The other 70s Strat

[George Geddes]

Hank's 70's Strat (white, resprayed black, maple 'board, large headstock, various different pickups at different times) is well known, but I was looking through files last night and found a photo of the 20 Golden Dates appearance in London in 1977. Hank is clearly holding the black Strat, but at the side of his amp there is another similar Strat, possibly black (it's a b/w photo) with black scratchplate, etc.

I also dug out a 1980 interview for a German fan magazine in which Hank talks about his main guitar, the pickups and the extra switches and says in passing "I have another Strat with normal pickups". He does mention that it wasn't kept on stage, though so it may be difficult to track down photographs. He did play a sunburst Strat on some of the Lulu Shows in 1975, so it could be that one with a new scratchplate...

George

[aardvarkd]

On the 77 tour Hank used a dark plum-coloured Strat (probably shade 524 Wine on the 70's Fender colour list) and I think it was for just one number, possibly Honourable Puff Puff (in place of the guitar synth used previously for that song). As I recall, he had a metal rod, not unlike a three-inch nail, actually, that he inserted between the strings behind the nut to get those extra Donahue-type bends for the number. I was sitting quite close behind him in the 'choir' at Colston Hall so I could watch that bend being performed. Although it's a while ago and I've never seen any mention of this elsewhere I'm pretty sure that's what I saw at the time. The guitar would certainly have looked like a black one froma distance on TV or monochrome pictures. I also recall that he sold the guitar via Ron Roka not very long after the tour.
PD

[George Geddes]

And the sunburst one isn't included in "The collection" photographed in the Moonlight Shadows tour brochure...

George

[George Geddes]

Thanks, Peter, however...

According to my notes, they didn't play HPP on the 1977 tour, but Little B. HPP was in the set in 1978 (with the Roland), 1979 and European dates in 1980, and was then supplanted by Arty's party for the UK tour in 1980.

Hank clearly would gave a spare Strat, I'm just curious about the details.

George

[JimN]

There are various Shadows photos from the period showing Hank with a sunburst Stratocaster of the mid-seventies type: white scratchplate, maple neck, large headstock and the infamous headstock-mounted "bullet" truss-rod adjuster.

I had one just like it, bought from Rockbottom in late 1975. I didn't like it and sold it in 1978 in order to get a Gretsch Nashville. I still had my Marvin, of course, but I remained Stratless (though not Fenderless) until the first MIJ Fenders arrived in 1982.

JN

[aardvarkd]

Not HPP then, George. I haven't got my set list to hand but the wine Strat was definitely there - first night of the 77 tour (May 2nd according to your book) and it may have been used on one of the MWF numbers?? I'll look out the list. Another mystery Strat, which may have been to one in question, was sold by Rokas in August 1978 as 'Stratocaster, m/n trem, customised Boogie body, ex-Hank Marvin. £400'. I wonder where that went?

[aardvarkd]

George, more on the wine red Strat....one of the things I remember noticing about it was the small area of the relief cutaway on the back of the body which identified it in my mind as mid-late 70s example. I had just bought a new black m/n Strat the previous day (as close to HBM's as I could get) and was rather disappointed at its lack of body contouring compared with the first one I had in 1962. I also didn't recognise the dark red/brown colour of Hank's spare as one in the then-current Fender catalogue, although Wine Red was an option. Maybe it was a one-off Boogie body. It certainly had the same type of neck as the black Strat but I'm not sure about the pickups.
PD

[George Geddes]

Thanks, Peter. I'm now wondering if Hank had the white Strat *and* the sunburst one resprayed at the same time? The white one was still in its original condition in 1974 for their appearance with Cilla Black, and on the Lulu Show, but by Eurovision it was black...

George

[aardvarkd]

Interesting thought, George. I'd always assumed that he used the sunburst while Sam Li was working on the black one in its many modified versions but the dates might not quite match. Maybe Stuart D could remember? On one of the later tours Hank seemed to have the 50s sunburst (ex-Hicks) Strat as a spare. I can remember it lying flat on a riser just above the amps on his side of the stage- obviously a hurried get-in that time! I suppose it could also have been Bruce's American Reissue 57 that he was using at the time, but it looked more like the genuine 50s item. Finding the right bits of kit in a hurry always seems to be a pain: on one 80s tour there were several minutes between HBM breaking a top string (I think it was during a Deer Hunter bend) and HBM picking up and finishing the song from exactly the same note, to massive and well-deserved applause. During the intervening hiatus there had been a search for strings in several tour cases, the brief presentation on stage of the silver 25th Anniversary Strat (swiftly rejected by Hank), lots of gagging and time-filling piano antics by Cliff Hall and finally the return of the fully-strung basic Strat. The later continuous supply of guitars being brought on throughout the show, with off-stage 'pit-stops' seemed to take a while to develop. One highly-professional bit of on-the-road repair involved Lionel taking back one of the signature Strats that Hank wasn't happy with, unscrewing and pulling out the jack-socket ferrule, doing a quick bit of testing and soldering and then handing it back after the next number. I doubt if anyone past the front row would have known.

[StuartD]

Hi

I can't remember the dates but the plum Strat was the one that was sold by Roka's. Hank said he had difficulty keeping it in tune and it was 'time to move on'. I also remember the ex Tony Hicks Strat on one tour because Hank showed it to me backstage at the Manchester Apollo. He told me some of the tracks he had used it on on the latest album at the time but the only one I can remember was 'Memory'. He said it had a slightly 'harder' tone than the red one. It was the tour when he was using the Strat he bought in France because he was telling me he thought it was a lot of money to spend on two guitars very quickly in succession.

Regards

Stuart