A chance meeting with Hank Marvin of "The Shadows"
I bumped into him in my local music store
I had purchased an old guitar from an antique shop in a small country town called Toodyay. It was an Ermelinda Silvestri parlour guitar, circa 1890, from the foot of Mount Etna in Catania in Italy.
The guitar needed a bit of work so I took it to Kosmic Music in Osborne Park., Perth Western Australia, to see the Luthier.
When I arrived, the Luthier was busy already talking to a tall, well dressed, middle aged gentleman. He looked a bit like Cliff Richard and was wearing glasses similar to the style that Cliff Richard wears.
His clothing was extremely stylish and I could tell this bloke was wealthy, and probably from overseas. He was wearing a nice gold chain and a few expensive gold rings on his fingers.
He exuded an air confidence and eventually he spotted me standing there with my old guitar, waiting to be served. He walked up and asked me what I had, and then took the guitar out of my hands and examined it. He was fascinated having never seen anything like it before.
I had never seen him around before and asked him if he came from Perth and if he played very often.
He told me that he had played a few gigs around town and told me some obscure name which I cannot recall. After talking to him for about ten minutes, I said goodbye and he left. When he had gone I asked the Luthier who he was, and he replied “That was Hank Marvin from the Shadows”!
Apparently Hank Marvin lives in Perth in The Vines Estate in the Swan Valley and quite often pops in to Kosmic Music. I was lucky enough to meet the guitar legend himself on that day.
