Webmaster's blog

Making Signs..

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We all know John will not be forgotten by his fans. Some people make an effort to enhance the memory further.

Some people are trying to put a blue plaque above the door of the house John used to live in during the Hampstead period. They are still thinking about which house would be best: Pilgrims Place or Denning Road. Bob Cunningham writes: "There is no rush as the earliest a plaque can be put up is Jan 29th 2019. There is a 10 year gap period. Personally, I think the Blue Plaques are a long lasting tribute to people who lived in London; and JM probably wrote Solid Air while living in Hampstead." So we will have to wait some more.

Jim McKnight, who knew John well, got another idea. He had this plaque made and installed in the Scotia Bar, Glasgow on 18 February 2012. "It is placed under Hamish Imlach's, which has been on the wall since Hamish died, as Hamish was John's mentor." Nice touch.
The Scotia Bar (established 1792) is the oldest pub in Glasgow; 112-114 Stockwell Street.

Hastings surprise..

Every once in a while some unique material pops up on YouTube.
This clip was published by Glenn Veness and features live footage of a spontaneous beach concert that took place in Hastings in 1991 so during the Cooltide era. I don't have an exact date, yet.

Glenn: "John was drinking in the Lord Nelson with the fishermen when, after a few drinks, they talked him into playing on the beach. He played all afternoon for free, and went round with a wellington boot collecting money for local charities. This is a great track from that afternoon called Big Muff."

A happy new year..

This is to wish you all a fine and healthy 2012. The year is going to be an interesting one from a John point of view.

First of all there will be a release of an edited version of the Tell Them video on DVD, under the title One World, One John.

Then Universal have announced a 2CD compilation of all of John's performances on the Old Grey Whistle Test, on occasion of the 40th anniversary of the famous BBC program.

Furthermore someone is preparing a bootleg release of the Regent's Park open air concert of 4 July 1976. This was a solo performance broadcast by Capital Radio at the time.

And of course there is a fair chance that Reginald Hastings will be organizing a second edition of the JM Tribute Festival. Last year was a blissful blast of a party. Bless the Irish.

Meanwhile this site will continue to grow and expand even though I have a very busy job in the wonderful town of Venlo. People still contribute new information to this date, and on YouTube it is apparent that John Martyn's music keeps on gathering momentum among young people, too.

Follow @bigmuffsite on Twitter to keep up to date!

Get another taste of the Tribute album..

So we know that 15 August the tribute album is going to be released. We also know that it is going to be a double CD and that the title is Johnny Boy Would Love This. Twenty-five artists have joined in the effort. The people behind the release have made a track available for free download: Don't Want To Know, by Swell Season. More info on this page including four sample tracks. Here's how it goes.

  • You submit your email address in the black box on the right
  • You get a confirmation email on the address provided
  • Click on the Confirm & Download button
  • This takes you to a website with the download link
  • The track you get is Don't Want To Know, by Swell Season
  • You get 10 Megabyte worth of high quality mp3

Before the official release, the publishers will use your email address to send you an opportunity to preorder the double CD set... And maybe a little extra. In the meantime enjoy the music.

By the way the Phil Collins track, Tearing and Breaking, might fire a memory. Indeed a track by this name featured as opening for his 2CD sampler Love Songs: A Compilation... Old And New (2004). However the version included in the tribute CD has been re-recorded at Phil Collins' own request. He and John wrote the song together.

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