Mark Knopfler always had one favourite guitarist. In 1985, he got to play Wembley with him
Mark Knopfler brought his childhood guitar hero, Hank B. Marvin, on stage at Wembley Arena in 1985 during Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms tour. Their performance of ‘Going Home’ was a tribute to the musicians who shaped Knopfler’s playing and to Marvin’s influence on British guitar music.
Knopfler said he had long admired Marvin’s sound and once wanted a red Fender Stratocaster like his, but began playing on a £50 Höfner instead. The two played ‘Going Home’, first released by Knopfler for the 1983 film Local Hero and later covered by Marvin and The Shadows. Marvin’s clean tone, tremolo picking and melodic style also influenced players including David Gilmour and Tony Iommi.
In short
- Knopfler invited Hank B. Marvin to join him at Wembley in 1985.
- They played ‘Going Home’, a song Knopfler wrote for Local Hero.
- Marvin’s distinctive guitar style influenced generations of British players.
Explained simply
Mark Knopfler is a British guitarist and songwriter best known as the frontman of Dire Straits, the band behind songs such as “Sultans of Swing”. Hank B. Marvin led The Shadows, whose guitar-led instrumentals helped shape British popular music in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Marvin was known for a clear, melodic guitar sound, while Knopfler developed a distinctive finger-picking style. Knopfler has said he admired Marvin from childhood and wished for a red Fender Stratocaster like his, though he started out with a less expensive Höfner guitar.
“Going Home” was written by Knopfler for the 1983 film Local Hero. Its history links his work as a film composer with the musicians who influenced him, and with Marvin’s lasting place in British guitar music.