John Martyn (singer)
| John Martyn | |
|---|---|
Martyn in 1978
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Iain David McGeachy |
| Born |
11 September 1948 New Malden, Surrey (now Greater London), England |
| Died | 29 January 2009 (aged 60) Kilkenny, Ireland |
| Genres | Folk, progressive folk, folk-rock, folk jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1967–2009 |
| Labels | Island, WEA |
| Associated acts | Beverley Martyn |
| Website | www |
John Martyn, OBE (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), born as Iain David McGeachy, was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 21 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. Martyn began his career at age 17 as a key member of the British folk music scene, drawing inspiration from American blues and English traditional music, and signed with Island Records. By the 1970s he had begun incorporating jazz and rock into his sound on albums such as Solid Air (1973) and One World (1977), as well as experimenting with guitar effects and tape delay machines such as Echoplex. He struggled with substance abuse and domestic problems throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and continued to release albums while collaborating with figures such as Phil Collins and Lee "Scratch" Perry. He remained active until his death in 2009. He was described by The Times as "an electrifying guitarist and singer whose music blurred the boundaries between folk, jazz, rock and blues".
Martyn was born in Beechcroft Avenue, New Malden, London, England to an English mother and a Scottish father. His parents, both opera singers, divorced when he was five and he spent his childhood alternating between Scotland and England. Much of this was spent in the care of his grandmother, as well as on his mother's houseboat. He attended Shawlands Academy in Glasgow. At school, he was a keen rugby player. On leaving school he attended Art College in Glasgow, but left to pursue his musical aspirations.
Mentored by Hamish Imlach, Martyn began his professional musical career when he was 17, playing a fusion of blues and folk resulting in a distinctive style which made him a key figure in the British folk scene during the mid-1960s. He signed to Chris Blackwell's Island Records in 1967 and released his first album, London Conversation, the following year.
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