In December 1959, Hank Marvin (lead guitar), Bruce Welch (rhythm), Jet Harris (bass), and Tony Meehan (drums), released their first single under the name of The Shadows, a track called "Saturday Dance."

Previously as The Drifters (Hank and Bruce, members since October 1958, later to be joined by Jet and Tony), and from October 1959 as The Shadows, they toured and recorded extensively with Cliff Richard, enjoying phenomenal success, which included two No.1 singles and two Top 5 albums within a space of eight months. They also released two singles on their own account, in February and July 1959 respectively. The first was a vocal, "Feelin' Fine." The second comprised the two numbers "Jet Black" and "Driftin'": these were studio versions of two instrumental tracks they had performed on Cliff's eponymous live album, both tracks having been included, in Bruce Welch's words, 'to give Cliff's voice a rest', suffering as he was at the time from a throat infection.

The release of "Saturday Dance" and its flipside saw a return to vocals but the record stalled just outside the Top Thirty of the day. Had it been more successful, the future direction of the group might well have been very different. As Hank and Bruce have frequently stated, they were very much influenced in that formative period by the harmonies of The Everly Brothers in particular, and, had the right material presented itself, they might have continued in that vein.

As it was, things turned out otherwise, and the group went on to occupy a unique position in the evolution of popular music from the late 1950s and during the 1960s. At the start of the decade, instrumentals of various kinds were making strong inroads on the charts, and when Jerry Lordan offered the group "Apache," the ready-made combination of three guitars and drums came up with what is indisputably one of the finest and most influential instrumental classics of all time. In the fifth week of release it reached No.1, famously deposing Cliff and The Shadows' "Please Don't Tease"; in the face of competition of the highest quality, it stayed there for a further four weeks. Further striking Top Ten hits followed in rapid succession: "Man of Mystery," "FBI," "The Frightened City," "Kon-Tiki" (yet another No. 1 single), "The Savage," then the terrifically successful Lordan-penned "Wonderful Land" in February 1962. In chart terms, it was the highest-performing single by a fair margin, netting no less than eight weeks at the top, with a Top Ten life of fourteen weeks all told. This superlative composition, together with its successor, "Guitar Tango," was notable for the orchestral accompaniment provided by Norrie Paramor. While some critics questioned the propriety of these added touches, the group were selling records in enormous quantities, and their fan-base both at home and abroad swelled dramatically.