I never get tired of hearing this story...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTjtRswXxfw

Ivan
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Me too!
As mentioned, one of Hank's influences was Tele Master James Burton who he assumed played a Strat since he thought Ricky Nelson's guitar player would play "the best".

elreydlp
As mentioned, one of Hank's influences was Tele Master James Burton who he assumed played a Strat since he thought Ricky Nelson's guitar player would play "the best".

That's very true. Between Holly and Burton, Hank was convinced that he had to get a Strat. There's a story how Cliff Richard ordered a Fender catalog from USA, and then he and the boys poured over it, trying to figure out what guitar to get. That was in early '59, I believe. Cliff then sent someone from his staff (he was the star at that point), or maybe his record company, I forget now, to the US to buy the guitar. But what's interesting is that if you look at Fender's 1958 catalog, you will see a fiesta red Strat with gold hardware and a bird's eye maple neck on the front cover, EXACTLY like the one Cliff and the Shadows ended up ordering!

(That's the best photo I could find of it, but some Fender books have a much better picture of it.)

I've often wondered if that was the highest priced instrument in that catalog, having a custom color and the fancier appointments, and if that's why they got it. And what would have happened if they got the more current catalog at that time which featured the Jazzmaster as the top-priced instrument in Fender's line? Hmmm, how history could have been different....

(Incidentally, fairly soon after Hank got the Strat, so later in '59 or early '60, Bruce and Jet also got their Fenders, both sunbursts: Jet a P-bass and Bruce a Jazzmaster. It's interesting that despite having access to a more expensive and more current Fender instrument, Hank stuck with the Strat. I am fairly certain it's because the Strat's trem gave him so much expresiveness than the JM trem. What's even funnier is that Bruce ditched the JM and switched to a Strat the first chance he had, too!)

Ivan
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Ha! I was just about to ask: hey, didn't you get to touch THE Strat one time? Looks good on you. I always appreciated the little tribute of matching fiesta red guitars in the Madeira. In a perfect world, you would get to "borrow" it for a few years and forget to give it back.

Thanks! Though I'd be scared to death to do anything with that guitar! I think I remember reading that it's actually the most highly appraised Strat out there, of any! And anyway, I don't like maple necks - and in addition, Bruce put jumbo frets on the neck! Oh no!

The Madeira matching-fiesta-red-Fenders happened quite by accident - Todd was buying and selling a lot of basses at the time, and he happened to buy a fiesta red J-bass at one point, without telling us. When he brought it in, it occured to me to ask my dad if he'd mind if Patrick borrowed his fiesta red Strat, and he said no problem. Of course, he didn't know that Patrick would be borrowing it for the next four years, and counting - he still sometimes asks me with mock (I think) exasparation when he'll get his guitar back from Patrick!

I also recently heard Peter Frampton make reference to the Shadows. I'm always amazed by their huge influence on later British guitarists.

What I'm amazed is how many of those guys went on to become superstar guitarists of their own - besides Frampton, Knopfler and Gimour, there are also Brian May, Ritchie Blackmore, Peter Green, and others who escape me at the moment. I remember an interview with Ritche somewhere where he said, paraphrasing, "I still think the only guy that got it completely right was Hank Marvin." I'll try to find that interview....

Ivan
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I've often wondered if that was the highest priced instrument in that catalog, having a custom color and the fancier appointments, and if that's why they got it. And what would have happened if they got the more current catalog at that time which featured the Jazzmaster as the top-priced instrument in Fender's line?

I don't have access to price info for '58/'59, but FWIW, here's the catalog price info for 1963:

Jaguar, sunburst: $379.50, custom: $398.49, custom w/gold hardware: $456.88

Jazzmaster, sunburst: $349.50, custom: $366.97, custom w/gold hardware: $420.20

Stratocaster, sunburst: $289.50, custom: $303.97, custom w/gold hardware: $349.50

And...a double (dual) Showman was priced at $800!

John

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elreydlp
Ivan
I've wondered if Hank's guitar might have been the very guitar pictured in the catalogue. '58/'59 were transition years (3-color Sunburst, Rosewood board). If his guitar was built to order, he might have ended up with a rosewood board. Do you know "the rest of the story"-production records, etc.?
I have a video (TAPE!) of Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" tour in Australia, and at the end Knopfler talks about the Shadows and that "Red guitar", then brings Hank out and they play a song (don't remember what it was).

The song was likely "Coming Home". I think it was from a movie. The Shads had recorded a version in 1983 or 1984 and Knopfler asked Hank to join them on the "Brothers in Arms" tour to do the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYHVoZgtm44

You're not drunk if you can put your socks on while standing.

Great video. Thanks for posting Ivan

Ryan
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Hey Ivan, Long slotted saddles!

estreet
I played Hank's new guitar before he did a few weeks ago ... it was a custom shop thing much after the design of that one and also in fiesta red. It was supplied by a music shop near me I know well, so I had a go on it.

God, how many guitars does Hank need??!! I can't believe he's still getting guitars. But that's very cool you got to do that, hope you liked it.

I did a bit of digging about some details of this story that I figured I really wasn't too sure about - whether the guitar was custom-ordered from Fender or a regular production model, and whether they actually sent someone to get it. I found this by George Geddes, on this website. I know George and he truly is an expert on the Shadows, if he wrote it, it's almost certainly true. According to him, they did special-order the guitar from Fender, and it was picked up by an associate of Cliff's, though it's not clear whether he was in the States or the UK. However, I seem to remember seeing a copy of the letter sent to this guy asking him to buy the guitar, though my memory could be playing tricks on me. Anyway, here's what George writes about it:

GeorgeGeddes
Cliff Richard felt that Hank should have a better guitar. The group knew that Ricky Nelson's guitarist used a Fender guitar, and had seen Fenders on the sleeves of Buddy Holly LPs, so catalogues were obtained from the U.S.
A Fender Stratocaster was ordered by Cliff direct from the Fender factory. Hank's had a tremelo arm, a birdseye maple neck and a Fiesta Red finish (often referred to as Flamingo Pink - coincidentally, one of the 1958/9 Fender catalogues featured a red Stratocaster on the cover) with a white single-ply scratchplate. It was a 1959 model; late that year the Fender factory switched to producing maple necks with rosewood fingerboard instead of all-maple. Cliff bought it for Hank, but the guitar was actually ordered by Dave Lilley, as instructed by Cliff in a letter. The effect of the Fender Stratocaster, Serial Number 34346, was immediate on those who saw it.
As Hank put it, in the December 1996 issue of Total Guitar "it was like seeing something from another planet." Bruce Welch, who now owns the guitar, told Neville Martin about it in the July 1996 issue of Guitarist." ..... when it arrived, which was March '59, no one had ever seen anything like it. It had that beautiful birdseye maple neck, the parts were all gold-plated and of course it was that gorgeous pink colour. But first of all, there was the tweed case - the tweed case with all that velvet inside - and when we opened it, it just took our breath away."
The group used to take the guitar - and case - down to their old haunt, the 2 Is in Soho, just to show it off.
Hank and Bruce both insist that the guitar was definitely pink rather than the orangey hue of the later red Fenders, although to this day Fender experts deny the existence of any such 'Flamingo Pink' shade - which may therefore have been an accident in the mixing of the paint batch.
Hank used the guitar for the first time on the group's third single and Cliff's first studio LP.

Here's what Bruce Welch wrote about this whole event in his 1989 autobiography:

BruceWelch
We had been talking to Cliff about getting a better instrument for some while. We were all very influenced by the sound of Buddy Holly and of Ricky Nelson's guitarist, James Burton, on records and wanted to achieve something similar. Because he was such a great guitarist we were convinced that Burton used a Fender Stratocaster, which we knew would be an ideal instrument for Hank. Cliff agreed, and wrote to the factory in Santa Ana, California, for a brochure. When it arrived we pored over it page by page, looking at the marvelous instruments that would be available if only we lived in America. In the end the catalogue was grubby with fingermarks as we thumbed through the pages, endlessly drooling over its contents. The ban on importing American instruments into Britain still existed, but there was nothing to stop an individual bringing one in personally. So that's what we did. Eventually, after much discussion, we chose the most expensive guitar in the book at around 120 pounds, which was a fortune in 1959. It was a flamingo pink Stratocaster with a bird's-eye maple neck, tremolo arm and gold-plated hardware.
A few weeks later the guitar arrived, in a magnificent tweed flat case with a plush red velvet lining. We opened it up and gaped in amazement at such a marvelous sight. It was - and still is - one of the finest guitars ever made. I still have the guitar and use it on stage today. Much later, Hank discovered that James Burton didn't use a Stratocaster after all, he favoured a Telecaster, but it was still a Fender."

The interesting thing about the above story is that Bruce claims it was the most expensive guitar in the '58/'59 catalog, but I've read somewhere that that catalog already listed the new Jazzmaster, in which case it wouldn't have been the most expensive model. Though the catalog doesn't actually have a Jazzmaster on the cover - of the guitars on the cover, this custom Strat would have been the most expensive one. Hmmmm.....

Sorry about the obsessive details, but i'm having fun, hope some of you are finding this interesting, too.....

PS Another guitarist massively influenced by the Shadows whom I left out previously was Pete Townshend, who, surprise surprise, has also been using a red Strat for the past decade or two. Pete was, according to what he himself has said, much more influenced by Bruce than Hank, though, he always loved the rhythm guitar more than lead.

Ivan
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Ivan, if it helps, I remember you emailing me a scan of the letter that requested someone to order the strat for Cliff. Now if only I can find it...

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2011 16:47:48