BY KERNAN ANDREWS

JOHN MARTYN is one of the great originals from the British folk-rock scene and now he's returning to the west to play Campbell's Tavern, Cloughanover, Headford, on Saturday 10, as well as the TF Royal, Castlebar, the day before.

Section FOREWORD/ MUSIC

For the first time John Martyn "didn't do a runner from hospital". With good reason: he'd just had his leg amputated.

IN 1996, JOHN MARTYN'S PANCREAS exploded. The medical profession had warned him -and to be fair, he had adopted a more balanced diet; "a balance," he reflects, "of pickled eggs, whisky and beer"- but it was the point in the life of the now 55-year old songwriter when he had to concede that his grievances were self-inflicted and not merely an endless catalogue of catastrophic bad luck.

Michael Heatley traces the career of John Martyn, a true musical maverick

Try to pin down the quicksilver musical soul of John Martyn and he'll just squeeze through your fingers. Few who caught up with London Conversation, his late '60s recording bow for Island Records - he was the first white solo performer on what was then a reggae-based label - could have foreseen his transition from folky singer-songwriter to electric rock-band leader and, now, hip-hop balladeer.

Yet while Bob Dylan, an acknowledged influence, made at least the first change, he never showed the same fascination for sounds and textures as Martyn. The way the Scot applied slapback echo and other effects to the acoustic guitar in the '70s has helped shape the approach of many who followed: a generation led by Brit-winning Beth Orton, owes him a debt, while chart-toppers the Verve selected him as their special guest for a 1998 show, introducing him to a new audience.

STAND:

She's the first lady of house, he's a living folk legend. She likes gospel, he likes jungle. They are the odd couple and they're taking progressive trance to new ethereal heights. Via a whole lotta love, Sister Bliss and John Martyn tell Dan Gennoe why they were destined to be together.

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