It was like something from space, really, it was so futuristic in its design. It came in a tweed Fender case with the red plush lining and this magnificent-looking thing was just lying inside. It was great looking, and we liked the sound of it, and we’d heard that James Burton used a Fender, so we got a catalogue from the States. “My Antoria had a horribly bent neck, so Cliff wanted to buy me a good guitar, and we decided that the Fender was the way to go, because we’d seen Buddy Holly with one on the Crickets album cover, and it was pretty cool. “That first Strat made an appearance in 1959,” Marvin told Guitarist magazine back in 2014. The Shadows as they became known (renamed to avoid a conflict with an American vocal group of the same name) soon progressed into pop culture with great success due to their innovative style and sharp look. Subsequently, the names Cliff Richard and Hank Brian Marvin were confirmed by deed poll.” Marvin”, Terence Harris became “Jet Harris” and Bruce Cripps became “Bruce Welch”. “During the late 1950s in the UK, it was a common practice for pop stars to adopt a stage name, and several members of the original Cliff Richard and the Shadows did so: Harry Webb became “Cliff Richard”, Brian Rankin became “Hank B. The band would develop into pop culture fully fledged along with stage names to match! Hank Marvin was approached and offered the opportunity to join the band of a then undiscovered pop singer named Cliff Richard, who’d been dubbed as the “British Elvis”.Įventually after some discussion Hank agreed to be part of the backing band along with Bruce Welch which would be known as The Drifters initially. Pushing as hard as he could as a young musician he was playing out as much as possible and one night in particular well-known club in the Soho area history was written. In an attempt to get closer to the sound he was after Hank managed to get hold of an American-made guitar, a Vega electric guitar. The band featured a young rhythm guitarist by the name of Bruce Welch… 😉
When I next saw them, in October 1958, we were doing the first tour with Cliff Richard and earning money.”ġ957 saw Marvin join the skiffle group known as The Railroaders. I wrote to them telling them everything was fine in those first six months, even though we sometimes wouldn’t eat for two days. My parents weren’t really aware of that at the time, and I sort of conned them into letting me go down to London in April 1958 to break into the music business. “My dad bought me my first guitar for my 16th birthday. I got so into music that I pushed any academic work to one side. The interest in this fascinating instrument & invention was simmering for a generation about to change the face of musical history. The electric guitar was coming to the forefront and finding its identity within contemporary music. The 1950’s and particularly the late 1950’s was a great time of revolutionary iconic invention. Interest in music and playing an instrument came at the age of 15 when he purchased a banjo from a schoolmaster, Hank was looking at this instrument as a gateway to play New Orleans jazz & folk blues style music.Īs music was a strong form of escapism and joy during the war times, not to mention a communal based past time, it was not uncommon for both adults and children to be somewhat multi-instrumentalists, Hank also had good knowledge and ability to play the Piano 🎹. Hank recalls his father to be a good, hard-working, honest man but also a strict & stern father and any emotional upbringing was through his mother like many back then. His father worked for London North Eastern Railways which would become British Rail. Marvin” was also used to create a more American appeal across the pond.īorn into a very working-class family and background, his family lived upstairs to his auntie in a two story maisonette with an outside toilet and no running water – this was mid-war reality in Great Britain at the time. “Hank Marvin” is a stage name put together when launching his career is an amalgamation of firstly his childhood nickname he used to differentiate from other friends also called Brian, the second part of the name is graceful homage to Marvin Rainwater, the country & rockabilly singer. The birthdate of Brian Robson Rankin… Brian?! You might ask 🤔 Great Britain during the war, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne to be more precise on the 28th of October 1941. Let’s take a nostalgic trip back in time.
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