Big Muff

If you kissed the sun right out of the sky for me
and told me every lie I might deserve
if you lay all night in the rain for me
I could not love you more
I never could love you more
I could not love you more
I never could love you more

PRETTY IN AN UGLY SORT OF WAY

GRACE & DANGER BY JOHN MARTYN

"Grace & Danger was very cathartic, and really hurt, I was really in love with that woman."
John Martyn

"There was no point in to go and make a jolly, fairground album."
Martin Levan

THE currency of popular music is frequently that of love and despair. However, these emotions are often in the abstract and, although prurience may dictate otherwise, the listener is frequently reminded to keep the public utterances of an artist and their private lives strictly compartmentalised. With John Martyn's Grace And Danger, this it is absolutely impossible.

Inspirational, influential and above all progressive John Martyn has now entered his fifth decade as a renowned singer-songwriter. His timeless music has influenced whole generations of new artists including Everything But The Girl, Morcheeba, Sade, The Verve, Paul Weller and U2's The Edge. His song craft is recognised the world over with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Ralph McTell, Wet Wet Wet, Courtney Pine, Dr John and Beck having all recorded their own renditions of his songs.

John Martyn celebrated twenty years as a performer in 1986 and what a celebration it was! Piece By Piece, John’s fourteenth studio album was released in February on vinyl and CD, followed by a strictly limited CD release with bonus songs, a 12 inch Classic John Martyn single and, of course, the worlds first commercially available CD single Classic John Martyn in digi pack format! In a year that saw the environmental devastation of Chernobyl and the chemical plant fire in Basle that led to thousands of gallons of toxic water entering the Rhine, John added his voice to the worldwide condemnation by writing the theme and incidental music for the Tyne Tees Television environmental series Turning The Tide presented by David Bellamy.

If the The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) scheduled all its footage of John Martyn, his fans could be forgiven for thinking that their Christmases had all come at once! Classic 1970s programmes such as The Onedin Line, Multi-coloured Swap Shop, Animal Magic with Johnny Morris, The Generation Game, Morecambe and Wise, Blue Peter with John Noakes, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Mastermind punctuated by rock, folk, blues, reggae and jazz from John, now there’s a thought! Luckily you don’t have to wait that long, Christmas is here thanks to Universal Music. John Martyn at the BBC; we have even removed the other programmes! There are three concerts and bonus material abounds in Extra Features.

JOHN MARTYN

John Martyn loves seaports and he's always lived close to the seaside. Back in 1975 the singer and family lived by the sea as well -in Hastings, East Sussex. When the 27-year-old Martyn came to Bremen/ Germany on September 17th, 1975, to play his second-ever concert in Germany, he also came to one of Germany's biggest harbours. And he performed for an audience that was open to listen. Open like the sea, in fact, not caring one iota about pigeon-holing his music. People simply wanted to hear one of the UK's most notorious musical talents.

John Martyn combines musical longevity with a perverse and pigheaded streak. Constant changes in musical direction over his 37-year recording career have meant his flirtations with charts and playlists have been few and far between, but fans will affirm his music is both addictive and intoxicating -a heady brew.

John met Al Stewart (Year Of The Cat) on the London folk club circuit. Stewart was already well known, being contracted to CBS Records and having released a single The Elf. In June 1968 he took to the stage to introduce John at Les Cousins and subsequently produced The Tumbler, which was recorded at Regent Sound, Denmark Street in London’s Soho, on 11th July 1968 and released in December the same year. John’s previous album, London Conversation (IMCD319), had been well received however The Tumbler documents an early step forward in his musical progression.

Sunday’s Child was recorded and mixed during August 1974 at Island Studios in Hammersmith and released in January 1975. The sessions were short but intensive, producing songs of considerable contrasts from the rock ‘n’ roll Root Love and Clutches, to the traditional folk song Spencer The Rover. The overall feel of the album is one of contentment and John called it “the family album, very happy purely romantic...a nice period.”

John and Beverley moved from London to Old Town in Hastings, a move that was to greatly influence his writing. Hastings is a seaside resort and fishing town on the South coast of England "where you just can't get away from the weather." Island Records decided that John should revert to recording solo and Bless The Weather was completed in just three days. John Wood and John himself co-produced the album and it was released in November 1971.

"It felt natural", says John at the beginning of Fine Lines. John described Inside Out, released in October 1973, as "everything I ever wanted to do in music... it's my inside coming out." The free-form jazz orientated experimental album features sublime guitar work by John and superbly varied bass playing from Danny Thompson. Traffic's Steve Winwood (keyboards) and Chris Wood (sax) also contribute, as do Remi Kabaka (percussion) and others. The intensive recording sessions took place over a few days and were largely late at night with no cutting, editing or splicing. It was "live" and tracks were faded out where necessary. The album won John a Golden Disc from Montreaux and received glowing reviews from the music press who described it as 'music from inner space' and a 'cosmic foray.'

John's debut album, London Conversation, was recorded in mono at Pye Studios in Marble Arch for the princely some of £ 158 and released in October 1967. An album of innocent songs that won praise from the music press and launched a career that has spanned five decades!

Of all the musicians to emerge in the British folk boom of the mid-1960’s, John Martyn is surely the most progressive and one of the most influential. His music has explored folk, jazz, blues and rock styles and continues to inspire successive generations of musicians. Martyn was born Iain David McGeachy in September 1948 in New Malden in Surrey, although he grew up in Glasgow when his parents separated. At the age of fifteen he taught himself to play the guitar and by the time he left school at the age of 17 he was a regular feature in local Glasgow folk clubs, coming under the wing of local folk musician Hamish Imlach, who encouraged his musical development and understood his young protégé, who at this stage was finding his own style, influenced by such diverse spheres as classical music and baroque folk guitarist Davey Graham.

Of all the musicians to emerge in the British folk boom of the mid-1960’s, John Martyn is surely the most progressive and one of the most influential. His music has explored folk, jazz, blues and rock styles and continues to inspire successive generations of musicians. Martyn was born Iain David McGeachy in September 1948 in New Malden in Surrey, although he grew up in Glasgow when his parents separated.