Growing pears in shade?

I recently came across an article by Bob Flowerdew in an old gardening magazine in which some asked for advice on what fruit they could grow in shade. He suggested pears were a possibility, as they could be ripened in a bowl after picking. Whilst he said they would not achieve the taste of one that had grown in full sun, they would not be very different to similar supermarket pears, if marginally better. You'd sacrifice flavor, but have something you'd grown yourself. What do you folk think? The reasoning sounds plausible and quite sound, and who am I to question him, but it still sounds odd. Has anyone any experience of any similar shade experiments? Someone once told me something similar with a gage fan trained against a shaded wall. Again, less flavor, but still viable fruit that ripened on a warm windowsill a while later.

I'm considering planting a cordon or two of pears and seeing what happens. Worst case, I'll dig them up in a few years and replant them in a sunnier border... if things do/don't go pear shaped!
(I'll also write an indignant letter to dear old Bob, telling him his advice was lousy!)