John Martyn at Reading University singing Small Hours from ‘One World’ 20/10/1978
“A guy walks out, sits down, and announces, “I’m the warm up band.” We started booing. Then he starts playing through Floyd’s surround sound in an open air stadium.
When he’s through we were shouting for more. This guy single-handedly blew a few thousand impatient minds, and I’ve never forgotten that night.”
“One of the most mercurial figures in music throughout his four-decade career, John Martyn created a bounty of mesmerising, often uncategorisable songs that reflected both his mystic, freewheeling disposition and the turbulence in his personal life.
Born in 1948, Martyn immersed himself in folk and blues growing up in Surrey and Glasgow. While his 1967 debut, London Conversation, painted him as an earnest folkie. He soon ventured into more idiosyncratic directions. Incorporating jazz rhythms and textures, as well as the distinctive guitar sounds he created with devices like the Echoplex. On albums such as 1973’s Solid Air and 1977’s dub-influenced One World, Martyn explored new stylistic frontiers. While conveying a wealth of lyrical feeling.
Even though Martyn’s battles with alcoholism and other demons created many disruptions in his career, he weathered his storms long enough to experience a renaissance with 2004’s On The Cobbles. His final release before his death in 2009.”
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