Hank Marvin

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Hank Marvin
Hank B. Marvin live on stage 22.04.2005 in Esbjerg/Denmark
Background information
Also known as	Brian Robson Rankin
Born	28 October 1941 (1941-10-28) (age 66) Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Genre(s)	Rock and roll
Instrument(s)	Guitar
Years active	1956 - present
Associated acts	The Shadows Cliff Richard
Notable instrument(s)
Fender Stratocaster in fiesta red Hank Marvin Signature Stratocaster Burns "The Marvin" and the "Shadows Custom Guitar"

Brian Robson Rankin (born 28 October 1941), known by the stage name Hank B. Marvin, is an English guitarist, lead guitarist for The Shadows. The group, which primarily performed instrumentals, was formed as a backing band for singer Cliff Richard.

History

Marvin was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As a child, he played the banjo and the piano. Hearing one of Buddy Holly's songs made him switch to the guitar, although he occasionally played both instruments on recordings. At 16, he traveled with his Rutherford Grammar School friend Bruce Welch to London, where he met Johnny Foster, Cliff Richard's manager, at The 2i's Coffee Bar (pronounced: "two eyes") in Soho. Foster was looking for a guitarist for Richard's upcoming tour of the U.K., and Marvin agreed to join as long as there was also a place for Welch. Foster had actually been looking for a guitarist Tony Sheridan at the Two 2i's and encountered Marvin by chance. Marvin and Welch joined the Drifters, as Cliff Richard's group was then known, and began their careers as professional guitar players. They met Cliff Richard for the first time at a nearby Soho tailor's shop (Richard was having a fitting for a pink stage jacket and had their first rehearsal with him at his parents' home in Cheshunt, .

Career

Hank Marvin played what is thought to have been the first Fender Stratocaster in the U.K., serial number 34346, finished in Fiesta Red, with gold hardware. This guitar, with its tremolo arm, contributed to the Shadows' sound. The guitar was imported from America by Cliff Richard . Marvin's original sound was achieved with a Stratocaster, a Vox amplifier (AC15 and AC30 models) and a drum echo machine, his first being a Meazzi Echomatic. He later used a Vox-badged Meazzi, then a Binson Echorec(Drum)Echo Machine. Currently he is using the Alesis Quadraverb Q20, programmed by Charlie Hall with his "Echoes from the Past" (EFTP). In 1959, Marvin and Richard searched through a Fender catalogue to find the guitar played by James Burton, Ricky Nelson's lead guitarist. They assumed it must be a Stratocaster because the most expensive in the brochure was a gold-plated example. Burton, however, played the Telecaster, and the Stratocaster was relatively new. Although Marvin used that original guitar between 1959 and 1961, it remained Richard's property and was returned to him when Jennings Musical Industries (the makers of Vox amplifiers and the importers of Fender guitars) outfitted the whole group with matching Fiesta Red Fender guitars. The 1959 instrument is now owned by Bruce Welch - a gift from Cliff Richard in the 1970s for his production work on several of hit albums. Richard had the guitar sprayed white before giving it back to Welch who had it restored, which meant that the history of this unique guitar which included the scratches, knocks, faded paint etc has been wiped out. In the early 1960s, Jennings named a range of guitar accessories (including plectra, a guitar strap and a Bigsby-styled tremolo unit) after Marvin . They used the Hank Marvin signature tremolo unit on several of their own Vox guitars. More significantly, Marvin also worked with Jim Burns (head of the Burns London guitar company) to develop his own signature model: the "Burns Marvin". The "Marvin" appeared in 1964 and a 12-string version called the Double Six appeared a little earlier. The Burns London company was taken over by the American piano-maker, Baldwin, in 1967, and partly as a result of that, the fewer-than-400 original Burns-made Marvins are now sought after. More recently, the revived Burns company made a limited reissue of 2004 signature Marvin guitars with a certificate of authenticity, signed by Marvin. Those instruments were promoted on the Shadows' 2004 Final Tour. Marvin's original Burns guitars had been stolen in 1972 and never appeared again. Marvin influenced many later guitarists, and Pete Townshend, Mark Knopfler and Andy Powell are among many who acknowledge his influence. Although neither Marvin nor the Shadows were ever well known in the United States, despite several appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, Marvin is listed by Frank Zappa as an influence on the first Mothers of Invention album, and Afrikaa Bambaataa cited the group's first UK number one single "Apache" as a big influence, though it is likely that Bambatta was referring to the cover of Apache by The Incredible Bongo Band (which was massively popular amongst early hip hop DJs due to the extended bongo break). In Canada, Cliff Richard and the Shadows met with success, especially 1961-1965 when they enjoyed several top 10 hits. Canadian guitarists Randy Bachman and Neil Young have credited Marvin's guitar work as being influences. Carlos Santana's nickname in his formative years was Apache because it was one of the earliest pieces he learned to play. As well as playing with The Shadows, Marvin has had a successful solo career. He has been willing to experiment with styles and material, doing some purely instrumental albums, some with only vocals (e.g. "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 many Shadows fans or to contemporary music fans. They reverted to being The Shadows in 1973 for the Rockin' with Curly Leads album. As a writer Marvin was responsible for "Geronimo" for The Shadows and "The Day I Met Marie", and as co-writer with Bruce Welch, Brian Bennett and John Rostill he wrote other hits mainly for Cliff Richard such as on "I Could Easily Fall in Love with You" and "In the Country". In 1988 Marvin had a guest role at a concert by Jean Michel Jarre in front of the industrial backdrop of London's East End Docklands, in a concert entitled Destination Docklands. Marvin and the Shadows reformed for a 2004 Final Tour, which was so successful that a 2005 European tour was also organised. Hank Marvin's name is also used in cockney slang to signify hunger (i.e. I am Hank Marvin = I am starving)

Discography

Albums

• 1969 Hank Marvin #14
• 1977 Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate (no chart position)
• 1982 Words and Music #66
• 1983 All alone with friends (no chart position)
• 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 (includes re-issued tracks by The Shadows)
• 2000 Marvin at the Movies #17
• 2002 Guitar Player #10
• 2007 Guitar Man #6

Personal life

Marvin lived in the hills above Perth, Western Australia from 1986 but has since relocated to a luxury apartment in East Perth. He is a committed Jehovah's Witness.^[1]

References

External links

• Hank Marvin/Shadows unofficial website