Martin Carthy
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Martin Carthy (born May 21, 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring later artists such as Bob Dylan and Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days of the folk revival.
He was born in Hatfield and grew up in Hampstead, London. After training as an actor he sang in coffe bars. He became a resident at the Troubador folk club in Earls court in the late 1950s. He joined Redd Sullivan's Theside Four in 1961. He is a renowned solo performer of traditional songs in a very distinctive style, accompanied by his unique acoustic guitar playing rendered on his trusty old Martin Guitar. His debut album, Martin Carthy, was released in 1965, and also featured Dave Swarbrick playing fiddle on some tracks, although he was not mentioned in the album's sleeve notes.
He has also been involved with many musical collaborations. He has sung with The Watersons since 1972, and was an early member of the UK folk rock group Steeleye Span and was part of the innovative Brass Monkey ensemble which mixed traditional acoustic instruments and a range of brass instruments.
For many years Martin Carthy has enjoyed a creative partnership with fiddle player Dave Swarbrick and, more recently, Waterson:Carthy has provided the forum for a successful partnership with partner Norma Waterson together with their daughter Eliza Carthy.
In June 1998 he was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours. He was named Folk Singer of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2002, and again in 2005 when he also won the award for Best Traditional Track for 'Famous Flower Of Serving Men'.
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Discography
Studio Albums
- Martin Carthy (1965)
- Second Album (1966)
- The Bonny Black Hare (1967)
- Rags, Reels & Airs (1967)
- No Songs (1968)
- Landfall (1971)
- Shearwater (1972)
- Sweet Wivelsfield (1974)
- Crown of Horn (1976)
- Kershaw Sessions (1978)
- Because It's There (1979)
- Out Of The Cut (1982)
- Right Of Passage (1988)
- Wood Wilson Carthy (1998)
- Signs Of Life (1998)
- Waiting For Angels (2004)
With Dave Swarbrick
- - Byker Hill (1967)
- - But Two Came By (1968)
- - Prince Heathen (1970)
- - Life and Limb (1990)
- - Skin and Bone (1992)
- - Selections (2001)
as a member of Steeleye Span
- - Please to See the King (1971)
- - Ten Man Mop (1971)
- - Lark in the Morning (Double CD including both "Please to See the King" and "Ten Man Mop")
as a member of Brass Monkey
- - Sound and Rumour (1999)
- - The Complete Brass Monkey
- - Going And Staying (2001)
- - Flame of Fire (2004)
- - The Definitive Collection (2005)
as a member of Blue Murder
- - No One Stands Alone (2002)
DVD
- - Martins 4 (2005) Martin Carthy, Martin Simpson, Martin Taylor and Juan Martin)
External links
- CarthyOnline: Great Unofficial Website (http://www.geocities.com/carthy_online)
- BBC Folk database (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-perl/music/muze/index.pl?site=music&action=biography&artist_id=5278)
- Waterson:Carthy Official Website (http://www.watersoncarthy.com/)
- Stephen Yarwood's music pages (http://www.btinternet.com/~stephen.yarwood/carthy.htm)
- discography on Slipcue e-zine (http://www.slipcue.com/music/international/celtic/artists/carthy.html)