John Martyn

**Iain David McGeachy**  (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009) was a Scottish singer, guitar player and songwriter. His stage name was **John Martyn**. He made music for over 40 years. He made 23 studio albums. Most of his music was folk rock and blues.

Martyn started making music when he was 17. He was in the Scottish folk music community. His music was inspired by English folk music and American blues. He joined Island Records and started making albums. He started to make his music sound similar to jazz and rock. His most popular albums were _Bless the Weather_ (1971), _Solid Air_ (1973) and _One World_ (1977). He made music with other people, such as Phil Collins. He kept making music until he died in 2009.

### 1960s and 1970s

Martyn became a musician when he was 17. He played a mix of folk music and blues. This made him an important person in the British folk music community in the 1960s. In 1967, he joined Island Records, a record label. He released an album named _London Conversation_ in 1967. One year later, he released _The Tumbler_.

Martyn had a special way of playing the guitar. He played the acoustic guitar, but used many effect pedals with it. This made the guitar sound different. The first time he played the guitar in this way was on _Stormbringer!_ in 1970. He made this album with his wife, Beverley Martyn. He made two albums with his wife. The second is named _The_ _Road to Ruin_.

In February 1973, Martyn released _Solid Air_. The song "Solid Air" was made for singer Nick Drake. The album sold many copies. In 2009, a new version of _Solid Air_ was made. It had more songs on it. A few months later, he made _Inside Out_. This album was about improvised music. Later, he made more music. He visited Jamaica, and met Lee Perry. Perry was a music producer, and worked with Martyn to make new music.

In 1977, he released _One World_. Many musicians helped Martyn make the album, such as Rico and Steve Winwood. Lee Perry helped him make the song "Big Muff". The album was influenced by dub music because of Perry. In 1978, he played guitar on _Harmony of the Spheres_ by Neil Ardley.

### 1980s and 1990s

At the end of the 1970s, Martyn's marriage got worse. Some say that this was because he was addicted to drugs and was an alcoholic. Beverly said that John hurt her. Martyn said this was a "very dark" time in his life. Because of this, he made the album _Grace and Danger_. Phil Collins played the drums on the album. It was released in October 1980. Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records, did not want to release the album. This was because he was a good friend of Martyn and Beverley. He thought the album was too sad to release. Martyn wanted him to release the album, so he did. In the late 1980s, Martyn said _Grace and Danger_ was his favorite album. It is one of his most popular albums.

In 1981, Martyn left Island Records. He joined WEA, another record label. He made two more albums: _Glorious Fool_ and _Well Kept Secret_. Both of these albums went into the top 30 on the UK Albums Chart. He left WEA after making the albums, and joined Island Records again. He made three albums with Island, and then left the record label again in 1988.

Martyn joined Permanent Records and made two albums. These were _The Apprentice_ (1990) and _Cooltide_ (1991). Phil Collins helped him make _No Little Boy_ in 1993. This album had new versions of some of his older songs. In the late 1990s, Martyn started mixing his music with trip-hop. Some of his albums that had this type of music were _And_ and _Glasgow Walker_.

### 2000s

Martyn had to have his right leg amputated below the knee. This was because a cyst opened on his leg, and he got sepsis. In July 2006, BBC made a documentary named _Johnny Too Bad_ about this time. The documentary was also about Martyn writing and making music for _On the Cobbles_. This was an album that was released in 2004. The album had a more acoustic sound.

On January 29, 2009, Martyn died in Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland. He died because of acute respiratory distress syndrome. He had been living in Thomastown with his wife, Theresa Walsh. Martyn was put in the Order of the British Empire in 2009. Walsh accepted the award at Buckingham Palace for him. His last studio album, _Heaven and Earth_, was finished in 2011.

## Studio albums

- _London Conversation_ (1967)
- _The Tumbler_ (1968)
- _Stormbringer!_ (1970)
- _The Road to Ruin_ (1970)
- _Bless the Weather_ (1971)
- _Solid Air_ (1973)
- _Inside Out_ (1973)
- _Sunday's Child_ (1975)
- _One World_ (1977)
- _Grace and Danger_ (1980)
- _Glorious Fool_ (1981)
- _Well Kept Secret_ (1982)
- _Sapphire_ (1984)
- _Piece by Piece_ (1986)
- _The Apprentice_ (1990)
- _Cooltide_ (1991)
- _Couldn't Love You More_ (1992)
- _No Little Boy_ (1993)
- _And_ (1996)
- _The Church with One Bell_ (1998)
- _Glasgow Walker_ (2000)
- _On the Cobbles_ (2004)
- _Heaven and Earth_ (2011)

## Other websites

- Official website – johnmartyn.com
- Big Muff – johnmartyn.info

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **name**: John Martyn
<small>Order of the British Empire, OBE</small>
- **image**: John Martyn 2006.jpg
- **caption**: Martyn in 2006
- **birth name**: Iain David McGeachy
- **birth place**: New Malden, Surrey, England
- **death place**: Thomastown, Ireland
- **genre**: Folk blues, progressive folk, folk-rock, folk jazz
- **occupation**: Musician, songwriter
- **instrument**: Guitar, vocals
- **years active**: 1967–2009
- **label**: Island Records, Island, Warner Music Group, WEA