Hank Plays Halifax
When I was a kid, all I wanted was a red electric guitar. It had to be red because of Hank and his magical sound". The words of Mark Knopfler, recalling how as a young lad in Newcastle he dreamed of becoming a guitarist just like his hero HANK MARVIN.
It was during the
hot summer's afternoon of June 17th 1960 that The Shadows had entered Abbey Road's Studio
2 to record 'Apache', the track which was to become the instrumental hit of the decade. It
made Number One, where it stayed for 5 weeks, became an instant classic and saw the start
of a string of over thirty hits for the group who pioneered the now familiar band line up
of two guitars, bass and drums. It was also the record that inspired a new generation of
artists such as Eric Clapton, Queen's Brian May, The Who's Pete Townshend and Dire
Straits' Mark Knopfler to take up the guitar.
And now, 42 years
later, Hank is still packing them in on his nation-wide tour which this week hit West
Yorkshire at the Civic Theatre in Halifax. This is the 34th venue on a two-month tour of
50 locations throughout the UK, culminating in a final performance at The Palladium in
London. It is billed as Hank's farewell tour as he has indicated he wishes to retire from
touring in Europe, having now lived in Australia for many years.
They are a very
tight outfit and reproduce the sound created by The Shadows to perfection. However, not
all the tunes performed were ex Shadows numbers by any means, as Hank neatly interspersed
these with items from his new album "Guitar Player" which is an acoustic
compilation where he is joined by Ben & Mark at the front of the stage. Also, he
features tunes from a number of recent albums including "Marvin at the Movies",
"Hank plays Holly", a tribute to Buddy Holly and his songs, plus also "Hank
plays Cliff" which featured Cliff Richard's hits played instrumentally.
The show comprised
the following:
Shadows numbers
"Atlantis", "Wonderful Land", "FBI", "Man of
Mystery", "Cavatina", and "Don't cry for me Argentina". There was
"Wired for sound" (from Hank plays Cliff), Jessica (Top Gear Tune), and Shadows
numbers "Shazzam", "The Savage" & "The Frightened City".
We were treated to "It doesn't matter anymore (from Hank plays Holly), and a great
rendition of "Move It", the first single by Cliff and The Shadows. From
"Guitar Player" the tunes included "Petite Fleur", "Sunny
Afternoon", "Benny's Toon", "Midnight at the oasis", "A tall
dark stranger", "Dance with me", "Maya's Day", &
"Killing me softly", the old Roberta Flack number. Also in Hank's repertoire
were "The Sound of silence", "James Bond Theme", & "Live and
Let Die", all from "Marvin at the movies".
The band left to a
rapturous ovation and returned two or three minutes later to do two encores which were
"The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt" plus "Apache" which the audience
had waited all night to hear. A standing ovation for over 5 minutes showed the respect in
which Hank is still held, not only in West Yorkshire, but also throughout the UK as I
gather this has occurred at all his performances so far.
Surely he cannot call this his "Farewell Tour". With fans like these who have snapped up every ticket at all 50 venues, where "Sold Out" has become a common feature, he has to return in the future.