John Martyn, born Iain David McGeachy, first picked up the guitar aged 15, before becoming immersed in the Glasgow folk scene of the 60s, before moving in with Clive Palmer of The Incredible String Band, in a shed in Cumbria no less! In 1968 he released his debut, London Conversation, however his songwriting, and performance, continued to mature and develop, and by 1973, he had produced possibly his most respected work, Solid Air.
Martyn was known to be complex and sensitive to the core. He had a peculiar take on life that was both tragic and comical in equal measure. He drank to numb the pain, to help him laugh off the troubles that he encountered. Eventually his drink probles led to his leg being amputated below the knee. Yet he managed to turn this into something to chuckle at, announcing as he took to the stage during the 2008 Mojo Awards “I promised them I wouldn’t get legless before the gig”.
Throughout his career, he never lost his spontaneity or free spiritedness, and continually sought inspiration from new genres and styles in order to express himself musically. He was a supreme songwriter, and a ridiculously skilled guitarist, who played alongside the likes of Eric Clapton and David Gilmour, and should certainly be regarded amongst the greatest the world has ever seen.
Despite taking new turns throughout his 40 year career, the one constant was his grounding in the themes of life and love. Yet he never lost sight of what it was that was important in his craft – the music not the star. "The power is definitely in the music, not the people," he said in 2008. "The music is the cool bit." With a life time of huge musical achievements under his belt, he should know.
Compelling, heartfelt, inspiring, original, powerful... And definitely cool. Sweet dreams, John, you will be missed.
John Martyn, 11th September 1948 - 29th January 2009
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