In the first seventeen weeks SHADES had acheived more than some bands do in a lifetime.
A natural progression from all of this had to be a recording contract. Bethell had been doing business with Graham Sclater of Tabitha Records and invited him to come and see th band. It took only minutes of the first set for him to offer a recording contract and by the second set a deal had been concluded. Even to the point of the record company devising a record lablet for the band. Their first record on this label came out in March 1978.
- 103 gigs
- Appearance on Radio one's "It's Only Rock n Roll" show on 3rd December 1977 playing five numbers and winning the respect of the programme producer Dave Price
- Over 20 press interviews
- Appearance on Westward TV's Westward Diary 31st January 1978 and played three numbers. The show received so much fan mail that they repeated part of SHADES' performance two days later
- Dick Charlesworth the programme editor admitted "They proved a popular choice with many of our viewers"
- Headlining some of London's top Rock n Roll venues
A natural progression from all of this had to be a recording contract. Bethell had been doing business with Graham Sclater of Tabitha Records and invited him to come and see th band. It took only minutes of the first set for him to offer a recording contract and by the second set a deal had been concluded. Even to the point of the record company devising a record lablet for the band. Their first record on this label came out in March 1978.
Westward's television presenter Kenneth MacLeod discusses the band's meteoric rise to success
