Hank Marvin Albums in Order: 36 Studio Albums Across 56 Years
The Hank Marvin albums in order run to 36 studio records across 56 years, 21 with the Shadows and 15 solo, from The Shadows in 1961 to Without a Word in 2017. My map braids both catalogues into one route in date order, each album a station and each of the 55 credited musicians a line.
Most listings split him in two, a Shadows column and a solo column. I built this one the other way round, because the two halves overlap for thirty years and the overlap is the interesting part.
The 36 Hank Marvin and Shadows Studio Albums, 1961 to 2017
- The Shadows (1961)
- Out of the Shadows (1962)
- Dance with the Shadows (1964)
- The Sound of the Shadows (1965)
- Shadow Music (1966)
- Jigsaw (1967)
- From Hank, Bruce, Brian and John (1967)
- Hank Marvin (1969)
- Shades of Rock (1970)
- Rockin' with Curly Leads (1973)
- Specs Appeal (1975)
- Tasty (1977)
- The Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate (1977)
- String of Hits (1979)
- Change of Address (1980)
- Hits Right Up Your Street (1981)
- Words and Music (1982)
- Life in the Jungle (1982)
- All Alone with Friends (1983)
- XXV (1983)
- Guardian Angel (1984)
- Moonlight Shadows (1986)
- Simply Shadows (1987)
- Steppin' to the Shadows (1989)
- Reflection (1990)
- Into the Light (1992)
- Heartbeat (1993)
- Hank Plays Cliff (1995)
- Hank Plays Holly (1996)
- Hank Marvin and the Shadows Play the Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (1997)
- Marvin at the Movies (2000)
- Guitar Player (2002)
- Guitar Man (2007)
- Django's Castle (2013)
- Hank (2014)
- Without a Word (2017)
Studio records only. Live albums, compilations and the Cliff Richard records the Shadows backed are not stations on this map, and the line stops at 2017.
Two Careers, One Route, Sorted by Date
The decision on this map was not about who to include. It was about the order in which to put them.
Drawn as two parallel routes it would be tidier, and it would hide the only thing that actually matters here. The solo albums do not start after the Shadows finish. Hank Marvin arrives in 1969 while the band is still going, and The Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate lands in 1977 between two Shadows records.
So the print alternates. Seven Shadows albums, then a solo one, then four more Shadows, then another solo one. You can see him working both sides of it for the best part of thirty years, which two neat parallel lines would have flattened into nothing.
Hank Marvin Discography Map
Thirty-six albums across 56 years, the Shadows and the solo years drawn as one transit network.
See This Art PrintThe Shadows Stop in 1990 and Hank Keeps Going for Twenty-Seven Years
Reflection in 1990 is the last Shadows album on the map. Bruce Welch's line ends there, at twenty albums. So does Brian Bennett's, at twenty-two, and Cliff Hall's, at ten.
Alan Jones stops one station earlier, at Steppin' to the Shadows in 1989, after eleven albums on bass.
Everything after that is solo. Eleven albums in a row, from Into the Light in 1992 to Without a Word in 2017, and the right-hand third of the print has only one line running the whole way through it. That is the single most legible thing on this map from across a room: a thick braided section that suddenly thins to one thread and stays that way for twenty-seven years.
Thirteen Names at One Station, Including the Man Who Played the James Bond Riff
The Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate in 1977 is the widest station on the print and the strangest record in either catalogue. It is a solo album that gathers about ten guitar players onto one record.
Vic Flick is one of them. He is the guitarist who played the riff on the James Bond theme, which makes his one appearance here the most-heard few seconds of anybody's work on this map.
Alongside him are Alan Parker, Colin Green, Kevin Peek, Les Thatcher, Paul Keogh, Rickie Hitchcock, Chris Rae and Alan Sparks, with Clem Cattini on drums, Herbie Flowers on bass and Frank Ricotti on percussion. Thirteen names at one station, and then almost all of them leave and never come back.
Brian May, Duane Eddy and Mark Knopfler Are All on Here
The solo years bring in a guest list nobody expects from an instrumental guitar catalogue. These are the ones that stop people.
| Guest | Album | Better known for |
|---|---|---|
| Olivia Newton-John | From Hank, Bruce, Brian and John (1967) | Guest vocals on "The Day I Met Marie", years before Grease |
| Vic Flick | The Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate (1977) | The guitar on the James Bond theme |
| Brian May | Into the Light (1992) | Queen |
| Duane Eddy | Into the Light (1992) | The other great twang guitarist, on the same album |
| Mark Knopfler | Heartbeat (1993) | Dire Straits |
| Cliff Richard | Heartbeat (1993) and Hank Plays Cliff (1995) | Two stations, one of them an album of his own songs |
| Clem Cattini | The Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate (1977) | A session drummer credited on dozens of British number ones |
| Norrie Paramor | Four albums, 1962 to 1977 | Producing, and the orchestral parts he also played |
| John Farrar | Three albums, 1973 to 1977 | Later writing "You're the One That I Want" |
| Herbie Flowers | Two albums, 1970 and 1977 | The bass on "Walk on the Wild Side" |
Brian May and Duane Eddy on the same record is the pairing I would put in front of anybody who thinks this is a nostalgia catalogue. Two guitarists from either side of Marvin's influence, arriving at one station in 1992.
The Bass Chair Changes Hands Six Times Before 1980
Jet Harris plays bass on the first two albums and then stops. Brian "Licorice" Locking covers albums two and three, overlapping him by one.
John Rostill took over on Dance with the Shadows in 1964 and ran to Shades of Rock in 1970. After that it fragments completely. Dave Richmond, Herbie Flowers, Brian Odgers, Alan Tarney and Alan Jones all take turns, sometimes two of them on the same record, splitting it track by track.
Tony Meehan, meanwhile, drums on the debut and nothing else, because Brian Bennett arrives for the second album and stays for twenty-two. One short line at the very start, then a long steady one beside it. That contrast is right at the left-hand edge of the print, and it is the first thing I point out to anyone looking at it.
Two of His Children Are on the Later Albums
Ben Marvin appears on eight solo albums, from Heartbeat in 1993 to Without a Word in 2017. Tahlia Marvin is on five of them across the same stretch.
So the thin end of the map, the part where the Shadows' lines have all stopped, is where the family lines start. It is a quiet way for a map to end, and I like it. Thirteen names at a station in 1977, and two of his children at the last one.
Which Size Holds 36 Stations
The A2 at 420 x 594mm (23 x 16 in) carries all thirty-six stations, and the braid of Shadows and solo albums reads clearly, as does the thinning after 1990. It starts at £42.
The A1 at 594 x 841mm (33 x 23 in) is worth it here for two reasons. Thirty-six stations are at the busy end for A2, and the Guitar Syndicate crowd needs room, otherwise Vic Flick and Kevin Peek become part of a cluster instead of names you can read. US inch sizes, 24x18 and 36x24, are available as well.
Every print is a Giclée on 230gsm premium fine art paper, textured matte, archival and acid-free, supplied unframed or ready to hang in a black wood frame. The full detail is on the print and frame specification page.
Questions People Ask About This Map
How many albums did Hank Marvin make?
Thirty-six studio albums appear on this map, 21 with the Shadows and 15 under his own name, spanning 1961 to 2017.
Is this the Shadows or Hank Marvin solo?
Both, on one route. The two catalogues are interleaved in date order rather than split into separate lines.
Are Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett on it?
Yes. Bruce Welch runs to twenty albums and Brian Bennett to twenty-two, and both lines end at Reflection in 1990.
What is not on the Hank Marvin map?
Live albums, compilations and the Cliff Richard records the Shadows played on are all left off, because the map is drawn from studio records only. Anything released after Without a Word in 2017 postdates the artwork and is not on it either.
Does it show who played what on each track?
No. Each line tells you which albums the musician appears on. Track-level roles appear only on my Rolling Stones Goats Head Soup album map.
Related Music Maps
Brian May's appearance on Into the Light connects this one to the Queen albums in order map, and Mark Knopfler on Heartbeat connects it to the Dire Straits albums in order map. The oddest link crosses out of music altogether: Vic Flick played the guitar on the James Bond theme, which ties the 1977 Guitar Syndicate station to my James Bond films in order map.
The wider era sits in the 1960s bands collection, and the full range is in the music art print collection.
Getting Hold of the Print
The Hank Marvin discography art print comes in A2 and A1, plus 24x18 and 36x24 inches, unframed or in a black wood frame, from £42. If it is a present and you would rather let them pick the map themselves, there is a gift card for music fans.
