Ian David McGeachy

[Sweder]

By way of inviting a little contrast into my madcap metal mayhem existence I've been spending a few hours in the company of Ian David McGeachy. Better known by his assumed moniker of John Martyn he's enjoyed a career spanning some 40 years, and in 2008 received the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards accolade for Lifetime Acheivement. His music's always been around - my Mum had some early stuff, the Mrs used to have a wonky old tape of his when we first started courting (along with some Murray Head and a fair dose of Nina Simone), but I've never really given him quality air time until now.

I knew (as most do) of Solid Air and his 'big' hit May You Never (Lay Your Head Down). I didn't appreciate his influence - and that of his 'stable mate' Nick Drake - on a whole raft of musicians including Robert Smith, Kate Bush and Paul Weller, all of whom have openly cited the pair as guiding lights. Drake's music only really came to prominence after his tragic death following an overdose of amitriptyline, an anti-depressant medicine.

You might recall the Dream Academy hit [i]Life In A Northern Town, dedicated to the singer-songwriter who saw so little of his work sold during his lifetime but who enjoyed posthumous success following the publication of Fruit Tree, a Drake retrospective, in 1979. A copy came my way recently, sparking this whole line of inquiry and re-introducing me by association to John Martyn. Solid Air was Martyn's own tribute to his close friend, originally released in 1973 and delivered in his trademark gutteral slur over a gentle, haunting refrain. Well worth a listen under soft lights with a glass of something expensive after everyone's gone to bed.

It's good to dip into other worlds sometimes.
I'll get back to the thrash-grunge in the morning.