#hank marvin

[fidjiefidjie]

Bon Soir 💙🎸🎸🎸🕊

The Shadows 🎶 Peace Pipe

Live Final Tour 2004

[er3makin]

Today was a terrible day, hooooh...

[rhapsodynew]

#everything you need to know about rock

Britain's first guitar hero who influenced everyone 

Hank Marvin was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on October 28, 1941 and grew up in a two-story family home with an outdoor toilet and no running water. From an early age, he showed an insatiable craving for music: he tirelessly mastered the banjo and piano.

But the fascination with blues, folk and skiffle inevitably led the young enthusiast to the guitar: 

"I was trying to learn how to play skiffle tunes, copy what I heard on the radio, learn how to play the melody that the singer was humming, as well as any saxophone or orchestral phrases."

At the age of nine, Hank Marvin was upset that he was prescribed glasses:

 "I was a skinny, pimply, insecure kid. And I got the big round glasses of the National Health Service in a tortoiseshell frame."

But then a cool author and performer Buddy Holly appeared from across the ocean, who forever changed the opinion about bespectacled people. Soon after, Marvin's life changed. His glasses suddenly became a fashionable rocker accessory. He got a job at an electrical engineering firm to earn money for a train to London.

Events were developing rapidly. Hank Marvin left in April 1958, in September he met the young vocalist Cliff Richard in Soho, who was trying on a jacket in an atelier, and immediately joined him on tour. When Hank returned to his native Newcastle, he was already a star and performed in front of an audience of screaming girls.

Cliff Richard's band was named The Shadows. Their music is instrumental rock classics, which to this day has not left the current repertoire. It is the "Shadows" They released the legendary hit "Apache", written by English songwriter Jerry Lordan and influenced a legion of aspiring guitar heroes. Including on the VIA "Singing guitars".

After becoming a star, Hank Marvin absorbed everything the music world had to offer: 

"I wouldn't believe it if I was told at the age of 16 that we were going to have incredible success. We played concerts all over the world. We performed in African villages. They caused riots in Germany when there were so many people on the streets that the limo almost overturned. It's an incredible experience, some frightening, and some just wow!"

Cliff Richards and The Shadows have created quite a few era-defining hits. Hank's band continued to come out and record. The line-up broke up between 1968 and 1973, but was reformed. In 1975, The Shadows took second place in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Let Me Be the One".

Hank Marvin began his solo career in 1969 with an album of instrumental compositions, in which guitar parts were accompanied by arrangements for the orchestra. He experimented with styles and materials, recording instrumental records, albums with vocals, acoustic guitars.

Hank Marvin's guitar can be heard in the recordings Roger Daltrey and Jean-Michel Jarre. Its unique sound has always remained instantly recognizable. Hank did not seek to increase the volume, preferring a light vibrato and giving his parts vocal qualities.

In the late 1970s, The Shadows impressed even punks: "During the release of the album "20 Golden Greats", people came to our concerts who looked completely out of place. When we asked why they were here, they replied, "We like the economy of your music. It's like early punk." I didn't quite understand what they were talking about, but it was nice."

With his melodic playing style and expressive "singing" phrasing, Hank Marvin inspired George Harrison, Eric Clapton, David Gilmore, Brian May, Tony Iommi, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page. One of the most loyal fans is Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits. Hank Marvin's red Strat struck his imagination as a child. They subsequently performed together.:

Even the patriarch of Canadian rock paid tribute to the leader of The Shadows as one of the architects of modern music��Neil Young. No wonder one of his songs is called "From Hank to Hendrix."

He was one of the first to bring instrumental GUITAR music to the top positions. Before that, there were cool guitarists, even pioneers, some by sound, some by melodies. But The Shadow (and Marvin, as a lead guitarist, of course, occupied a dominant position) were, if not the first, then at least one of the first to bring the guitar instrumental to a leading position.

The epoch!

[shadowland]

The Shadows (Columbia Records, 1961)

[all-action-all-picture]

"Here we are then. They're not my cup of tea but I hope you like them - The Shadows!" - unknown announcer welcoming the band to the stage (as recounted by Brian Bennett).

The Shadows (L-R John Rostill, Hank Marvin, Brian Bennett and Bruce Welch) pictured in 1967, colour coded with their Burns Guitars.

[xabiramone]

Happy birthday to Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely 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.🎂

[singeratlarge]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my heroes Cliff Richard + 2 stories to tell: It’s still strange to me that Cliff Richard has sold millions of records, made movies, is a musical institution throughout the English-speaking world (and beyond), and is called “The English Elvis Presley,” yet he still barely registers in America. John Lennon said there was no British rock’n’roll worth listening to before Cliff. His back-up band, The Shadows (legends on their own), were led by trail-blazing guitarist Hank Marvin—who inspired a legion of young Brits to pick up a guitar, from Jeff Beck to George Harrison to Mark Knopfler.

In 1979 I became a big Cliff fan, and he became a role model to me for his disciplined, wide-ranging vocalizing, which matches his lifestyle He’s been making records since 1958, but I favor his gospel projects and post-1974 records with Bruce Britten and Alan Tarney. They remodeled his sound, re-inventing Cliff’s sound to reach audiences who favored New Wave, roots rock, and synth-pop.

2 STORIES: 1) I worked with Davy Jones (Monkees) for 20 years. At home he kept a stash of signed books and recordings from people he’d intersected with over the years—June Carter & Johnny Cash, Donovan, Mark Farner, Paul McCartney, Johnny Tillotson, etc. David had good stories to go with these items, but he fondly recalled that his first autograph came from Cliff. David was 12 at the time and said it was one of the few times he felt “starstruck” (little did David know he’d be signing countless autographs not long after).

2) In 1986 I was nudged to submit my song “Please Don’t Wait too Long” to Cliff with the aim of having him cover it. I contacted management, sent my LP and a cover letter, and the weeks passed. Right when I thought it was another pitch into the abyss, I received a kind letter from Cliff and his manager Bill Latham. They carefully critiqued the song and, while Cliff declined on doing it, he told me to send more tunes and to keep in touch. Then I got busy with a band and projects and didn’t follow through, but Cliff’s letter was a huge encouragement in a hectic time.

Here's a clip of Cliff from during the pandemic lockdown, and at age 84 he’s still out on the road!

HB CR and thank you for setting a high bar spiritually and creatively, and getting us to “move it!”

#cliffrichard #theshadows #hankmarvin #davyjones #monkees #johnnyjblair #happybirthday

[magneticelectric]

Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate - Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate (1977)

[musicmags]

[soundgrammar]

Hank Marvin (born October 28, 1941), known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows

[pianorequests]

1966 - a year of four LPs

1966 was a good year for Russ. He was on the way to recovering as best he could from a stroke he had suffered in late-1965, and by the end of the year he recovered enough that he was able to record four whole albums. This post details those four LPs.

Russ Hour Russ Hour was the first Russ LP to be released in 1966. Recorded on 26th January that year, and released in June, it featured the standard accompaniment directed by Geoff Love.

Unusually, this album was one of two full LPs to be produced from a single recording session held on that day in January. Russ's recording manager, Norman Newell, had booked twice the usual amount of studio time for Russ's first recording session after his stroke as a result of not wishing to overwork him. The first LP they set about recording was Time to Play, which would be released on EMI's budget label Music For Pleasure.

However, because the recording for that LP went so well, the artists moved onto recording a second record - and it was this which became Russ Hour, a full-price LP on EMI's Columbia label. Tracks on this one include Red Roses for a Blue Lady, Lullaby of Broadway, and Hello, Dolly!

Time to Play This was the first record Russ recorded following his 1965 stroke, and was a re-recording of several tunes he had made successful recordings of during the first few years of his solo career. All of the tracks from his 1959 EP Another Six were re-recorded, as well as The Westminster Waltz, The Birthday Cakewalk, Snow Coach, Trampolina, and Matador from Trinidad.

The accompaniment was again directed by Geoff Love (the last time he would work with Russ for an LP), and the album - as was standard for all of Russ's records of this time - made use of the Steinway Model K 'Vertegrand' upright piano which was kept in Abbey Road's Studio Two. This album was released on 16th September 1966. Despite being recorded in stereo, it was initially released in mono only - the same as the Another Six EP.

On compilation albums released after this point, the Time to Play versions of these tunes are almost always the ones included, rather than the original recordings. The most notable difference between the 1966 and original versions is the piano: in 1966, the piano Russ used was much more metallic-sounding than the original Hohner he used at the start of his career.

Concerto for Memories Released some six years after the first of his 'Concerto' albums, this LP marked a significant point in Russ's career: it marked the last time he recorded a new orchestral LP. Released in November 1966 under EMI's Studio2Stereo brand and on their Columbia label, it proved made use of Brian Fahey and his Orchestra.

The title track for this LP was, as with his previous three 'Concerto' albums, written by Russ himself, under his real name of Trevor Herbert Stanford. Concerto for Memories was the only of the four he wrote not to have been released in sheet music form.

This record also marked an interesting turning point for Russ's records: until this point, all of his records had been released either in mono only, or in mono first and then stereo later. However, in this case, it was the stereo mix which was released first, with the mono mix not being released until May 1967. All of Russ's records after this point, except compilation albums using older material, would be released in stereo only.

Pop-a-Conway This last 'pop' album from Russ was released for Christmas 1966, and featured accompaniment directed by Norman Percival rather than Geoff Love. It was the last of his new studio albums to be released by EMI in the UK.

The sleeve notes for this album were written by Hank Marvin, and the tracks included are a range of pop songs from the time, including The Beatles' All My Loving. The More I See You is also included, this time in an upbeat form - it was previously included, in an orchestral style, on Concerto for Memories. Other tracks on this album include Spanish Flea, Strangers in the Night, and It's Not Unusual.

The cover art for this album is bright and colourful, with large title text across it. It's a departure from the standars photograph-and-text for Russ's albums, but a welcome one as it really 'pops' (which works with the album's name, of course!).

[transparentcomputertidalwave]

Hank B. Marvin* / The Shadows – /WAHINE

[krispyweiss]

LA LOM at A&R Music Bar, Columbus, Ohio, Dec. 14, 2024

Bathed in red, then orange, backlights, the men of LA LOM were anonymous silhouettes as they introduced themselves with “Café Tropical” and “Danza de LA LOM.”

Soon, more-traditional lighting, white spots in front, primary colors in back, shone upon the Los Angeles League of Musicians, who brought music best suited for sun-drenched expanses of sand or grass to the early-falling darkness of mid-December Columbus, Ohio.

In the back sat Nicholas Baker, coaxing rhythmic patterns inspired by Santana, Los Lobos and Toubab Krewe. He was a percussion section unto himself, playing shakers, beating congas and cymbals with his hands and employing sticks, maracas and brushes on his drumheads.

Alternating between electric, four-string and double bass, Jake Faulkner was Baker’s rhythmic partner and LA LOM’s onstage cheerleader, hyping the audience that crammed into A&R Music Bar Dec. 14 with fist pumps, off-mic screams and wordless gestures of praise for Baker and guitarist Zac Sokolow, the band emcee whose surfing-south-of-the-border leads are the nominal words to the band’s instrumental music.

Conjuring sonic homages to the Shadows, Los Straitjackets, the Latin Playboys and Southern Culture on the Skids, though without the unique personality - not yet anyway - of Hank Marvin, Eddie Angel, David Hidalgo or Rick Miller, Sokolow nodded to his influences as he continues building a bridge to his own style.

So it went across 80 minutes of three- and four-minute offerings from 2022’s LA LOM EP, 2024’s the Los Angeles League of Musicians LP, covers and recent singles “La Tijera” and “Alacrán.” There were ballads such as “Rebecca” and raucous numbers like “El Casabel” that had the sardines in the audience pogoing and chanting to Faulkner’s raised-arm cues.

If there’s a knock on LA LOM, it’s that the trio tends to have a sameness in tone and style, leading to flatlines among the huge peaks. Yet the young trio is clearly at work at blazing a path that, when realized, is going to leave sonic scars in the ground it treads.

They’re on their way already.

Grade card: LA LOM at A&R Music Bar - 12/14/24 - B

12/15/24

[shadowland]

THE SHADOWS

"The Savage" The Young Ones (1961) dir. Sidney J. Furie

[all-action-all-picture]

Wonderful Land by The Shadows. One of their record 5 UK instrumental Number 1's. Written by Jerry Lordan and originally released by The Shadows in 1962, staying at No. 1 for 8 weeks. After Apache, which was also written by Lordan, this was probably The Shadows best known hit (although I think they should also have tried to get a catchy one word title for this).

This performance was broadcast 31 January 1970 and sees The Shadows using their 'other guitars'. Hank Marvin is most closely associated with his red and white Fender Stratocaster but here he and bassist John Rostill are seen with their black and white Baldwin-Burns Guitars. If you watch John, on the left, at the start of the clip it looks as if he wasn't expecting the backing track to start when it did. As far as I can tell Hank is playing live but its hard to tell at times as he can just play note perfect every time.

Rhythm guitarist Bruce Welch is missing as he had temporarily left the group. Other long time member Brian Bennett is on drums.

Completing the line-up is Alan Hawkshaw seated at the piano. Many won't realise he was in The Shadows for a while but may be familiar with his name and the music he composed for UK television shows such as the music from Countdown, the theme to Dave Allen's comedy shows and the library music that was used as the themes to both Grange Hill and Give Us A Clue.

John Rostill died in 1973 and Alan Hawkshaw in 2021.

[sohannabarberaesque]

Now imagine The Banana Splits doing a cover of--