He's out of the Shadows and back in the limelight. And back in Dunedin. Nigel Benson talks to guitarist Hank Marvin.
He was Britain's original guitar hero. Now he is back, fretting over a new take on an old musical form.
Hank Marvin is the guitar players' guitar player.
The Shadows' lead strummer is still revered by guitar greats such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Brian May and Pete Townshend.
''Hank had the first Fender Stratocaster that came into England and he made a great impression on me,'' Page once said, while Townshend described the maestro as ''a great stylist and technician, with a wonderful gift for expression on the guitar''.
Marvin led the band which propelled English pop star Cliff Richard to fame and fortune and he still regularly joins the singer on stage, including on Richard's 2010 New Zealand and Australia reunion tour.
''I don't think I've played in Dunedin since the Shadows, in 1989,'' the 71-year-old says, from rehearsing in his home studio in Perth, Australia.
''Then, the Shadows broke up in 1990 and I started doing acoustic guitar schools.''
He is back in Dunedin this week showing off his latest love, gypsy jazz, with accordionist Nunzio Mondia and guitarist Gary Taylor, exploring the music of gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and swinging violinist Stephan Grappelli.
''I only recently heard a bit of gypsy jazz and it just sounded wonderful. I instantly fell in love with it. I tried to learn all the old standards and have a bit of fun, at the same time,'' Marvin said.
''With the arrangements on this tour, we've tried to put something fresh into it. It's all quite accessible.
''Some people think jazz is inaccessible, but they're good tunes that people grasp quickly. It should work beautifully.
''We do a lot of improvised solos. Nunzio is a fantastic accordion-player. It's a bit of an experiment, where you're doing something different to what people expect you to do. There's quite a bit of humour in the music, too. I'm really looking forward to it.''
The concert will also feature a new version of Marvin's hit single Nivram and a very original sing-along version of Cliff Richard's classic single Living Doll.
Be there
Hank Marvin ''Gypsy Jazz'' with Nunzio Mondia and Gary Taylor is on at 8pm on Monday in the Glenroy Auditorium.
