"Man of Mystery" is an

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes instrumental performance and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental music in rock can be found in practically every subgenre of the style. Instrumental rock was most popular f ...

piece by

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

, released as a single in November 1960. It peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background and release

"Man of Mystery" was written by Michael Carr for the theme tune for the

film series A film series or movie series is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. It is a type of series fiction. This article explains what film series are and gives brief examples ...

Edgar Wallace Mysteries The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''Th ...

'', based on the books by

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer of crime and adventure fiction. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was ...

. For the first three series, "Man of Mystery" was a "slow and haunting arrangement featuring flute, accordion and string section". However, from the fourth series, an up-tempo

beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...

version featuring an electric guitar and percussion was used. The Shadows recorded their version of "Man of Mystery" in October 1960 and it was released as a

double A-sided The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

single with "The Stranger" in November. "Man of Mystery" was released in the US and Canada by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in February 1962, with the flip side " Kon Tiki", which had been released as a single in the UK in September 1961. Reviewing for '' Disc'',

Don Nicholl Donald Nicholl (August 9, 1925 – July 5, 1980) was an English screenwriter and producer who later worked in the United States. Early life Nicholl was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, Sunderland, England. He worked as a journalist, columnis ...

wrote of "Man of Mystery" that the "melody is forceful without being complicated. The instrumentalists play it with inbuilt excitement that ought to have jukes rattling everywhere". He also described "The Stranger" as "another fairly solid instrumental with a theme that's rather reminiscent of some western tunes which have gone before".

Track listing

7": Columbia / DB 4530 # "Man of Mystery" – 1:58 # "The Stranger" – 2:37 7": Atlantic / 2135 (US and Canada, 1962) # "Man of Mystery" – 2:00 # " Kon Tiki" – 1:55

Charts

"Man of Mystery" "The Stranger"

Cover versions

* In 1961, American musician

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

released a cover of the song as a single. * In 1965, American guitarist

Al Caiola Alexander Emil Caiola (September 7, 1920 – November 9, 2016) was an American guitarist, composer and arranger, who spanned a variety of music genres including jazz, country, rock, and pop. He recorded over fifty albums and worked with some of t ...

covered the song on his album ''Sounds for Spies and Private Eyes''. * In 1976, English guitarist

Bert Weedon Herbert Maurice William Weedon, OBE (10 May 1920 – 20 April 2012) was an English guitarist whose style of playing was popular and influential during the 1950s and 1960s. He was the first British guitarist to have a hit record in the ...

covered the song on his compilation album ''

22 Golden Guitar Greats ''22 Golden Guitar Greats'' is a compilation album by guitarist Bert Weedon Herbert Maurice William Weedon, OBE (10 May 1920 – 20 April 2012) was an English guitarist whose style of playing was popular and influential during the 195 ...

''. * In 1981, English producer Nigel Wright, as Mojo, sampled the song on his Shadows medley single "Dance On", which peaked at number 70 on the UK Singles Chart. * In 1994, Danish singer

Tommy Seebach Tommy Seebach (14 September 1949 – 31 March 2003), born Tommy Seebach Mortensen in Copenhagen, Denmark, was a popular Danish singer, composer, organist, pianist and producer. He is best known as front man of Sir Henry and his Butlers and for n ...

, as Seebach Band, covered the song on his album ''Instrumental Megahits 1''. * In 2007,

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

released a cover of the song for the CD included with the 13 June edition of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' magazine. The edition was to promote their Wembley Stadium concerts the same week. The song was recorded remotely using their laptops whilst working overnight on their tour bus. * In 2016, French guitarist Noël Akchoté covered the song on his album ''Shot Gun – Plays the Shadows''. * In 2024, French Gypsy Jazz group Basilic Swing covered this song on its album ''Caravane''.

References

{{authority control 1960 singles 1960 songs 1960s instrumentals The Shadows songs Columbia Graphophone Company singles Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor