Who is Hank Marvin, Legendary Guitarist
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Introducing Hank Marvin
Hank Marvin( formerly of The Shadows, the UK's foremost instrumental group) - a legend amongst guitarists - has been identified by so many rock guitarists (of a sixties and seventies vintage) including Brian May and Mark Knopfler, as their inspiration. Hank has also inspired so many other players of a certain age, including me. Although to be fair, I see many youngsters at The Shadows' fan conventions including a number playing in the "young guitarists" contests. He has also inspired a massive number of "leisure" guitarists who still. 50 years on meet at clubs around the UK and play their hearts away to be "Hank" for a few minutes once a month. No other guitarist to my knowledge has had such a long lasting and incredible following. I am one of those "would-be -Hanks", and this tribute is a thank you to one of my boyhood heroes.
I intend to cover the early beginnings, the amazing days as lead guitarist with Cliff Richard's backing band The Shadows and their subsequent career as the UK's most outstanding instrumental group ever. Passing through a short break as Marvin, Welch and Farrar; a close harmony vocal group and closing on his solo career with references to his current jazz concerts and his song writing. Now retired (?) and living in Australia, Hank has left his fans so many wonderful memories over the last half a century.
Contents at a Glance
Hank Marvin Talks About His Echo On The Stratocaster
Examples: Apache and Wonderful Land
Hank Marvin had a sound recognised for his echo ( by Meazzi, find more information on Meazzi) and the use of the tremelo arm, and lets not forget he also had a very unique appearance. He was wearing horn-rimmed specs at a time when Buddy Holly had made the look fashionable although of course it was not common for the young rock stars of the time.
This video is interesting to watch because in it he talks about the echo's and he also plays examples from two of The Shadows biggest hits to illustrate the effects.
In a recent (Oct 2011) BBC Radio 4 program, The Thing About Hank, Hank's sound was reviewed and after mentioning the Fender itself (the materials, the pick-up windings and the whammy bar) the Meazzi echo unit was mentioned. Strangely no-one mentioned the amplifier and other sound equipment. But, and a big but, was the fact that only Hank sounded like Hank. It was agreed that it was easy to play the beautiful, melodic music but not easy to sound like Hank, he was unique. It was agreed that it was the player rather than his equipment which was the important ingredient. Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler and Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera all described how they were influenced by Hank in their formative years.
This video is interesting to watch because in it he talks about the echo's and he also plays examples from two of The Shadows biggest hits to illustrate the effects.
In a recent (Oct 2011) BBC Radio 4 program, The Thing About Hank, Hank's sound was reviewed and after mentioning the Fender itself (the materials, the pick-up windings and the whammy bar) the Meazzi echo unit was mentioned. Strangely no-one mentioned the amplifier and other sound equipment. But, and a big but, was the fact that only Hank sounded like Hank. It was agreed that it was easy to play the beautiful, melodic music but not easy to sound like Hank, he was unique. It was agreed that it was the player rather than his equipment which was the important ingredient. Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler and Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera all described how they were influenced by Hank in their formative years.
curated content from YouTube
"Twang", A Tribute To Hank Marvin And The Shadows
On CD
This CD released in 1996, contains some of the best guitar instrumentals from the Shadows' hits portfolio, played by some of the worlds most well-known rock legends. I have to admit that it has become a firm favourite of mine and I would recommend it to any lover of melodic guitar music.
1
Ritchie Blackmore
Apache
3:14
2
Brian May
FBI
3:13
3
Tony Iommi
Wonderful Land
4:43
4
Steve Stevens
The Savage
5:05
5
Hank Marvin
The Rise & Fall Of Flingel Bunt
4:17
6
Peter Green & The Splinter Group
Midnight
2:42
7
Neil Young & Randy Bachman
Spring Is Nearly Here
4:32
8
Mark Knopfler
Atlantis
3:09
9
Peter Frampton
The Frightened City
4:08
10
Keith Urban
Dance On
2:54
11
Andy Summers
Stingray
3:50
12
Bella Fleck & The Flecktones
The Stranger
3:47
(table created using squidutils)
curated content from YouTube
Hank Marvin
was born on 28 October 1941 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. His real name is Brian Robson Rankin. He originally chose the name, "Hank B Marvin", when he launched his music career. The name is from a childhood nickname, Hank, which he used to differentiate himself from a number of friends also named Brian, and Marvin Rainwater, a country and western singer.
The Early Days, Before The Drifters
A journey To The Shadows Begins
The photo with this module is of The Vipers skiffle group but shows the line-up without Hank.
1956 - Riverside Skiffle group later to become The Crescent City Skiffle Group
Hank Marvin (banjo), John Tate (guitar), Derek Johnson (guitar), Joe Rankin (bass), Mal Malarky (mandolin), and Howard Muir
1956-1957 - The Railroaders
Hank Marvin (guitar), Welch (guitar), Eddie Silver (guitar), George Williams (guitar), Jim ? (drums)
1958 - The Vipers (aka The Vipers Skiffle group)
Wally Wyton (vocals), Johnny Booker (guitar), Hank Marvin(guitar), J. Harris (bass), and Johnny Pilgrim (wb)
1958 - The Five Chesternuts
Gerry Hurst (vocals), Hank Marvin (guitar), Welch (guitar), Neil Johnson (bass), and Pete Chester (drums)
When he was 16, he travelled 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 in Soho. Foster was looking for a guitarist for Cliff Richard's upcoming tour of the U.K. He had actually been looking for guitarist Tony Sheridan but by chance he met and discovered Hank. who agreed to join as long as there was also a place for Bruce Welch. The Drifters, as Cliff Richard's group was then known, were to begin their careers as professional guitar players and change the face of english pop music.
Great Hank Marvin Downloads From Amazon
Hank Marvin And The Shadows
From The Drifters To 1968
Cliff's new group with Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, named the Drifters, also had Ian Samwell (bass) and Terry Smart (drums) in the line up. On the first tour with cliff in 1958, Jet Harris took the place of Ian and the following year Tony Meehan replaced Terry. This was now the line-up that became the original Shadows.As the Drifters they released two singles, however they had problems with The Drifters vocal group in the USA and so were forced to change their name. The Shadows were born. after one more single failed (a vocal) they were offered a tune by composer Jerry Lordan called Apache. This was recorded and became a world-wide hit, staying at top spot in the UK for six weeks. Unfortunately a cover in the states became the hit so they missed out in this lucrative market. And The Ventures were just starting up and cornered the niche for an instrumental group.
A series of hits followed and it wasn't until 1967 that they released a record without seeing chart success. Towards the end of this period after having had a number of personnel changes, Hank Marvin and Brian Bennett ( Drums) both released their own LP's which had very modest success. Although Hank Marvin's single "Sacha" made it to number one in Australia.
Hank Marvin And The Shadows
From 1970 To 1980
The Shadows were not a constant on the music scene in the seventies. Numerous personnel and other changes were seen during this time, more of this in the Lens, The Shadows - The Legend (coming soon).In the early seventies two vocal albums were issued by the band under the name Marvin, Welch and Farrar. Bruce Welch left the group after this and a third vocal album was issued by Marvin and Farrar. The close harmony was in the style of popular west coast groups, however live performances were a problem as the fans wanted to hear the old guitar hits. I personally find these albums and the original instrumental albums from this period some of their very best. An album list will be included shortly but a full list of albums can be seen on wikipedia.
In 1973 The Shadows reformed as a (mostly) instrumental group which included John Farrar as a second guitar and featured vocalist. An album with a different sound was released to some acclaim. Hank's solos utilised modern "fuzz" effects to great effect on Rocking with Curly Leads.
In 1974 the group seemed to take some time off, but the following year were selected by the BBC to represent the UK in the Eurovision song contest. The album Specs appeal ( the image for this module) was released to coincide with this contest, containing all six of the UK's Song For Europe entries and other original songs.
The next major album release in, 1977, by EMI was 20 Golden Greats and many people remember the TV advert of the young boy miming to Hank's lead with a cricket bat. It was a resounding success leading to the group reforming again. 1979 saw the release of Cavatina reaching the singles charts and a new album, A String Of Hits, reaching number 1. The decade came to an end with Another String Of Hot hits, another album but not this time quite so successful.
Shadows Albums From The Seventies
Including Vocal Albums From This Period
A turbulent year for Hank Marvin and the Shadows, as described above . You can still find all their recordings on CD at Amazon.
Hank's Solo Career
And more Of The Shadows
In the eighties, The Shadows released a number of albums which mostly did well in the charts with one notable exception, "Guardian Angel". Although crtically acclaimed the fans did not like the change in style and it did not sell well. Hank and the others became involved in individual projects, for Hank this meant vocal albums, "Words and Music" and "All Alone With Friends". During this period Hank released several singles mostly from the albums but with little chart success.In the nineties, Hank released several albums. Falling back on his old style and using covers of hits of the day. He undertook several tours of the UK with support at various times from Brian Bennet and their sons, Warren Bennet and Ben Marvin. The base players and keyboad players were as with the Shadows hired for the tours.
In 2002, "The Guitar Player" made #10 in the charts. In 2004 The Shadows reformed for a farewell tour which was so successful that they repeated it the following year in Europe.
In 2007, Hank released his "final" album, "Guitar Man" which made it to #6 in the UK album charts. This was reputedly his final studio album.
Throughout the career of The Shadows and Hank Marvin many compilation albums have been released and these still sell well with the many fans.
Hank Marvin And Jazz
A Life-long Interest
More evidence of this side of Hank is found on "The Guitar Player", his last studio album from which this photo is taken. There have unfortunately been very few examples of this gendre in a long and illustrious career.
I found this article and thought it was worthwhile linking to. There has always been a jazz influence in Hanks work but it was well hidden by the need to back Cliff and then in pleasing his fans with the big hits.
check this out : Django Reinhardt, Hank Marvin intersect at gyspy jazz fest
"I've always liked jazz and improvising, and I really got into this music. It's such a different way of playing and there are chord sequences that we don't use in rock 'n' roll. I got on a roll with the Favino and used it on most of the tracks on my acoustic album, Since then I've had so many positive comments. Brian May from Queen asked me, "How did you get that sound?'"And the other night I did a gig in Perth and people were saying the same thing."
Hank Marvin quoted in Guitar Player.
But deeper exploration into the world of gypsy jazz also involved serious work on Hank Marvin's technique, which goes to show there's always something to learn even when you're a fixture in lists of the greatest rock 'n' roll guitar players.
View three You Tube videos of Hank playing this gendre in Australia one , two and three.
A better video with Hank and Lucky Oceans (at the same venue in Freemantle) also has Hank playing Jazz; and an interesting little video also from Freemantle, where Hank is joking with the audience whilst making a sound check
STOP PRESS: I have just found out that Hank and his Gypsy Jazz Band will be coming to the UK next year and doing a short tour ( 2012). Hope to see them at least once, but also hoping that a CD will be released to coincide with the tour. Dates are shown on the Leo's Den Music site.
STOP PRESS:Hank will be playing in Perth, at the Ellington Winter Jazz Fest, which stars international acts Barney McAll, James Sandon Quartet, Josh Kyle, starts 25th May 2012 and runs until June 7.
A Surprise Appearance By Hank Marvin
At The Cambridge Acoustic Routes Festival
This was something that I have just found out about and want to discover more detail. I decided to post this in case anyone has any information and would share it with me. An on-line version of the Cambridge News reporting on the Acoustic Routes festival quotes, "In total, 320 different acts have performed at the concerts - including a memorable show by Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin, who played the Acoustic Cafe gig at The Bun Shop".
I have no other information but will be trying to dig out the full story. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
I have found this video on You Tube, not a very good take but does show Hank backing his son and friend at The Bun Shop, my thanks to Lizpetit for posting this on You Tube.
I have no other information but will be trying to dig out the full story. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
I have found this video on You Tube, not a very good take but does show Hank backing his son and friend at The Bun Shop, my thanks to Lizpetit for posting this on You Tube.
curated content from YouTube
Hank Marvin The Songwriter
A Prolific Composer Of Both Instrumental and Vocal Songs
Of course people may say that I am biased but I am going to try to list some of my favourite songs from Hank's pen. I will start off with songs that he has either written or co-written for Cliff Richard, in fact some of these were massive hits for Cliff in the early days. I have had a job restricting this list to manageable numbers.Unfortunately they are not all available on YouTube, however thtey have been linked to a video where available.
- I could easily fall in love with you
- In the country
- Gee whiz its you
- The day I met Marie
- Galadriel
- Throw down a line
Gee whiz its you was reportedly written on a return flight from the USA, when an air hostess asked how do you write a song. Hank and Bruce produced the number straight away. The Day I met Marie was one of Cliff's favourite songs.
Hank had a hand in something like 161 tunes for The Shadows although only 12 were credited to him alone. Many were credited to 2,3 or even 4 of the group members, possibly a sharing attitude which explains why they were together for so long. As above, I have restricted the list to only a very few numbers.
- Driftin', credited to Jet Harris and the Drifters, a strange creditation as to my knowledge the group were never known thus
- Midnight
- Back Home
- 36-24-36
- The Rise and fall of Flingel Bunt
- Geronimo
- Shindig
- Foottapper
- FBI
A number of vocals were penned for the Marvin, Welch and Farrar era, lasting only a short time but producing some very lovely songs.
- Burning Bridges
- Brownie Kentucky
- A Thousand Conversations
- Lady of the Morning
- Music Makes My Day
And Finally, of course Hank penned songs for his own solo releases.
- Tahalia Take Your Time, vocal
- Oh Suzie, vocal
- Life Line, vocal
- Leila, Danny's Got a Song. Vocal
- Wahine - this is a cover version
- Tokyo Guitar
- Sunday for Seven Days plus the flip side of the single Sacha
- Would You Believe It
Just happened to visit a forum in which a post mentioned that Hank Marvin was included in the top 100 songwriters in a special edition of Classic Rock Magazine. Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be any order to the list but it was compiled from rocks's greatest songwriters. Praise indeed.
Some Of My Favourite Hank Marvin Compositions
Maybe They Could Be Yours?
Just one or two of the songs that I especialy like, reflecting my own personal tastes in music obviously. If these don't grab you, head over to You Tube and search for Hank Marvin, you will find many of these songs on there.
curated content from YouTube
Quotes By / About Hank Marvin And The Shadows
Over most of their career, volumes were written about The shadows, here are one or two snippets that I think should be repeated. There are also a couple by Hank himself which bear repeating.
- Hank on advice to sing by George Harrison
- On hearing The Shadows first vocal record, Don't Make My Baby Blue" after their big instrumental hits; George Harrison is quoted as saying that they should have concentrated on vocals. Hank says we must have been idiots not to take his advice.
- Bruce Welch On That 1st UK Stratocaster
- After Hank saw Buddy Holly and The Crickets on tour he searched the UK fruitlessly for a red stratocaster. In the end Cliff Richard ordered one for him direct from the USA. When it arrived and we opened the case, the guitar just took our breath away.
- Hank's Early Influences
- Hank Marvin often quoted as his early influences people like Scotty Moore, Buddy Holly or James Burton, but even before that he listened a lot to Django Reinhardt.
- Tributes to Hank Marvin and The Shadows
- Marvin influenced many guitarists, including Brian May, David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, Mark Knopfler, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, Tony Iommi, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. What a list? Although neither Hank 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. A CD is available of Shadows hits ( entitled Twang; see below) played by some of the most well known rock legends.
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 influential. Carlos Santana's nickname in his formative years was Apache because it was one of the earliest pieces he learned to play. - Cilff Richard joking about Hank's songs
- Every once in a while, a great song comes along. Until one does, I'm going to sing one of Hank's.
- Cliff Richard's little joke. - Peter Frampton on Hank Marvins Influence
- Peter Frampton, like many English guitarists, states his big influences were Hank Marvin of The Shadows and Bert Weedon, he played in a band at school called the TrueBeats. "It started basically because of the Shadows and Hank Marvin. He was really the reason I wanted to be a guitar player." .Now more than four decades later he got Marvin to play on his recent album, 'Fingerprints.' "It was like a dream come true."
- A modest guy.........
- Hank Marvin on the other hand seems to be one of the most modest people you could ever hope to meet despite being the inspiration and hero of people like Mark Knoppfler, Eric Clapton, Dave Gilmour and the list goes on...
A comment on a video on YouTube, "Stratocaster Legend - Hank Marvin & Dick Dale" - Geek?
- Apparently, right from the early days of the group, Hank was known as a geeky, bespectacled,friendly joker.
- David Gilmour
- Another guitar great who has cited Hank Marvin as an influence is David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, who wanted a red Fender strat because Hank had one.
- Readers recommend: songs about eavesdropping from The Guardian
- The Shadows were swept aside by Beatlemania. But whisper it: you can hear the Shadows' influence on a wide range of music that made Hank Marvin a guitar hero to a generation.
- Hank on the Marvin And Farrar album
- Hank described this album as Frankenstein meets The Beach Boys.
- Hank on the fans reception of Marvin, Welch and Farrar.
- In the Batley Variety Club we walked off stage to the sound of our own footsteps!
- Hank on fans at their 50th anniversary concerts
- I find it incredibly moving when you get such affection from an audience - you can feel it, you can almost grab hold of it
- Rick Springfield on Hank Marvin
- "When I was 12 years old, he was a god to me. If someone said at 12 years old one day you're going to be sitting down and having dinner with Hank and talking about his days with The Shadows, I would have jumped over the moon. All the guitar players; Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, they owe allegiance to Hank. He was the first English guitar god."
Hank Marvin On Video
Finally, Hear Hank Marvin At His Best
I have picked a few videos which will allow you to hear the best Of Hank Marvin, as bought to you on YouTube.
curated content from YouTube
Learn To Play Like Hank
Hank Marvin Style Playing Still Acknowlewdged
Guitar Techniques still features work by Hank on its pages. In the May 2012 issue they feature 14 easy licks. Number one is in the style of Hank Marvin, a mostly stepwise melody in A minor with a little bit of tremolo arm shake at the end of each phrase. They make the point that using the tremelo whilst picking is nnot as easy as it seems.
With the emphasis on "shredding" in some quarters, denoting a good guitarist it is satisfying to know that melodic playing such as Hank excels at, is not forgotten by a magazine like this. Of course the magazine has sections on all aspects of guitar playing, I would not like to be thought of as running down Guitar Techniques Magazine.
With the emphasis on "shredding" in some quarters, denoting a good guitarist it is satisfying to know that melodic playing such as Hank excels at, is not forgotten by a magazine like this. Of course the magazine has sections on all aspects of guitar playing, I would not like to be thought of as running down Guitar Techniques Magazine.
Vote for your favorite Hank Marvin stuff
Or Buy From Amazon
Jam with Hank Marvin: (Guitar Tab)
Hank Marvin's unique guitar style has been an insp more...1 point
Guitar Player
2002 album for Shadows' lead guitarist who was a m more...0 points
Hank Plays Holly
The guitarist/ vocalist from the Shadows covering more...0 points
Marvin at the Movies
Cliff Rrichard's first guitarist. Top 20 UK hit, A more...0 points
Into The Light
Digitally remastered edition of The Shadows guitar more...0 points
Hank Plays Cliff
Hank Marvin and Cliff Richard need no introduction more...0 points
What is the world saying about Hank Marvin?
- Old-timer serenades at Blues Cafe
- Initially, I was a self-taught guitarist imitating styles of my popular guitarists such as Hank Marvin, Chet Atkins and Chuck Berry. Ungku Onn Ungku Abdullah, or 'Pete', playing a guitar that was presented by a colleague. Pic by Syed Abdullah Syed ...
- Village in millionaire homes top ten
- Primelocation.com has found that the Hertfordshire village, home to Hank Marvin from The Shadows and Arsenal footballer Alex Song, falls second in the top ten places in the UK with the highest proportion of million pound homes.
- John Mahon: Retail assistant, musician
- I've busked outside John Lennon's Dakota Building in New York; I met Hank Marvin in Australia. Fourteen years ago, I wrote a book about my grandmother, Kate Tyrrell, a lady mariner who sailed her own ship. It was published by Cork University Press and ...
- Quick licks: easy #14
- This tribute to the great Hank Marvin features a mostly stepwise melody in A minor with a little bit of tremolo arm shake at the end of each phrase. It's a good one for using the tremolo arm in conjunction with picking - which is not quite as simple as ...
Who Inspired Hank Marvin?
Who Were Hank's Guitar Heros?
On the subject of jazz, Hank showed proclivities for this gendre very early on in his career with The Shadows. Obviously there were the skiffle artists of the era but were they his real inspiration? Django Reinhardt and the 50's jazz guitarists have been suggested as possible early influences. But Hank himself always seems to mention early american guitar players like Scotty moore Elvis' guitarist on "Heartbreak Hotel" and James Burton who played with Ricky Nelson and later with Elvis.Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly have also been mentioned, and we shouldn't forget that Hank and Bruce initially saw themselves as vocalists.
With the recent death of Bert Weedon, many of todays great guitar players in the UK mention Bert as an inspiration. The Shadows recorded a version of Bert's Guitar Boogie Shuffle, their own version was called Shadoogie and featured on their first album. It is also a fact that Bert recorded Apache before The Shads but the recording was not released until after The Shads stunning version which of course stormed the charts.
Stratocaster Legend
Hank Marvin & Dick Dale
This video tells a little of the story of the Fender Stratocaster, mine is a lowly mexican made model but the video ends with an auction at Christies in New York, where Eric Clapton's "Old Blackie" went for $959000. This You Tube video is a short taster of a video which is available from Amazon.co.uk I have not seen it on the USA site.
curated content from YouTube
Hank Marvin's guitars
Do You Want To Play Like Hank Marvin
Many fans of Hank Marvin are also guitarists and want to play and sound like Hank. It is not unsual to find some will copy the kit right down to the plectrum he used and want information on the instruments and techniques that he uses on stage and in his recordings.The most obvious piece of kit must be the Fender Stratocaster. Hank has become synonomous with the red ( or is it salmon pink) Stratocaster and indeed has had a range of these instruments named after him. I am not a technical guitarist so will not try to describe it in detail but to find more information on this instrument you will not do better than to read the comments in ShadowMusic Forum on the subject. Or alternatively, Hank Marvin - SOUND & TECHNICAL., anolther forum this one dedicated to Hank. Some very expert contributors to both of these forums. If you are seriously interested in playing like Hank Marvin or in The Shadows sound, then belonging to either or both of these seems like a very good idea. The first is the more well established but both have their share of expert players and techies.
For a short time from 1964 to 1970 The Shadows took on a new image with the arrival of the Burns Marvin Guitar, read about this instrument and Hank's thoughts on it's development. Again the forums above will have experts on this instrument and its capabilities.
Of course very early recordings and indeed some notable songs were played on acoustic guitars, and now that Hank is playing gypsy jazz he is again using acoustic instuments.
Guitar Tabs For Hank Marvin And The Shadows Hits
How To Play Like Hank Marvin
There are a number of places on the internet where guitarists can aquire the hits of The Shadows ( and Hank) in a tablature notation. Just the thing for all you budding Hank Marvins. Many popular hits can be found for free but there are sites which provide the more difficult to find tabs for a small fee.
- Ultimate Guitar
- About 140 tabs available on this site
- FretPlay
- A smaller resource than ultmate gutar, but claimed to be accurate
- 911 Tabs
- I can't say how much duplication there is on these sites but this is another very full list
- The Shadows web community
- contains guitar tablature, chords, bass tablature and lyrics of songs, but you may have to be a member.
The upside is that there is so much more on offer from this site. If you like or are a fan of The Shadows and their music, this site may well be just the thing you are looking for. - The Tabman
- Said to be able to provide about 480 guitar tabs, not all Hank or the Shadows and are available at a small cost.
Also available are backing track CD's - Goran's Tabs and backing tracks
- This site has one of the largest collection of tabs I have seen so far, 127. Both older and newer recordings are included. A veritable cornucopia of tabs for The Shadows and Hank Marvin. THey are free to download.
- Hank Marvin - Sound and Technical
- A forum which has at least one list of sites with Tabs for the serious musician
- Tabman
- Some of the more difficult to find Shadows related and other guitar tabs. At the time of writing downloadable but at a small cost.
- e-choreds .com
- A few free tabs for some of the more obscure songs and one or two favourites. A well thought of site but membership needed for full access
Backing Tracks For Hank Marvin And The Shadows Music
There are a number of sources of backing tracks (BT) for music made popular by Hank Marvin and The Shadows, I will be trying to link to some of the more popular and readily available of these
I am compiling a list but in the first instance the Jam with CD's listed above and Leo's Den Music Shop are great starting points.
I am compiling a list but in the first instance the Jam with CD's listed above and Leo's Den Music Shop are great starting points.
- Leo's Den
- An amazing collection of Shadows' related music and memorabillia
- Ian McCutcheon's Shadows' Workout
- A range of 16 CD's from this talented musician well known at Shadows related functions
Related Shadows Pages
On Squidoo
Bruce WelchIn September 1958 Bruce Welch and Hank B Marvin joined The Drifters, Cliff Richard's brand new backing band. A four piece guitar and drums outfit that was to...
Rythm & Greens Starring The ShadowsThis film, Rhythm and Greens, was made as a "B" picture in 1964; when a full show included two films. Remember those days? It starred The Shadows ...
The Shadows - The LegendThe Shadows, arguably the UK's most successful instrumental group ever. Of course we all loved the early Cliff Richard singles with Hank Marvin's wonderful g...
Two Sides Of Hank Marvin
The Hawk And The Dove b/w Janine
A song initially released on the second of two mainly vocal albums by Hank Marvin is one of my all-time favourites. "The Hawk And The Dove", beautiful lyrics which tell the story of a love that was not to be. This was released as a single and backed by an instumental "Janine", a superbly haunting melody. It did not achieve the recognition that I think it deserved. Both side of this single have recently been posted on You Tube by Andrewshadowy ( You TUbe ID), a prolific publisher of videos mainly but not only of The Shaows portfolio. I have included both of these videos here because as I said they are very much favourites of mine but they also show two different sides of Hank's Talent as a musician. I hope that you like them.
curated content from YouTube
Hank Marvin and Films
Hank 's film career has mostly been limited to films starring Cliff Richard. In most of these The Shadows were an integral part of the storyline as a group of musicians but their appearance in early films (e.g. Expresso Bongo) was uncredited. The Shadows have provided sountracks for a number of films most notably, Thunderbirds Are Go.The Shadows themselves starred in one short film mentioned above, Rythm and Greens.
Details of these and of TV appearances are given in the International Movie Database along with associated information.
An Angels Blessing
This lens was blessed by Squidangels Squidoolinepro
on 1st February 2011,
by poddys
on 16th March 2011,
by Photahsiamirabel
on 2nd Sept 2011.
and by Waxing-Lyrical
on 24th Sept 2011
And More Angel's Blessings
blessed by Squidangel
Tipi on 4th Jan 2012
Let's Hear It For For Hank Marvin!
Share your stories, sightings, thoughts, rants, raves...
I have never met Hank but have lost count of the concerts I have seen both as a young man and again as a pensioner. That is the span of Hanks's career, from early Shadows to solo tours and to the Final World Tour by The Shadows. He has been an inspiration and a source of entertainment. I have collected every track that he has recorded as far as I know ( some of which only exist as euphemistically entitled private fan recordings). I can only say that he and his colleagues in The Shadows have enriched my life.
This is a work-in-progress, I will be adding to this lens regularly so please come again, and again.
You do not have to be a Squidoo member to make a comment in this guest book.
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Jim Macdonald
Apr 23, 2012 @ 5:05 am | delete
- Thanks for the memories.and mine is garbage..i have a strat and burns baldwin..but do i remember the shads playing Burns Baldwins on the London Paladium...maybe not.??
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webkangaroo
Feb 29, 2012 @ 5:21 pm | delete
- Absolutely great lens. I'm a guitarist and I learned a LOT from you here.
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artyfax Feb 29, 2012 @ 6:30 pm | delete
- Glad that you found the lens of use to you, I haven't finished yet still more stuff to add when I have time.
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BenJacklin
Feb 27, 2012 @ 6:58 pm | delete
- what a great lens, obviously a very influential musician. Well done!
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Malcolm
Feb 24, 2012 @ 5:37 am | delete
- Love your webpage. A fine tribute to an outstanding musician and timeless guitar great. You guessed it - I'm a fan. I enjoy playing some of the Shadows numbers from time-to-time to amuse myself when building or fixing amps in the garage. I was born in the 50's (fortunately) so grew up with those wonderful sounds.
I have a vinyl copy of Marvin, Welch and Farrar. When first reading blogs I was surprised to see that it was not rated highly at the time. I thought it was brilliant and still do. There is some wonderful guitar playing accompanying the equally wonderfully harmonic vocals on it. My favourite compositions of Hank's would have to be Sacha and The Day I Met Marie. Totally contrasting styles. I saw no mention of Marmaduke (MW&F single) on your page but maybe I missed it.
Kudos on putting a fine tribute online.
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- I personally love the MW&F albums and wish they had been allowed to develop this style.
I remember when it was first released, it was radio one's album of the week and after hearing three of the songs over breakfast, I stopped off on the way to college ( I was doing a late post-grad degree and bought it. Agree that Sacha and The Day I met Marie are both classics, must admit Marmaduke was not one of my faves tho, but thanks for reminding me. Of course, I can't possibly mention all of the wonderful legacy from Hank's guitar. Thanks for your comment - great to hear from readers.
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Doug Kilroy
Feb 5, 2012 @ 1:47 pm | delete
- Hank pretty much lead the way for my learning how to play guitar in 1961 after hearing FBI. His style was such a big influence on me that I learnt all his instrumentals including Stand up and say that which he played on piano but my rendition was on guitar.
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- Thanks for the comment Doug. I have never heard that piece on guitar, but would love to.
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Doug
Feb 6, 2012 @ 9:52 am | delete
- Will record it and get it to you. Give me a few days as I am working on a CD right now.
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- That sounds like a very generous offer, thanks. I can be contacted via the "contact" button on my bio page.
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Me And My Fender Strat.
"Oh no", I can hear you say. Who is this guy when I have come to read about Hank Marvin. Well like so many guitarists, I still look up to Hank. He was my original inspiration for learning to play the guitar and is still the musician who I would most like to have been. I love his (seemingly) simple style of playing, in which he really makes that axe sound as if it is singing. He can put so luch feeling into a piece of music. No gimmicks or tricks, no fiddly twiddly untunes (I made that word up!) just good honest melodic music. My hero.
I have tried to explain why in this lens and I hope that you have been able to enjoy some of his music by visiting one or more of the You Tube videos. Maybe his playing could even inspire you.
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by artyfax
I am a long time fan of Hank Marvin and The Shadows, ( aka Shadfan66 on many web sites). owner of a stratocaster which I am still learning to play.
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