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Guitarist/teacher Lee Hodgson is due to conduct a magazine interview with Hank Marvin early in June. Rather than have the same old chat with the Q&A we’ve all heard before, Lee is extending an invitation to those on this forum who would like to engage seriously with Hank as a musician, guitarist in various genres, composer, whatever. Do you have a question that will surprise and delight him? I have agreed to collate your input and get it to Lee in time for him to plan the interview.

You can put your question in this thread or, if you prefer, you can PM me with it.

Over to you

Iain Purdon

PS - This is, unusually, a moderated post. All jokey questions, such as what colour socks Hank was wearing when he recorded FBI, will be removed! Same applies to any comments on other people's input. I thank you

'' You and Mark Knopfler guested on each other's shows a few years back, and he often states you and the Shadows as a major influence. It would be a kind of guitar heaven if the two of you cut an album together - as for example Mark and Chet Atkins did. Have you ever considered a project like that - or with any other guitar hero? ''


''Any signs of arthritis yet - or can we expect many more years of Marvin!? ''

"As well as being a legendary guitarist, humorous TV personality (especially on the "It's Cliff Richard" shows in the early 70s) and singer, you also wrote some superb songs either on your own or with Bruce, Brian, John Farrar etc. Do you have many songs which never saw the light of day?"
"Do you still write now occasionally?"
"Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions?"
"You once said that you wouldn't want to write an autobiography because you wouldn't want to meet the expectations of the publishers for salacious stories. Is that still the case or could you be persuaded to write your personal reminiscences of 56 years in the music business?"

"Can you begin to comprehend the amount of pleasure you've given to millions of people over the years?"

(Sorry, that last one sounds like I'm creeping!!)

I look forward to hearing/reading the interview.

Clive

Did your early Strats have modified switching / electronics, or were they just left standard?

Thanks for your input with this, Iain, it's a great idea.

Pat.

Iain: I agree with Pat....a great idea.

Question:
In the early years of your career you had some lessons from the jazz guitarist Ike Isaacs (Ike wrote The Rumble and was also an adviser to Jim Burns):
1. What did Ike contribute to your development as a guitarist?
2. Was he an influence in the composition of Nivram or any other material?
3. Given that Nivram is such a well liked Shadow's number, why did you not develop this genre alongside all the other material you played together?
4. Though Ike was not a gypsy jazz man, is your interest in Django a nod in Ike's direction?

Hello,

I have 1 question for Hank regarding High Strings B and E on the Brigde PU.

The sound you ( Hank) have on your records ( not the early recordings,though ) on the high strings B and E are "luckely" not to high and sharp in sound anymore. What do the technical staff do in the studio to reach that goal, is it perhaps using much EQ to reach that, or what???

Greetings

Fred

Do you still have your old Antoria?
Have you ever considered moving back to the UK? (Silly question, i think we know the answer to that one!)
What's your view on today's music/bands? Do you listen to any modern bands/singers?
Do you listen to Cliff/Shads music for relaxing?

If you hadn't become a musician is there anything else you would have liked to have been?

I'd like to ask how much he improvised solos in the early days. Jet Black comes to mind- also, Shotgun, which has a decidedly ad-libbed bit in the middle. In fact, that bit is a tricky part to play even with the tab...

Thanks, Martin.

If at any point in his career, either solo or with The Shadows, he or they could have chosen a different path, at what point would that have been and what would have been the outcome?