple of other bands. About a year ago, Garry asked if I would like to play bass for a Shadows tribute band that he was forming, and here we are - The Shadz!

'I really enjoy playing Shadows tunes as a lot of the bass lines are very different from anything else around and a lot of the early Shadows bass lines are jazz-oriented. thanks to the formative experiences of Jet Harris, their original bassman."

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Shadz member bio - Peter Wallace

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Peter Wallace

"Hank" Wallace

(Lead Guitar/Vocals)

"What really started me on a musical path at age 14 was the sound of a guitar playing. American westerns were very popular at the movies, along with steel guitar and country-and-western music. My family couldn't afford to buy a guitar, but my music-loving Dad found a broken guitar in a bin. Good with his hands, he eventually got it working again. He had a friend who was a danceband guitarist (ex-pro) and this chap gave me a chord book (which I still have). Every night after school I would sit in my room and learn those chords.

"At age 15, I was one of a few guys in Liverpool who could play guitar and sing the "hits" of the day and was often invited to parties, just to entertain or play for singalongs. When I turned 16, I began working as an apprentice toolmaker and a guy in the toolroom was lead guitarist for a band called 'The Zodiacs'. Their rhythm guitarist had died in a motorbike accident so I was offered the slot. I started out on rhythm guitar, later moved to bass.

"In the early 1960s, 'Ian & The Zodiacs' went pro and, after playing one-night stands and a season at a holiday camp, we decided to head for Hamburg, Germany in the wake of fellow Liverpudlians 'The Beatles' and many other Merseyside groups. The Star Club in Hamburg was our base and we became regulars, working three-month stints then heading back to the UK for short breaks. The Star Club was a franchise so we began travelling inter-city to play one-month contracts in other venues on the circuit  We started recording and appearing on German TV, which brought lots of good exposure. But, eventually, the lifestyle started to wear thin. I returned home and embarked on a career in engineering, moonlighting as resident guitarist in a hotel band in Blackpool. We sometimes did club gigs on the side and once played second billing to crooner Matt Monroe. Our Beatles medley usually brought the house down.

"Married Yvonne in November 1968 and became the proud father of twins in July 1969.  In 1974, I brought my family to NZ and immediately immersed myself in the Auckand music scene. Started working as guitarist with the resident band at Pinesong Restaurant, where we used to do "theme nights" and entertain patrons' kids during band breaks. Next was a five-year residency at Mt Wellington Trust Hotel with a band named 'Dateline'. Then, I replaced Steve Tulloch in the resident Wednesday-night band at Texas Rose, in Birkenhead. The same lineup played RSAs at weekends under the name 'StageTalk' for many years. Concurrently, female vocalist Helen Brown and I formed 'Moonlighting', to play "strict tempo" dance music at the Mandalay Ballroom, Newmarket.

"In 1999, I returned to the UK for family reasons, then moved across the Channel to work in the Netherlands and eventually got back into music after joining an English-speaking church in Eindhoven. I returned to Auckland in late 2012 and re-formed 'StageTalk' with Helen Brown. Later in 2012, Garry Betti contacted me about forming a Shadows tribute band, to be named The Shadz. That music is timeless, and I'm really enjoying helping to keep it alive."

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Shadz member bio - Garry Betti

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Garry Betti

"Tony" Betti

(Drums/Vocals)

"When I was 12 years old, a friend had a pair of drumsticks given to him, and he tried to make them work. Watching him try, I thought: "I can do that!" And, so the journey began. My first band was with some schoolmates in the third form, one of whom had a drum set...so off I went. Talk about cheeky! We played at the Skyline Cabaret and Majestic Ballroom in Wellington, store windows on Friday nights in Lower Hutt, all just 13-14 year-old kids.

"Second band was with some older guys, playing The Shadows, Ventures and Cliff Richard numbers. The next band,'The Travelons', had even better musos, and we played all the youth clubs around Wellington and Hutt Valley, Downtown Club, Empress Ballroom, Ngati Poneke Club, Caltex Lounge, etc. Got married, so joined a little trio with workmates for a while. After returning home from Australia, we moved to Auckland and I drummed with 'Allenborough Park' for a few years, then gave it away in 1973.

"I was motivated to start playing again in 2005, when my son Keri Betti developed into a very good harmonica player and couldn't find a decent drummer. Keri and I formed the original 'Indigo Blue' in 2006 and I've been busy ever since. Last year, 2012, I made contact with Alistair Taylor, a former bass guitarist for Indigo Blue, and asked if he was interested in helping to set up a Shadows tribute band. And, The Shadz was born. After a few false starts and experiments, we finally settled into the ideal lineup - four seasoned musos who had lived and played through 'The Shadows era' and really love perfecting and performing those timeless tunes and capturing "that sound" (very important). We're all big fans of the original Shadows lineup (Marvin, Welch, Harris, Meehan) because of their originality, musical prowess, and their readiness to 'think outside the square' in musical terms. They were very special.

"The icing on the cake for The Shadz has been to score the interest and involvement of iconic NZ singer, Shane, as our 'Sir Cliff'. As a longtime Cliff/Shads aficionado (he even has their autographs and photos taken with them in Sydney, 1961), he's the perfect frontman for us, and with his newly dry-cleaned pink jacket, really looks and sounds the part. Like The Shadows, The Shadz is a stand-alone band with a broad and eclectic showband/danceband repertoire to suit any entertainment situation, event, function, dance or club night with a mix of instrumental and vocal classic hits from the 1950s through to the '80s. We can be contacted at jazzmusic@xtra.co.nz. Or Ph 09 627 1327."

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