The first UK guitar hero…..?

Voxsupertwin · August 2023

Got to be Hank Marvin, Bert Weedon was good but never regarded as a hero for the young, more of a guitar playing Val Doonican…..

of course I’m an old git so my memories go back to the 50’s, younger players will have their own hero/opinion I’m sure.

Sassafras · August 2023

Eric Clapton or possibly John McLaughlin?

Offset · August 2023

It would be Clapton if we're talking about how people were viewed at the time. We can say Hank was a trailblazer with the benefit of hindsight but I don't think he was that feted as a player at the height of his success. The 'Clapton is god' meme was contemporaneous however.

dazzajl · August 2023

Absolutely Hank. He might not be the best or many people’s favourite but he was the first UK player to achieve household name status.

He’s also cited as a guitar hero to many of the players on the hero list themselves

soma1975 · August 2023

It's Hank. He was the first.

The Clapton is God graffiti thing was a marketing stunt dreamed up by Hamish Grimes.

Obviously Clapton was a bigger legend but Hank was the first.

guitars4you · August 2023

Was it Hank or Lonnie Donegan - Maybe Lonnie wasn't a guitar hero as such, but he was probably the first big influence to a new wave of pop that followed

Offset · August 2023

soma1975 said:

It's Hank. He was the first.

The Clapton is God graffiti thing was a marketing stunt dreamed up by Hamish Grimes.

Obviously Clapton was a bigger legend but Hank was the first.

Yep, Hank was the first - but I don't think he received the same levels of worship at the time as EC.

soma1975 · August 2023

The Shadows hits were all before Clapton's joined the Yardbirds and had disbanded by the height of Clapton's fame (well 68-71).

Funkfingers · August 2023

Hank was the first guitarist in a successful British group who wasn't an embarrassment compared to American artistes.

First place probably belongs to a session musician such as Big Jim Sullivan but the general public would not have been aware of him.

FelineGuitars · August 2023

Hank Marvin for sure was the first .
Ask guys of a certain age and they will confirm the level of impact he had

Clapton, Beck, Page, Green, Kossof came later

Kilgore · August 2023

It's obviously Hank. He's the only one whose name is immortalised in Cockney rhyming slang.

axisus · August 2023

Depends on your definition of guitar hero, I can't see Hank as one personally, To me a guitar hero has to have swagger, be disapproved of by parents, be a bit dangerous. I'd go with Clapton personally. Hank, influential for sure but 'hero' ... nah.

FelineGuitars said:

Clapton, Beck, Page, Green, Kossof ....

Them guys, all guitar heroes!

SteveRobinson · August 2023

Absolutely Hank. You wouldn't believe the number of old guys who come to me with their Fiesta Red Stratocasters.

Hank made people pick up the guitar and that makes him a guitar hero.

Kilgore · August 2023

I think it possibly depends on whether you're a guitar player, music journalist or Joe Public.

I think the first 'proper' guitar hero was Page. He's the template for what came after. Undoubtedly, those who came before were an inspiration to many, who subsequently picked up guitars.

But Page was the one who inspired millions to play air guitar, even if they couldn't be bothered to pick up the real thing.

Musicwolf · August 2023

Hank in the UK but don't forget those who went before on the other side of the Atlantic. Les Paul, a massive star in America in the 1950's and what about the infamous Robert Johnson in the 1930's?

57Deluxe · August 2023

Hank without doubt. You have to put yourself at their era - not retrospectively from 2023

RocknRollDave · August 2023

Hank all day long.

Had to be very careful how I typed that.

Blueingreen · August 2023

Hank Marvin was important to the next generation of guitarists but to the general public he was famous because he was the cartoonish looking guy in Cliff's band doing the silly movements with his bandmates. If The Shadows had never hooked up with Cliff and had to rely on the success of their guitar instrumentals they'd have had a few hits no doubt but Marvin would never have achieved anything like the level of fame he did purely on the basis of being a "good guitarist".

Kilgore · August 2023

Musicwolf said:

Hank in the UK but don't forget those who went before on the other side of the Atlantic. Les Paul, a massive star in America in the 1950's and what about the infamous Robert Johnson in the 1930's?

Robert Johnson was virtually unknown during his own lifetime.

Sassafras · August 2023

Bert Weedon taught more people to play with his Play In a Day book than anyone else I can think of.
Indirectly, he probably created the "guitar heroes" that followed on.

FelineGuitars · August 2023

If you are in the 70-80 year age group you will be exposed to Cliff and the Shadows at just the right time.

Fender couldn't supply enough Salmon Pink/Fiesta Red strats to the UK because of the demand that Hank created and a secondary industry respraying strats that colour came about with Fender's importer having to take whatever they could get and having them refinished .

Other companies like Hofner and Watkins also did a lot of business with fiesta red guitars for players who couldn't afford a strat (which were damn expensive over here)

Voxsupertwin · August 2023

Sassafras said:

Bert Weedon taught more people to play with his Play In a Day book than anyone else I can think of.
Indirectly, he probably created the "guitar heroes" that followed on.

This is true…I bought a copy in 1957 and I still have it !

Tannin · August 2023

Hank. All day long.

There were plenty of others later, but Hank was the man.

And - for those few who don't get it - I dare you to try to play one of his "simple", "easy" hits. Go on, I dare you. Out there way up on top of the mix, no distortion, very clean sound, no chorus to hide behind, no bullshit pedals, no mercy if you make the tiniest little mistake anywhere - you have to nail it exactly. Every single time.

Hank. All day long.

OilCityPickups · August 2023

I suppose it all depends on what we define as a guitar hero and what generation we come from. Even though I class as a 'boomer' being born in 59, Hank Marvin was the goofy looking geezer in 'Summer Holiday' with Cliff and Una Stubbs (which always seemed to be on TV on rainy Sunday afternoons when I was a kid). Marvin made a lot of folks take up guitar - but his originality was severely limited.
To be a 'guitar hero' I think firstly you must impress with technical quality and creativity. I would add the level of guitar icon to this: someone who had swagger, showmanship and visual style to go with the musicianship - a UK Hendrix if you like.

I would rank like this:
First notable popular guitarist from the UK - Hank Marvin
First guitar hero. Eric Clapton
First guitar icon. Page

On a personal note Iommi was of more interest to me as a kid learning guitar ...

Kilgore · August 2023

OilCityPickups said:

I suppose it all depends on what we define as a guitar hero and what generation we come from. Even though I class as a 'boomer' being born in 59, Hank Marvin was the goofy looking geezer in 'Summer Holiday' with Cliff and Una Stubbs (which always seemed to be on TV on rainy Sunday afternoons when I was a kid). Marvin made a lot of folks take up guitar - but his originality was severely limited.
To be a 'guitar hero' I think firstly you must impress with technical quality and creativity. I would add the level of guitar icon to this: someone who had swagger, showmanship and visual style to go with the musicianship - a UK Hendrix if you like.

I would rank like this:
First notable popular guitarist from the UK - Hank Marvin
First guitar hero. Eric Clapton
First guitar icon. Page

On a personal note Iommi was of more interest to me as a kid learning guitar ...

Wiz

I voted for Page, but that is a much better description than hero.

SpoonMan · August 2023

Tannin said:

Hank. All day long.

There were plenty of others later, but Hank was the man.

And - for those few who don't get it - I dare you to try to play one of his "simple", "easy" hits. Go on, I dare you. Out there way up on top of the mix, no distortion, very clean sound, no chorus to hide behind, no bullshit pedals, no mercy if you make the tiniest little mistake anywhere - you have to nail it exactly. Every single time.

Hank. All day long.

Did he not use delay/probably reverb (?) quite a lot?
And a lot of trem work.

Maybe not in pedal form mind.

SpoonMan · August 2023

Was apache the first guitar instrumental to be a big hit?

And the last?!

Power_Freak · August 2023

To those saying Hank wasn't a guitar hero because he was "goofy" or "not rebellious" (or whatever)... You can make the exact same argument against Clapton/Page/whoever.

Ask most guitarists under the age of 40 or so what they think of Clappers and you'll get the same sort of responses as you have here for Hank (or probably worse tbf)

It depends on your outlook on music - to some Iommi would be the first guitar hero, to others Marr, to others Fripp, to others it might be Derek Bailey

Tannin · August 2023

SpoonMan said:

Tannin said:

Hank. All day long.

There were plenty of others later, but Hank was the man.

And - for those few who don't get it - I dare you to try to play one of his "simple", "easy" hits. Go on, I dare you. Out there way up on top of the mix, no distortion, very clean sound, no chorus to hide behind, no bullshit pedals, no mercy if you make the tiniest little mistake anywhere - you have to nail it exactly. Every single time.

Hank. All day long.

Did he not use delay/probably reverb (?) quite a lot?
And a lot of trem work.

Maybe not in pedal form mind.

He certainly used a lot of reverb from time to time. But in those days it was simple spring reverb. You needed skill to use it. And as for tremolo, Hank was the master. Not a simple art to master - try it! - but he made it look easy. Years later, Jeff Beck became the ultimate artist of the tremolo arm, but Hank showed him the way.

Offset · August 2023

OilCityPickups said:

I suppose it all depends on what we define as a guitar hero and what generation we come from. Even though I class as a 'boomer' being born in 59, Hank Marvin was the goofy looking geezer in 'Summer Holiday' with Cliff and Una Stubbs (which always seemed to be on TV on rainy Sunday afternoons when I was a kid). Marvin made a lot of folks take up guitar - but his originality was severely limited.
To be a 'guitar hero' I think firstly you must impress with technical quality and creativity. I would add the level of guitar icon to this: someone who had swagger, showmanship and visual style to go with the musicianship - a UK Hendrix if you like.

I would rank like this:
First notable popular guitarist from the UK - Hank Marvin
First guitar hero. Eric Clapton
First guitar icon. Page

On a personal note Iommi was of more interest to me as a kid learning guitar ...

^^ This 100% from my perspective.

Lewy · August 2023

Julian Bream maybe?

Obviously people have very different views on what constitutes a hero but I'd wager most people would see a guitar hero as someone who is a hero to signifiant number of aspiring guitarists. Hard not to see Hank as the first one of those from the UK. As much down to exposure on TV and Film as anything else.

It really doesn't matter if he looked goofy by todays standards or the standards of older or "cooler" people at the time. Don't get much goofier looking than Buddy Holly and I don't think anyone can question him being seen as a musical hero. Likewise if you're thinking about the first, it doesn't matter if his status didn't last long until other people came along.

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The first UK guitar hero…..?

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