Hank Marvin

Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin,[1] 28 October 1941)[2] is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist for the Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the backing band for Cliff Richard, and subsequently for Marvin, Welch & Farrar.[2]

Sculpture of Hank Marvin by artist Victor Heyfron M.A. 1964

Hank Marvin
Marvin in 2009
Background information
Birth nameBrian Robson Rankin
Born (1941-10-28) 28 October 1941
Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England
GenresRock, instrumental rock, rock & roll
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • vocalist
  • songwriter
Instruments
Years active1958–present
Associated actsThe Shadows
Cliff Richard
Marvin, Welch & Farrar

Early life

Hank Marvin was born Brian Robson Rankin in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As a child, he played banjo and piano. After hearing Buddy Holly, he decided to learn the guitar and also adopted Holly style dark-rimmed glasses.[2]

He chose his stage name while launching his career. It is an amalgamation of his childhood nickname, Hank, which he used to differentiate himself from friends also named Brian, and the first name of Marvin Rainwater, the country and rockabilly singer.

Sixteen-year-old Marvin and his Rutherford Grammar School friend, Bruce Welch, met Johnny Foster, Cliff Richard's manager, at The 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London. Foster was looking for a guitarist for Cliff Richard's UK tour and was considering Tony Sheridan. Instead he offered Marvin the position. Marvin joined the Drifters, as Cliff Richard's group was then known, provided there was a place for Welch.

Marvin met Richard for the first time at a nearby Soho tailor's shop,[3] where Richard was having a fitting for a pink stage jacket. The Drifters had their first rehearsal with Richard at the Webb family home (Cliff's parents) in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.

Hank Marvin

Solo career

His first critically lauded, self-titled solo album of instrumentals, which featured guitar set to orchestrated backing, was released in 1969, following the first disbanding of the Shadows, in late 1968. The single "Sacha" topped the singles chart in New South Wales, Australia, having been 'discovered' by two DJs at 2WG Wagga Wagga.[4] Marvin's solo career was then suspended due to Shadows reunions, first for a Far East tour and 'live' album in 1969, then a studio album in 1970 (Shades of Rock) and again in the early 1970s. He has experimented with styles and material, doing instrumental albums, some with mostly vocals (e.g. Words and Music, All Alone With Friends), one with only acoustic guitars and one with a guitar orchestra (The Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate).

In 1970, Marvin and Welch formed Marvin, Welch & Farrar, a vocal-harmony trio which failed to appeal to Shadows fans or to contemporary music fans. They became 'Marvin & Farrar' for a vocal album in 1973 and then reverted to the Shadows in late 1973, for the instrumental Rockin' with Curly Leads album. The Shadows came second for the United Kingdom in the 1975 Eurovision song contest.

Marvin wrote "Driftin'", "Geronimo", "Spider Juice" (his daughter's name for orange juice), "I Want You to Want Me" for the Shadows, and "The Day I Met Marie". He co-wrote Richard's 1960 hit; 'Gee Whizz It's You' with Ian Samwell. With Welch, Brian Bennett, and John Rostill, he wrote hits for Cliff Richard, including; "On the Beach", "I Could Easily Fall in Love with You", "Time Drags By", and "In the Country".

In 1969 and 1970, he teamed with Richard for: two 'Cliff & Hank' hit singles, his own song; 'Throw Down a Line' (also recorded by Marvin, Welch & Farrar), and 'The Joy of Living', while Richard also had a hit with his ecology song, 'Silvery Rain'.

In 1977, Marvin played lead guitar on Roger Daltrey's third solo album, One of the Boys, on the tracks Parade and Leon. He co-wrote Olivia Newton-John's 1977 hit 'Sam' with John Farrar and Don Black, and produced albums for the British showman Des O'Connor.

In 1988, Marvin collaborated with French keyboardist and composer Jean Michel Jarre on the track "London Kid", on Jarre's Revolutions album and was a guest in Jarre's Destination Docklands concert at London's Royal Victoria Dock. Jarre said the Shadows' success had influenced him and led to his decision to devote his career to instrumental music.

Marvin appeared with Leslie Nielsen in an advert for Red Rock Cider, which was done as a parody of Nielsen's Police Squad! films. In a bar scene, Nielsen calls out, "Hey, you over there, in the shadows!", after which Marvin steps forward. When Nielsen asks Marvin to "accompany" him (police talk for taking someone down to the station), Marvin literally accompanies him, on the guitar, as Nielsen sings the product's jingle.

In 1992, Duane Eddy guested on Marvin's album Into the Light on the track "Pipeline".

Marvin and the Shadows reformed for a 2004 Final Tour, and a 2005 European tour was also organised.

Marvin dueted twice with French guitarist Jean-Pierre Danel – on his 2007 and 2010 albums, both top-ten hits and certified gold. Their two singles hit the iTunes charts in France, Norway, Finland and Germany, and later (when released as an EP from Danel's compilation The Hit List) in Ireland, United Kingdom, Poland, United States, South Africa and Thailand. Marvin also participated on one of his DVDs and wrote the foreword for Danel's book about the Fender Stratocaster.

While Welch and Bennett became the Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to music, Marvin declined for "personal reasons".[5]

On 28 October 2009, Marvin was presented with a BASCA Gold Badge Award[6] in recognition of his unique contribution to music.

Marvin with Cliff Richard and Bruce Welch on 50th anniversary reunion tour 2009

Personal life

His first wife was Beryl, with whom he had four children.[7] He is currently married to Carole, with whom he had two children.[8]

Since 1986, Marvin has lived in Perth, Western Australia. He has made impromptu appearances on stage when musician friends visit the area, such as in February 2013 when Cliff Richard held a concert at Sandalford Winery. He is a Jehovah's Witness.[9] Marvin runs a recording studio, Nivram studios, part of Sh-Boom studios in Tiverton Street, Perth, owned by Trevor Spencer and Gary Taylor. He has also developed a keen interest in the music of jazz guitar legend Django Reinhardt and performs regularly with his group, "Hank Marvin's Gypsy Jazz", whose repertoire consists of a mix of Reinhardt originals and new tunes composed in the gypsy jazz genre.

Playing style

Despite being widely imitated at the height of his fame, Marvin's playing style is distinctive and instantly recognisable, characterised by fluid use of the tremolo arm (usually of his signature red Fender Stratocaster) with a volume pedal to achieve a particularly expressive sound that compensated for the lack of vocal content in much of his work.[10]

Influence

Marvin influenced many British rock guitarists, including George Harrison,[11] Eric Clapton,[11] David Gilmour,[11] Brian May,[12] Mark Knopfler,[11] Peter Frampton,[13] Steve Howe,[14] Roy Wood,[15] Tony Iommi,[16] Pete Townshend,[17] Jeff Beck[18] and Jimmy Page.[19] Australian guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel has also paid homage to Marvin on various recordings.

In Canada, Cliff Richard and the Shadows had top 10 hits, especially from 1961 to 1965. Canadian guitarists Randy Bachman and Neil Young credit Marvin as influential, Young penning the song "From Hank to Hendrix" on his Harvest Moon album in partial tribute.[20][21]

"Hank Marvin" is rhyming slang for "starvin" ("starving").[22] This slang was referenced in a 2012 television advertisement for Mattessons meat company.[23]

Early group personnel
  • 1956 Riverside Skiffle group Crescent City Skiffle Group: Marvin (banjo), John Tate (guitar), Derek Johnson (guitar), Joe Rankin (bass), Mal Malarky (mandolin), and Howard Muir (wb), John Clayton (guitar)
  • 1956–1957 The Railroaders (No. 1): Marvin (guitar), Welch (guitar), George Williams (guitar), John Clayton (guitar), Jim (drums)
  • 1956–1957 The Railroaders (No. 2): Marvin (guitar), Welch (guitar), Eddie Silver (guitar), George Williams (bass), and Jim ? (drums)
  • 1958 The Vipers (aka the Vipers Skiffle group) live concert: Wally Whyton (vocals), Johnny Booker (guitar), Hank Marvin (guitar), Jet Harris (bass) and Johnny Pilgrim (wb)
  • 1958 The Five Chesternuts 7" single ("Jean Dorothy" on Columbia): Gerry Hurst (vocals), Marvin (guitar), Welch (guitar), Neil Johnson (bass) and Pete Chester (drums)

UK solo tours
  • 1994 – w/Ben Marvin (guitar), Warren Bennett (guitar/keyboards), Mark Griffiths (bass), Brian Bennett (drums)
  • 1995 – w/Ben Marvin (guitar), Warren Bennett (guitar/keyboards), Mark Griffiths (bass), Matthew Letley (drums)
  • 1997 – w/Ben Marvin (guitar), Warren Bennett (guitar/keyboards), Mark Griffiths (bass), Matthew Letley (drums)
  • 1998 – w/Ben Marvin (guitar), Warren Bennett (guitar/keyboards), Mark Griffiths (bass), Matthew Letley (drums)
  • 2000 – w/Ben Marvin (guitar), Warren Bennett (guitar/keyboards), Mark Griffiths (bass), Peter May (drums)
  • 2002 – w/Ben Marvin (guitar), Warren Bennett (guitar/keyboards), Mark Griffiths (bass), Fergus Gerrand (drums)

Production credits
  • Spaghetti Junction Work's Nice – If You Can Get It/Step Right Up Columbia DB 8935
  • Des O'Connor – Another Side Des O'Connor – LP – NSPL 18559.
  • Flair – Stop Look & Listen – LP – MLP 15611.
  • Flair – Fair – LP – CC 227324
  • Flair – Fair Play – LP – CC 327224

Duets and guest appearances

Marvin also played guitar on the following tracks of library music recorded for Bruton Music:

  • "Fighter Plane" (with Alan Hawkshaw) on Top of the Range
  • "Conquest of Space" (with Alan Hawkshaw) on Grandiose Impressive Panoramic
  • "Human Desert" (with Alan Hawkshaw) on Human Desert

Discography
See also: The Shadows discography

Singles

(V) – Vocal

Year A-side B-side UK Singles Chart[24] Notes
1968 "London's Not Too Far" (V) "Running Out of World" (V) (The Shadows)
–
 Columbia DB 8326
1969 "Goodnight Dick" "Wahine"
–
 Columbia DB 8552
1969 "Sunday For Seven Days" "Sacha"
–
 Columbia DB 8601
1969 "Throw Down A Line" (V) "Reflections"
7
 Columbia DB 8615 (Cliff and Hank)
1969 "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" (The Shadows) "Midnight Cowboy"
–
 Columbia DB 8628
1970 "Sacha" "Goodnight Dick"
–
 Columbia DO-8885 (Australia & New Zealand only)
1970 "The Joy of Living" (V) "Leave My Woman Alone" (V) / "Boogatoo"
25
 Columbia DB 8657 (Cliff and Hank)
1970 "Break Another Dawn" "Would You Believe It" (V)
–
 (Unreleased, promo only)
1970 "Break Another Dawn" "Morning Star"
–
 Columbia DB 8693
1970 "Morning Star" "Evening Comes"
–
 Columbia DO-9112 (Australia & New Zealand only)
1977 "Flamingo" "Syndicated"
–
 EMI 2744 (Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate)
1981 "Sacha" / "Sunday For Seven Days" "Morning Star" / "Evening Comes"
–
 (New Zealand only) Hank Marvin EP
1982 "Don't Talk" (V) "Life Line" (V)
49
 Polydor POSP420
1982 "The Trouble With Me Is You" (remix) (V) "Captain Zlogg"
–
 Polydor POSP479
1983 "The Hawk and the Dove" (V) "Janine"
–
 Polydor POSP581
1983 "Invisible Man" (V) "All Alone With Friends"
–
 Polydor POSP618
1986 "Living Doll"
1
 (Cliff Richard and The Young Ones featuring Hank B. Marvin)
1989 "London Kid"
52
 (Jean-Michel Jarre featuring Hank Marvin)
1992 "We Are The Champions" (with Brian May) "Moontalk" / "Into the Light" (CD)
66
 Polydor PO 229
1993 "Wonderful Land" (with Mark Knopfler) "Hot Rox" (CD) / "Nivram"
–
 Polydor PO297

Studio and live albums
Year Title UK chart
position
1969 Hank Marvin 14
1977 Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate —
1982 Words and Music 66
1983 All Alone with Friends —
1992 Into the Light 18
1993 Heartbeat 17
1995 Hank Plays Cliff 33
1996 Hank Plays Holly 34
1997 Hank Plays Live 71
1997 Plays the Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber 41
2000 Marvin at the Movies 17
2002 Guitar Player 10
2007 Guitar Man 6
2013 Django's Castle —
2014 Hank 8
2017 Without a Word 9

Compilation albums
  • 1987 Would You Believe It...Plus (reissue of 1969 LP with bonus tracks)
  • 1994 The Best of Hank Marvin & the Shadows No. 19
  • 1995 Handpicked (no chart position)
  • 1997 The Very Best of Hank Marvin & the Shadows: The First 40 Years No. 56
  • 1998 Another Side of Hank Marvin (no chart position)
  • 2001 The Singles Collection: The 80's & 90's Hank Marvin & the Shadows (no chart position)
  • 2004 Shadowing the Hits (no chart position)
  • 2004 Guitar Ballads (no chart position)
  • 2007 Hank Marvin & the Shadows Play the 60's (no chart position)
  • 2008 The Solid Gold Collection (no chart position)
  • 2019 Gold No. 9

See also

References
  1. "No. 42885". The London Gazette. 4 January 1963. p. 197.
  2. "Hank Marvin - Guitar God - Edited Entry". H2g2.com.
  3. Boynton, Graham (25 September 2009). "Hank Marvin: 'We should have taken Harrison's advice and sung'". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  4. Barnes, Jim; Dyer, Fred; Scanes, Stephen (1986). The Book Top Forty Research 2nd Edition 1956-1985 (doc). Top Forty Research Services, N.S.W., Australia, after having been "discovered" by two DJs at 2WG Wagga Wagga.
  5. "Actor Hurt leads Queen's honours". BBC News.
  6. Topping, Alexandra (28 October 2009). "Gold Badge awards shine light on music's unsung heroes". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  7. "The tragic family rift that proves blood is not always thicker than water". The Independent. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  8. Nick McGrath. "Hank Marvin: My family values". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  9. Ross, Deborah (17 March 1997). "Specs, God and rock'n'roll". The Independent. London.
  10. "Interview: Hank Marvin". Guitar.com. 5 June 2017.
  11. "Hank Marvin: Everyone Has To Move On". ultimate-guitar.com. 25 September 2007. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  12. Balmer, Paul (2007). The Fender Stratocaster Handbook: How to Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, and Modify Your Strat. MBI Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 0760329834. Hank Marvin had a huge influence on guitarists such as Brian May of Queen...
  13. Whitaker, Sterling C. (2003). Unsung Heroes of Rock Guitar. Booksurge. p. 111. ISBN 1591097584.
  14. Prown, Pete; Sharken, Lisa (2003). Gear Secrets of the Guitar Legends: How to Sound Like Your Favourite Players. Hal Leonard. pp. 63, 66. ISBN 1617745014.
  15. Marten, Neville; Giltrap, Gordon (2010). The Hofner Guitar: A History (2 ed.). Hal Leonard. p. 40. ISBN 1423462742.
  16. Gulla, Bob (2009). Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History. ABC-CLIO. pp. 133–134. ISBN 0313358060.
  17. Giuliano, Geoffrey (2002). Behind Blue Eyes: The Life of Pete Townshend. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 16. ISBN 0815410700.
  18. Clayson, Alan (2002). The Yardbirds: The Band That Launched Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page. Hal Leonard. p. 46. ISBN 0879307242.
  19. "The Thing about Hank". BBC Radio 4. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  20. Bachman, Randy (2012). Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap Stories. Penguin. p. 155. ISBN 0143185772.
  21. Gulla 2009, p. 237
  22. "H". London Slang. 4 May 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  23. "'Hank Marvin' stars in new Mattessons advert". MusicRadar. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  24. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 264. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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