29 Jan 2023
It has been 14 years that John passed away. He still manages to attract new listeners and every last weekend of January, fans, friends en family come together in the Clutha (Glasgow) to enjoy music and each others company. This year was no exception.
20 Jul 2022
While searching for an old concert in Barnstaple, I stumbled upon a remark by DJ Wendy May: "After extensive touring and some John Peel sessions they eventually signed to Phonogram and made an album in 85, which featured the legendary John Martyn on guitar." She is referring to a band called the Boothill Foot-Tappers. They made exactly one album that surfaced October 1985: Ain't That Far From Boothill. It was released by Mercury (MERH 76) and John is indeed credited for Guitars on a track called Stand Or Fall (side B, track #3).
No idea why this track was never mentioned in the older discographies before. It has been included here in the Collaborations section and I also found a review.
01 Jan 1993
This picture was shot for Permanent Records. Probably around the time they released Couldn't Love You More (September 1992). It was not used until April 1997 though, for the cover of The Very Best Of.
13 Nov 1982
War hero Thomas McGeachy lived with danger long after he hung up his rifle. But the 64-year-old ex-commando was blissfully unaware of the potentially-explosive situation for 40 years.
29 Nov 1980
So there was this Scotsman, Irishman and Englishman propping up the bar in a shabby pub in the heart of Glasgow. The Irishman, whose name escapes me, and his Scottish pal, John Martyn, are heading steadily out of the realms of dreary sobriety towards that state of intoxication which Martyn, in his brick thick Glaswegian brogue, refers to simply as a "hoolie".
GOOD TIME AT MAYNE HALL
Few people see the ashes of total and utter chaos from which the phoenix that is a concert arises. On Sunday, 21st August I was privileged enough to witness this miracle. The concert was the Jansch / Martyn configuration with the local support of Dodsworth and Sullivan.
This tune was composed by Spencer the Rover
As valiant a man as ever left home
And he had been much reduced
Which caused great confusion
And that was the reason he started to roam
A John Martyn album always makes for interesting and pleasant listening and his latest is no exception.
Let's get one thing straight - this man is a national treasure. For 30-odd years he has been making great albums, playing memorable gigs, pushing boundaries.
(appeared in section called 'Popjournaal')
Een Europese primeur: John Martyn, één van Engelands meest getalenteerde gitaristen, gaat zich voorgoed in Amerika vestigen. Hij vindt zijn vaderland te klein en bekrompen geworden en vindt er bovendien de laatste tijd niet voldoende werk. Ook gaat het regenachtige klimaat hem op z'n zenuwen werken.
Mye flott, noe grått på den siste innspillingen fra en av britisk rocks fineste.
PRESENTS
John Martyn and His Band
Saturday 9th October 7.30p.m
Tickets £3.50
THE news that Danny Thompson is getting back into jazz will please the many who have missed the big, fat tone of his bass during his protracted flirtations with other types of music.
I asked four or five of my more musically knowledgeable friends if they had ever heard John Martyn sing.
"The first one's for you," John Martyn told the capacity audience at Her Majesty's Theatre on Tuesday as he ripped into a song which has become almost his signature tune, May You Never.
It's more than a little ironic that this sumptuous box celebrating Martyn's lengthy tenure at Island should include the first official appearance of the album that brought about the end of his relationship with the company.
