Wired For Sound: Edsel Boxes Hank Marvin Solo Albums on “The Studio Album Collection 1982-1995”

December 11, 2025 By Joe Marchese — 1 Comment
Hank Marvin Studio Album Collection
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Brian Robson Rankin of Newcastle-upon-Tyne moved to London while still a teenager, armed with a guitar and a dream.  He adopted the name Hank Marvin, melding his childhood nickname of “Hank” with the first name of American country singer Marvin Rainwater, and put on a pair of glasses inspired by Buddy Holly’s.  His school friend Bruce Welch joined him, and before long, the pair had met Cliff Richard’s manager. In 1959, Richard’s band then known as The Drifters became The Shadows, and Richard, Marvin, Welch, and Brian Bennett (who replaced drummer Tony Meehan in 1961) entered the history books.  Outside of that band’s long history, Marvin enjoyed a solo career which began in 1969 and continues to this day.  On April 24, 2026, Edsel will revisit one chapter of Marvin’s career with a new 5CD, 71-track box set, The Studio Album Collection 1982-1995.

Marvin’s recognizable tone on the electric guitar made him one of the most widely influential guitarists in rock history as well as an in-demand guest.  He’s played on albums from Roger Daltrey (One of the Boys), Wings (Back to the Egg), Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (the original Evita concept album), Leo Sayer (Have You Ever Been in Love), Peter Frampton (Fingerprints), and others; this collection begins with his solo signing to Polydor in the early 1980s.

Words and Music (1982), produced by engineer Peter Vince, featured Hank’s Shadows bandmate Brian Bennett on drums and a cache of original songs mainly written by Hank with collaborators including his brother Joseph Rankin, Bennett, and Olivia Newton-John’s frequent collaborator (and onetime Shadows member), John Farrar.  The album yielded a moderate hit single with Sue Shifrin and Terry Britten’s “Don’t Talk” (No. 49 U.K.).  Marvin’s follow-up album All Alone with Friends (1983) was helmed by Christopher Neil (Sheena Easton, Shakin’ Stevens, Celine Dion, Mike + The Mechanics).  Hank was supported by Bennett’s percussion, Peter Van Hooke’s drums (including electronic ones), and Andy Brown’s bass.

Marvin’s next solo LP didn’t arrive for nearly another decade.  1992’s Into the Light, co-produced by Brian Bennett and featuring guest spots from guitar heroes Brian May and Duane Eddy, found Marvin reinterpreting a number of familiar classics including Steely Dan’s “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” Queen’s “We Are the Champions,” Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” and Phil Collins’ “Another Day in Paradise.”  1993’s Heartbeat took a similar approach, featuring the likes of Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman,” and Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die” among its selections.  Notably, Cliff Richard dropped by to add his vocals to a quartet of songs including Paul Simon’s “Mrs. Robinson,” Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” and David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”  Mark Knopfler appeared on “Wonderful Land,” and this edition has one bonus track: the non-LP single “Nivram,” also featuring Knopfler.  Jeff Lynne lent his production skills to “Wonderful Land” and “Nivram.”  Marvin, Bennett, Lynne, and Knopfler all donated their royalties for the tunes to the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre.

The final album in the box is 1995’s Hank Plays Cliff, once again reuniting him with his old Shadows pal.  Richard appears on four tracks: “Carrie,” “Move It,” “I Could Easily Fall (In Love with You),” and “In the Country.”  (Richard would continue to enjoy periodic reunions with The Shadows, leading up to final tour dates in 2009 and 2010.)

The Studio Album Collection 1982-1995 is housed in 7″ Deluxe gatefold packaging, with a glued-in 12-page booklet.  It’s due from Edsel on April 24, 2026.  You’ll find the track listing and pre-order links below; North American links are not yet active.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

The Studio Album Collection 1982-1995 (Edsel (U.K.), 2026) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1: Words and Music (released as Polydor POLD 5054 (U.K.), 1982)

  1. Don’t Talk
  2. Slow Down
  3. Bad Cop
  4. Tahlia Take Your Time
  5. China Town
  6. Captain Zlogg
  7. The Trouble with Me is You
  8. Oh Suzie
  9. Night Nurse
  10. Go Jimmy
  11. Then I Found Love
  12. Life Line

Disc 2: All Alone with Friends (released as Polydor POLD 5104 (U.K.), 1983)

  1. Just Another Heartbreak
  2. The Hawk and the Dove
  3. Invisible Man
  4. Leila (Danny’s Got a Song)
  5. Where Do You Go When You Dream
  6. Don’t Answer
  7. Stardom
  8. Rainy Day Goodbye
  9. 99 Days
  10. All Alone with Friends

Disc 3: Into the Light (released as PolyGram TV 517 148-2 (U.K.), 1992)

  1. Another Day in Paradise
  2. Everybody Wants to Rule the World
  3. Sylvia
  4. Don’t Know Much
  5. Road Train
  6. Pipeline (feat. Duane Eddy)
  7. Sumiko
  8. Into the Light
  9. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
  10. Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
  11. Scirocco
  12. Jessica
  13. Moontalk
  14. Tailspin
  15. Steel Wheel
  16. We Are the Champions (feat. Brian May)

Disc 4: Heartbeat (released as PolyGram TV 521 232-2 (U.K.), 1993)

  1. Heartbeat (feat. Cliff Richard)
  2. Oxygene (Part IV)
  3. Mrs Robinson (feat. Cliff Richard)
  4. Space Oddity (feat. Cliff Richard)
  5. Achy Breaky Heart
  6. I Will Always Love You (feat. Cliff Richard)
  7. The Crying Game
  8. Cable Beach
  9. Wonderful Land (feat. Mark Knopfler)
  10. Hot Rox
  11. Rocket Man
  12. Take Five
  13. Wichita Lineman
  14. Live and Let Die
  15. Crying
  16. Limited Slip
  17. Nivram (feat. Mark Knopfler) (released on “Wonderful Land” U.K. CD single – PolyGram TV PZCD 297, 1993)

Disc 5: Hank Plays Cliff (released as PolyGram TV 529 426-2, 1995)

  1. Living Doll
  2. Wired for Sound
  3. When the Girl in Your Arms is the Girl in Your Heart
  4. Travellin’ Light
  5. The Twelfth of Never
  6. The Young Ones
  7. Carrie (feat. Cliff Richard)
  8. It’s All in the Game
  9. Move It (feat. Cliff Richard)
  10. The Day I Met Marie
  11. Devil Woman
  12. The Next Time
  13. I Could Easily Fall (in Love with You) (feat. Cliff Richard)
  14. Summer Holiday
  15. In the Country (feat. Cliff Richard)
  16. We Don’t Talk Anymore
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Joe Marchese
Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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1 thought on “Wired For Sound: Edsel Boxes Hank Marvin Solo Albums on “The Studio Album Collection 1982-1995””

  1. Paul Welch

    “In 1959, Richard’s band then known as The Drifters became The Shadows, and Richard, Marvin, and Bennett entered the history books”. Slightly ambigious sentence as it suggests that Brian Bennett was a member of The Drifters whose drummer was Tony Meehan. Bennett replaced him as Shadows drummer in 1961.

    Otherwise an excellent article.

    Reply

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