Theme for Young Lovers (Instrumental)
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| “Theme for Young Lovers” | |
|---|---|
| |
| Single by The Shadows | |
| from the album Wonderful Life | |
| B-side | “This Hammer“ |
| Released | 28 February 1964 |
| Recorded | 1 November 1963 |
| Studio | EMI Studios, London |
| Genre | Instrumental rock |
| Length | 2:38 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Bruce Welch |
| Producer(s) | Norrie Paramor |
| The Shadows singles chronology | |
| “Geronimo“ (1963)”Theme for Young Lovers“ (1964)”The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt“ (1964) | |
“Theme for Young Lovers” is an instrumental by British group the Shadows, released as a single in February 1964. It peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
Release and reception
Despeite being written by the Shadows’ Bruce Welch, he does not actually feature on the recording as he was not in the studio during the recording session. Instead, his part, the acoustic rhythm guitar, was played by Hank Marvin. It was also the last Shadows recording to feature bassist Brian Locking, who left the group before the release of their previous single “Geronimo“, being replaced by John Rostill.
It was the lead single from the film Wonderful Life, featuring Cliff Richard, and was included on the soundtrack album by Richard and the Shadows. The B-side “This Hammer” is a traditional song, originally titled “Take This Hammer” and was arranged by the Shadows.
Reviewed in Record Mirror, “Theme for Young Lovers” was described as an “easy on the ear treatment of a number from the film “Wonderful Life”. It’s a delicate sounding slower-than-usual number which should give them a pretty big hit once more”. For Disc, Don Nicholl wrote that “at first hearing, the line appears simple enough with roots, perhaps, in an old Scottish folk item. But I find it takes a few spins before you’re able to remember it properly. It’s a soothing guitar special”.
Track listing
7″: Columbia / DB 7231
- “Theme for Young Lovers” – 2:38
- “This Hammer” – 2:68
7″: Atlantic / 45-2235 (US)
- “Theme for Young Lovers” – 2:41
- “The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt” – 2:42
Personnel
- Hank Marvin – electric lead guitar, acoustic rhythm guitar
- Brian “Licorice” Locking – electric bass guitar
- Brian Bennett – drums, tom-toms
The Shadows – Theme for young Lovers live on Final Tour
Charts
| Chart (1964) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 19 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 35 |
| Sweden (Kvällstoppen) | 18 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 12 |
The song was also recorded by Marlene Dietrich as “Ich werde Dich lieben” with German lyrics by herself.
It should not be confused with the 1960 instrumental of the same name composed and recorded by Percy Faith.
Covers and soundtrack
- Covered by the Peruvian band Los Belkings, and retitled as “Tema para jóvenes enamorados”.
- The song was used as soundtrack in the British film Wonderful Life.
- Paul Würges released a cover.
- German rock musician and singer Rio Reiser covered the Marlene Dietrich version on his Am Piano 1 (1998) album
- Guitar Sensation – Theme For Young Lovers
- Ricky King – Theme for Young Lovers
- Jerry Vale – Theme for young lovers
- Las Sombras De La Serpiente – Tema de Jóvenes Enamorados
- Dave Monk – Theme for Young Lovers
- Theme for young lovers – The Shadows (cover played by Eric)
- The Shadows “Theme for the young lovers” on Tyros 5.
- Theme For Young Lovers – The Jet Blacks (Lp Mono 1966)
- Zoe McCulloch – Theme For Young Lovers
- Os Carbonos
Wonderful Life (Cliff Richard Album)
| Wonderful Life | |
|---|---|
| |
| Soundtrack album by Cliff Richard with The Shadows | |
| Released | 3 July 1964 |
| Recorded | EMI Studios, London |
| Label | Columbia (EMI) |
| Producer | Norrie Paramor |
| Cliff Richard with The Shadows chronology | |
| When in Spain (1963)Wonderful Life (1964)Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1964) | |
| Singles from Wonderful Life | |
| “Theme for Young Lovers“ Released: 28 February 1964″On the Beach“ Released: 26 June 1964 | |
Wonderful Life is a soundtrack album by Cliff Richard with The Shadows to the 1964 film Wonderful Life. It is their third film soundtrack album and Richard’s eleventh album overall. The album reached number 2 in the UK Albums Chart, spending 8 weeks in the top 3 and 23 weeks on in the top 20, but was a marked decline from their previous soundtrack album Summer Holiday that had spent 14 weeks at number 1.
The album had two lead singles, the first being the instrumental “Theme for Young Lovers” from the Shadows, followed by “On the Beach” with Richard being backed by the Shadows.
Some of the recordings on the album are not those used on the actual film soundtrack, including the title song. The vocal takes are different and in some cases the orchestrations are also altered slightly. The recordings on the album are generally more polished than the soundtrack ones. The Shadows’ recording line-up included Brian Locking on bass guitar although by the time filming commenced John Rostill had replaced him.
The vinyl LP released on the Columbia label in the UK featured an inner sleeve with a storyline outlining the plot and the position of each of the musical numbers, illustrated with stills from the film.
Released in the US with the title Swingers Paradise the album did not chart.
Track listing
- “Wonderful Life” (Bennett/Welch) – Cliff Richard and A.B.S. Orchestra
- “A Girl in Every Port” (Myers/Cass) – Cliff Richard, and A.B.S. Orchestra
- “Walkin'” (Hank Marvin/Welch) – The Shadows
- “A Little Imagination” (Myers/Cass) – Cliff Richard and A.B.S. Orchestra
- “Home” – Cliff Richard and A.B.S. Orchestra
- “On the Beach” (Marvin/Richard/Welch) – Cliff Richard and The Shadows
- “In the Stars” (Myers/Cass) – Cliff Richard and A.B.S. Orchestra
- “We Love a Movie” (Myers/Cass) – Cliff Richard and A.B.S. Orchestra
- “Do You Remember” (Marvin/Welch) – Cliff Richard, The Shadows, and The Norrie Paramor Strings
- “What’ve I Gotta Do” (Marvin/Welch) – Cliff Richard and The Shadows
- “Theme for Young Lovers” (Welch) – The Shadows
- “All Kinds of People” (Myers/Cass) – Cliff Richard and A.B.S. Orchestra
- “A Matter of Moments” (Welch) – Cliff Richard, The Shadows, and The Norrie Paramor Strings
- “Youth and Experience” (Myers/Cass) – Cliff Richard and A.B.S. Orchestra
Personnel
Cliff Richard with the Shadows
- Cliff Richard – lead vocals
- Hank Marvin – lead guitar
- Bruce Welch – rhythm guitar
- Brian Locking – bass guitar
- Brian Bennett – drums













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