AS HE embarks on his last ever concert tour, guitar legend Hank Marvin, 60, recalls the ease with which he found fame and fortune.

"I was 16, playing in a skiffle group with Bruce Welch when we decided to leave Newcastle and come to London," he says.

One day, playing in a Soho cafe bar, Hank was spotted by Cliff Richard's manager.

"I got a job playing with Cliff and they needed a rhythm player so Bruce joined the group. "It all happened almost by accident."

So in 1958, Cliff Richard and the Drifters - to become Cliff Richard and the Shadows - were born.

"There was never any question the first single Move It wasn't going to be a hit. Not after Cliff's appearance on the Oh Boy TV show."

Move It got to number two in the national singles chart and four more hits followed in relatively quick succession.

"There'd be hundreds of teenage kids at the door screaming for Cliff," says Hank.

"But it wasn't until Living Doll that the general public saw him as more than just a greasy rock 'n' roller. Overnight, Cliff's popularity spread from solely teenagers to everyone from ten to 50-year-olds."

Living Doll by Cliff and the Shadows went to number one in July 1959. More hits followed and within a year Cliff and the Shadows had scored a further two number one singles with Travellin' Light and Please Don't Tease.

A year after Living Doll hit the top of the charts, the Shadows emulated the feat with their first single without Cliff, the instrumental Apache.

"The Shadows had formed their own identity and we started getting fan letters and people shouting out our names at concerts," says Hank.

The instrumental-only band enjoyed a run of top-ten hit singles in the early Sixties, including the number ones Kon-Tiki, Wonderful Land, Dance On and Foot Tapper.

"We used to use Abbey Road studios," says Hank. "It was a time when the Beatles were taking the UK by storm. I remember seeing George Harrison at Abbey Road. He advised me to concentrate on songs rather than instrumentals. "On reflection, I think he was probably right."

During the Seventies and Eighties, Hank and the Shadows failed to repeat the singles chart success they enjoyed during the Sixties.

Their popularity was stronger in the albums chart and at the box office - Hank has always enjoyed a very loyal fan base.

At the beginning of the Nineties, the Shadows split up and Hank embarked on a solo career. He has played with a number of other guitar greats, including Brian May, Mark Knopfler and Duane Eddy.

Indeed, famous guitarists are quick to compliment Hank - Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Graham Gouldman as well as Brian May and Mark Knofler all list Hank as an inspiration.

"It's very flattering," says Hank, "I remember myself as a teenager, rushing to the record shop for the latest Elvis, Gene Vincent or Buddy Holly single so I could be first to learn the solos and the licks."

For his latest album, Hank Marvin, Guitar Player, the former Shadow is returning to those roots. The CD is full of acoustic covers of classic pop hits.

He says that the 64-date international tour to promote the album will be the last of his career.

It seems that just as success has come easy to Hank, quitting the rigours of life on the road isn't a tough choice.

Written by Gary Mac

June 18, 2002 19:31