IT’S hard to believe it’s over 50 years since Hank B Marvin, Bruce Welch, Jet Harris and Tony Meehan recorded Apache. This was the monster hit that launched the Shadows’ instrumental career and founded a nation of bespectacled guitarists dreaming of acquiring their very own Fender Stratocaster.

With their immaculate appearance, synchronised dance movements and clean, pure melodic sound, the Shadows chalked up 35 hits of their own (not counting another 33 hits with Cliff Richard), giving them more hits than any other British group and securing them a unique place in the annals of popular music.

Today the Shadows make few live appearances, but The Bootleg Shadows keep their sound alive by performing a fantasy concert that encompasses the Shadows’ career from 1960 up until the early 80s. Concert audiences are invited to relive hits such as Apache, Foot Tapper, Man of Mystery, Atlantis, Wonderful Land, Kon Tiki, Don’t Cry for Me Argentina and many more.

The Bootleg Shadows return to the Tivoli , Wimborne on Saturday, April 13.

Band member Geoff Bearpark said: “We have played at the Tivoli many times and love playing there – one of the best things about being a tribute band to The Shadows is spanning the years of all the hits from the 1960s to the 1980s interspersed with hits of Cliff Richard and a lot of humour.”

A tour spokesman said: “The Bootleg Shadows perform a unique tribute that has audiences humming the tunes and doing the Shadows famous walk long after they have left the theatre.”