On July 31, 2019 legendary British guitarist Hank B Marvin sat down with Graham Hoskins, owner of Australian Music Association member music store Concept Music in Perth (also Hank’s local music store) to chat about his career. The interview was conducted for NAMM’s Oral History archive. The NAMM Oral History Collection is unique, unlike any other collection in the world. The heart of the Collection is the depth of its narratives that cover innovative creations, the evolution of musical instruments, the ever-changing world of music retail, as well as our collective quest to improve music education around the globe.
This is an edit of a longer version of the interview, which can be found at https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history
Thank you to NAMM for permission to post the interview
Hank B. Marvin is the lead guitarist of the (mainly) instrumental group The Shadows, the best-selling British rock ‘n’ roll act before The Beatles, and backing band for Cliff Richard. Marvin and The Shadows had huge hits in the UK, including “Apache” and “Wonderful Land”. As a guitarist, whose trademark was a clean, pure sound accentuated by a distinctive echo effect, Marvin is considered a huge influence on many big stars such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Brian May. Marvin uses a clean guitar sound with a Vox amplifier and often uses an echo, also known as delay, for songs like “Apache” and “Wonderful Land”. He also developed a distinctive way of using the guitar’s vibrato to give a “dreamy feel” to his playing. Marvin also had a 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. Marvin and The Shadows reformed for a 2004 Final Tour, and a 2005 European tour was also organised. Hank is presently living in Perth, Australia and is now semi retired.