Father figure Hank Marvin has a new shadow… his son!

THERE’S not much about rock ‘n’ roll that Hank Marvin doesn’t know.

After all. he began learning his trade in the business almost 60 years ago as a fresh-faced 16-year-old.

The young Geordie quickly cemented his place as the first British guitar hero as part of The Shadows – one of the most successful British groups of all time.

The Shadows, along with sometime frontman Cliff Richard, of course, ruled the charts in the ’60s and eventually became the biggest instrumental group of all time.

If you ask guitarists from the iconic pop and rock bands of the last five or six decades who influenced them, the answer is usually the same – Hank.

Those that credit Hank Marvin as being an inspiration includes the likes of Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, George Harrison, Brian May, Pete Townsend, David Gilmour and Mark Knopfler.

Just a few big names in there, then.

So when it comes to making music, Hank is about as close to a father figure as you can get.

Not that the personable Hank, now 75, would dream of talking down to any of those stars.

“I wouldn’t dream of giving advice to any of those names,” he laughed.

“I’m sometimes asked by those beginning to learn guitar for a few tips, and I’m more than happy to talk to them.

“With the nature of the world today, everything’s about instant gratification – but learning an instrument takes time and if you want to be good you’ve got to put the time in.

“I wouldn’t dare to give advice to other professionals such as Eric Clapton or Brian May, though.

“They might have cited me as an influence but they’ve made their own way now and many of those guys are hugely famous with a style of their own.

“In fact I’m more likely to nick a few ideas from them!”

Although he’s unlikely to dish out paternal advice to some of music’s biggest names, Hank has teamed up with his son, Ben, for his latest album, called Without A Word.

It’s an album of instrumental cover tracks featuring Hank’s distinctive sound, which also contains a song he co-wrote with Ben.

“He and I enjoy working together, it’s fun,” said Hank.

“We have a laugh and it’s a good experience to be working with a son in this situation.

“His musical background is a lot different to mine because he’s a lot younger than me. In fact he’s young enough to be my son!

“He has a wide range of interests but he listens to a lot more modern stuff than I do, so his input is good.

“Of course we have our disagreements. Sometimes he’ll look at something and say something harsh like, ‘That’s almost unacceptable!’

Hank, along with wife Carol, have lived in Australia for the past few decades – where he’s happily settled.

“We came here a few times on tour and loved it, we’ve been here for such a long time now we don’t miss much, perhaps the architecture and the history.

“You can really appreciate it once you’ve been home.

“Australia’s lovely – and of course the locals can almost speak English!”

This latest album doesn’t feature Hank’s vocals, not that it’s stood in the way of success in the past.

That’s because he’s had six No 1 hit singles and four No 1 albums.

Singing on records is something he wishes he’d properly given a go.

“We used to record in Abbey Road and we’d bump into the people around there.

“We’d had a top 5 hit with Don’t Make My Baby Blue which had some vocals on it,” said Hank,

“One day we met George and he said to us, ‘Oh man, I love your new record – but you should forget the instrumentals and concentrate on singing.

“And I thought, ‘Well, what does he know?’

“Stupidly we didn’t take his advice. We did the odd vocal track here and there, but we should have taken his advice.

“I don’t see myself doing much singing now. Only in the shower!”

Hank Marvin, Without A Word, released on June 2