John Martyn

John Martyn

John Martyn, born Iain David McGeachy, is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist from New Malden, United Kingdom. He is associated with British folk rock, contemporary folk, folk, folk rock, pop rock and progressive folk, and his work also draws on blues and jazz. Over a forty-year career he releases twenty studio albums.

Early life and first recordings

Martyn grows up in Glasgow and attends Shawlands Academy before moving to London from Glasgow in the mid-1960s. His first recorded impact comes in 1967 with his debut album London Conversation, when he is 19. He soon becomes part of the British music scene with a style that blends folk, blues and jazz.

Collaborations and key relationships

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Martyn is close friends with Nick Drake and writes Solid Air for him. He records several albums with his wife Beverley as John & Beverley Martyn. During the 1970s he lives in Hastings on the south coast of England, where he also tries to help Paul Kossoff.

Albums and later career

Among his best-known recordings are Solid Air and Grace and Danger, the latter documenting his divorce from Beverley. While in Hastings, he also releases Live At Leeds and sells it from his own house. He works with artists including Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, David Gilmour and Levon Helm.

Health, awards and legacy

Martyn has a long-standing alcohol problem, but it does not prevent him from releasing twenty-two albums. In 2003 he contracts an infection that leads to part of a leg being amputated, an episode documented in the 2004 BBC film Johnny Too Bad. He recovers and continues to play, record and tour. In 2008 he receives the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Folk Awards. He dies in 2009. A tribute album, Johnny Boy Would Love this… a Tribute to John Martyn, appears in 2011 with cover versions by artists he has worked with or influenced.