Joe Boyd
John Martyn
Maverick...It’s a word given to an increasing number of individuals in the art world. If ever a word summed up one man so aptly, its John Martyn. Born in Surrey in September 1948. His real name was Iain David McGeachy.
Following his parent’s divorce when he was five, he spent much of his time in Glasgow and the cultural influences of the city would impact on Martyn’s early work. Learning to play guitar at 15, he began playing in some local folk clubs and came under the guidence of Hamish Imlach, one of the leading lights of the Scottish scene.
Following some success locally, Martyn befriended Clive Palmer, later to form the influential Incredible String Band and began heading south. Upon arriving in London, he was quickly established as a key figure on the folk scene and was soon signed to Island Record becoming their first white artist.
His first release came in 1967 “London Conversations” is a decent but unspectacular debut concentrating very much on the folk sound that was comfortable and safe for an 18 year old. The following year saw the release of the follow up. “The Tumbler” was a great shift forward. Although still very much in a folk style, this time more jazz and blues influences are evident enhanced by flute and saxophone, all under- pinned by some excellent acoustic guitar.
By now, Martyn was gaining a reputation as a fine guitarist and was recruited to be part of the backing band at a recording session for folk singer Beverly Kutner. Not only did they hit it off musically, but in 1969 they married and as a duo recorded “Stormbringer”. Released in early 1970, it saw the introduction of the Echoplex guitar technique that became a trademark of the John Martyn sound for both live and recorded material. Recorded out in New York it gave Martyn an early glimpse of the rock elite, meeting Hendrix and having members of the Band and the Mothers Of Invention playing on the album. Sympathetically produced by Joe Boyd, it contains strong vocals from both with wonderfully subtle guitar and the tracks “Sweet Honesty” and “John The Baptist” are classics.
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Quickly following this release up with “The Road To Ruin”, also released in 1970, and this time backed by members of Pentangle and Fairport Convention, the album has a much jazzier feel to it. The playing remains as excellent as ever and the tracks are more varied ranging from bluesy acoustic to brassy laid back soul. The standout “Auntie Aviator”, featuring some gentle underplayed guitar gives an indication of the future direction Martyn would take. A decision was taken by Island that Martyn should revert to being a solo artist once more and with a young family to look after, Beverly was sidelined.
The subsequent release, “Bless The Weather” marked the move away from folk with the instrumental track “Glistening Glyndebourne” showcasing the extraordinary Echoplex sound. At this time, his friendship with bassist Danny Thompson was cemented and the pair would continually work together on albums and live shows.
Able to fill clubs and sell his albums to a committed and loyal fan base, he was also able to indulge in the excesses of drink and drugs that would regularly punctuate his career. “Bless The Weather” and the next album “Solid Air” would give Martyn the biggest success he was to achieve. “Solid Air” has grown in stature and is now accepted as a classic of the era. Finding great popularity with the student masses of the day, its warm ambience is like having a high tog quilt thrown over you as the warmth of the album works its way into your body. The vocals are slurred, almost foreign, allowing one to grab just a tantalising word or phrase. The title track was written as a eulogy to Martyn’s friend Nick Drake and is a distant, disturbing sound. Containing two of his most enduring tracks, “May You Never” and “Rather Be The Devil” it’s an album that never leaves you. Widely considered to be Martyn’s best work, it regularly appears in top album lists.
“Inside Out” and “Sunday’s Child” released in 1973 and 1975 respectively, helped establish Martyn as an important artist. With live shows selling out to small but committed audiences and his record releases having high profile guest artists such as Stevie Winwood, Richard Thompson and Bobby Keyes. Despite his critical success, he made little major commercial impact and this may have contributed to a lifestyle that was becoming more and more fuelled by drink and drug intake.
The strain that this put on his marriage was reflected in the lyrics of his next album “One World”. Recorded out in the open air to pick up ambient sounds from the countryside, the albums eclectic mix of styles made it a firm favourite with fans and critics and contained two of his most popular songs, the title track and “Small Hours”. There was to be a three-year gap before the release of the next album as Martyn’s demons took hold resulting in a final breakdown of his marriage to Beverly.
As could be expected, the resulting album “Grace And Danger” was an extremely emotional affair where Martyn laid bare his soul for the world to hear. It is a stunning work but uncomfortable to listen too. Island boss, Chris Blackwell, delayed the release for months as he found the album to depressing.
Following a change of label to WEA the next two releases saw Martyn move more and more into rock territory and his live shows only allowed a few acoustic numbers. “Glorious Fool” (1981) produced by Phil Collins who had become a close friend, and “Well Kept Secret” (1982) were supported by extensive tours and had two of Martyn’s more successful chart placings.
The next couple of years saw Martyn in a better place. Now remarried, his writing reflecting his happier state. Returning to Island Records, he travelled to the Bahamas to record “Sapphire” in 1984. It proved to be a hard album to make and it much of the production was left to Robert Palmer. While this album was full of smooth soft rock, the next album “Piece By Piece” was recorded in Glasgow with just his touring band. The first commercially released CD single, “Angeline” a superb love song to his new wife preceded this release, in 1986 Still disappointed at the lack of full on commercial success, the next couple of years saw Martyn deep in an alcoholic daze.
In 1988 he was given an ultimatum from doctors to give up the drink or die. He seemed to heed the warning and focused on recording. The results of this were the albums “The Apprentice” and “Cooltide”. While both were good, compared to the beauty and originality of much of his previous work, they can only be considered adequate.
With a couple of stopgap albums re working some vintage songs in between, it was not until 1996 that the next studio album was released. And taking influences from the trip hop scene, it was a clear indication that Martyn was still trying to move his music forward. A covers album “The Church With One Bell” was released the following year (1998). A magical album taking in songs from artist as diverse as Portishead and Billie Holliday all performed in his own inimitable style. “Glasgow Walker” followed in 2000 containing one of his most poignant love songs in “Wildflower” while “You Don’t Know What Love Is“, recorded for the film “The Talented Mr Ripley” has one of his best vocal performances for many years.
In 2003 he had part of his right leg amputated and was forced to spend much of his time in a wheelchair. His final album was released in 2004. “On The Cobbles” recorded across many studios it signed a return to the folky, acoustic songs of old and is a fitting epitaph to a long recording career.
John Martyn died on the 29th of January 2009 in hospital in Ireland. A troubled man with an addictive personality he made friends for life as people welcomed his warmth and charm. Never achieving significant commercial success, He attracted fiercely loyal and committed fans that treated him like a member of their family. Always willing to forget the times they were let down by non-shows or performances marred if he had one to many. He was held in great affection and his talent was admired and respected.
His early albums were fine examples of British folk but it was his desire to experiment that moved him away from the ordinary. With the trio of albums “Solid Air”, “Inside Out” and “One World” an artistic peak was reached. He gave us many gentle and at times unbearably poignant love songs and has left a legacy of music that is unmistakably unique. Perhaps it is best to leave it to John Martyn himself to describe this. Speaking in 1988 regarding the release of "The Church With One Bell" he said “There’s a place between words and music and my voice lives right there” The track here is from an early club show in 1968 "Would You Believe".
Roger Gibbens
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com.
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Nicholas Rodney Drake was born in Rangoon, Burma on June 19, 1948. He moved to England in 1951 and the family settled in the county of Warwickshire in the quaint hamlet of Tanworth-in-Arden.
Nick's family was a musical one and home provided the perfect atmosphere for him to indulge in the world of music. Nick had an early love for classical music, and learned to play the piano quickly and easily. At school, he was a member of the school orchestra, and dabbled in clarinet and saxophone.
Nick loved to listen to folk and rock and was also a big Beatles fan. He asked his parents for a guitar, and, sensing it might just be a phase before returning to piano, they honoured his request. But eventually Drake had invested in a proper six-string acoustic and was enthusiastically teaching himself the basics and perfecting his own intricate finger-picking style. He allegedly mastered his chosen instrument in a matter of months and immersed himself into composing.
Nick began performing around Cambridge, and at the age of 20, he caught the ear of Fairport Convetion's Ashley Hutchings. Hutchings brought him to producer Joe Boyd and upon listening to Nick's tapes, Boyd offered him a recording contract and studio time.
Nick recorded just three full-length albums during his career ‘Five Leaves Left’ in 1969, ‘Bryter Layter’ in 1970, and finally ‘Pink Moon’ in 1972. After ‘Pink Moon’, Nick became deeply depressed and retreated to the sanctuary of Far Leys.
He managed to find his way into the studio once more in 1974 to record four more songs. They would find their way onto the ‘Fruit Tree’ compilation. These songs, weary and dark, tell the tale of a young man terribly lost and despondent.
In October of that year, Drake left for France to reunite with his friend and fellow folk singer, Francoise Hardy. She had earlier expressed interest in recording some of Nick's songs. Drake returned to England with some renewed buoyancy and direction.
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On the night of November 24, 1974, Nick was up and about at Far Leys suffering from insomnia, but in good spirits. On this night his mother could hear some of his favourite classical music wafting from the record player and, for reasons she is still unsure of, she decided to turn over and go back to sleep.
It is said that Nick mistook his antidepressants for sleeping pills and took a few to help him sleep. What Nick and his parents were never told was that one of these pills over the legal dose was lethal. Nick found his way into bed and quietly passed away in his sleep.
Carly Page
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com.
