The essential advice Hank Marvin would offer young guitarists
Although he never became a quintessential rock star, Hank Marvin rose to popularity in the early 1960s as the virtuosic guitarist beside Cliff Richard in The Shadows. His seemingly effortless style and striking red Stratocaster caught the imagination of a generation, greatly inspiring the imminent wave of British Invasion rock acts.
George Harrison, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Brian May, Mark Knopfler, Tony Iommi, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page are among the classic rock heavyweights to have named Marvin as a guiding light. Among these, Dire Straits’ Knopfler is perhaps the most ardent fan.
While performing at London’s Wembley Arena during the Brothers In Arms tour in 1985, Knopfler recalled that he once begged his father for a Fiesta Red Fender Stratocaster when he was a child. Unfortunately, they were particularly expensive models, so instead, his father bought him a £50 twin-pick-up Höfner Super Solid for his first instrument in the early 1960s.
“All I wanted was a red electric guitar, and the only reason I wanted a red electric guitar was because of the sound made by one of my all-time favourite guitar players,” he said. “And I still wish I could get a guitar to sound the way he gets it to sound. And he actually recorded this tune, so he knows it. So here he is, one of the all-time favourites, the man himself, Hank B. Marvin!”
The pair then played ‘Going Home’, a song first released by Knopfler in 1983 for the soundtrack of Local Hero. Marvin and The Shadows later covered the track.
As for Marvin, a varied consumption of blues, folk and skiffle music guided his hands to the guitar. “The initial inspiration for wanting to pick up the guitar was due to skiffle music, which was very popular in the UK at the time,” Marvin told Guitar World in a 2023 interview. “Prior to skiffle, I had been listening to people like Big Bill Broonzy, Lead Belly and Brownie McGhee, and I noticed they all had guitars. Then, once skiffle came along, it, too, brought the focus onto the guitar.”
“I tried learning to play some skiffle tunes on that guitar,” Marvin continued, discussing the first song he ever learned. “I also used to try and copy things I heard on the radio, where I would try to learn to play the tune that the singer was vocalizing and any sax phrases or orchestral phrases that were like a hook line. But the first song I probably learned from start to finish was ‘Rock Island Line’ by Lonnie Donegan.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, the 81-year-old guitarist was asked what advice he would give to any aspiring young guitarists. “Really listen to other people because if you like something someone else plays, a phrase, or the way they approach a song, try and copy that first,” he offered sagely. “But then move on to your own style. Every player starts off by copying, and then they develop their own path – and that’s what’s important for anyone.”
Watch Mark Knopfler and Hank Marvin perform ‘Going Home’ in 1985 below.
