Hank Marvin's farewell tour

IT'S something his fans thought they'd never see. After more than 40 years, former Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin is calling it a day.

But don't worry. When he arrives at the Bournemouth International Centre on May 19 it might be as part of an extensive "retirement" tour, but Hank isn't going to hang up his famous red telecaster forever.

"I'm certainly not shutting the door on the possibility of doing smaller things in the future or maybe even the odd special," he told me.

"After all, this isn't the sort of job where you get to 60 or 65 and say 'Thank God that's it.'

"But I am fed up with touring. I don't like all the travelling and checking into hotels. There are other things in my life I'd rather be doing."

Now Hank says he intends to take a lengthy break and look at his options.

"I want to be creative purely spontaneously rather than being forced to be creative," he said.

The Geordie boy originally found fame after moving to London in the late 1950s and being spotted by the manager of a young rock 'n' roller called Cliff Richards.

After a couple of false starts The Shadows were born and so too was a new era in the history of popular music.

Currently based in Perth, Australia, Hank says his current show contains old and new material including numbers from his latest solo album Guitar Player.

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