Martyn Wyndham-Read is an English-born folk singer from the United Kingdom, born in 1942 in Crawley, Sussex. He is known for his work with Australian folk songs, both as a collector and as a performer, and he sings Australian traditional songs alongside English traditional material.

Early life and Australia

Wyndham-Read moves from Sussex to Australia in 1960 and works on Emu Springs sheep station in South Australia. While there, he hears songs sung by station hands and becomes interested in tracing their origins. He later settles in Melbourne and becomes part of the folk song revival in Australia during the early 1960s. He lives and works in Australia until 1967 and remains a regular visitor afterwards.

Recording career

After returning to England in 1967, Wyndham-Read meets singer and song collector Bert Lloyd, who invites him to take part in the album Leviathan on Topic Records. He soon begins recording for Bill Leader. His first recordings appear in 1960 on Moreton Bay, credited to Brian Mooney, Martyn Wyndham-Read and David Lumsden. His first solo album is Australian Songs in 1965.

He also appears on Will Ye Go Lassie Go? in 1965 with Brian Mooney and Glen Tomasetti, and on A Wench, a Whale and a Pint of Good Ale in 1966 with Danny Spooner, Gordon MacIntyre and Peter Dickie. From Beneath a Southern Sky in 1997 onwards, he records a series of albums as Martyn Wyndham-Read & No Man's Band. In addition to solo work and collaborations, he records under that name.

Projects and concerts

In the early 1970s, Wyndham-Read starts the Maypoles to Mistletoe concerts, which present the seasons of the year through song, music, dance and verse. The show becomes a long-running Christmas tradition in and around Sussex. He is also the instigator of the Song Links Project, a pair of book-and-CD sets that compare English traditional songs with Australian variants and a second set that compares English songs with versions that travel to North America and develop there.

He is also involved with Down the Lawson Track.

Folk scene and collaborators

Wyndham-Read becomes well known on the Australian folk scene in the early 1960s through venues including The Reata, Frank Traynor's and Emerald Hill. He also works with newer songwriters including Graeme Miles, Stan Graham, Mike Silver, Mike O'Connor and Eric Bogle.