John Martyn showcases songs from his most recent album, On The Cobbles with an intimate performance in Vicar Street in May.

John Martyn began his musical career at the age of 17 with a style influenced by American blues artist such as Robert Johnson, Scottish traditional music and the eclectic folk of Davey Graham. Martyn became a popular name on the Scottish folk scene before he made the inevitable move to London where he became a fixture at the legendary folk club, Cousins. He caught the attention of Chris Blackwell who signed Martyn to his record label, Island Records.

His debut album, London Conversation released in 1968 hinted at the ambitious, genre-breaking music Martyn had in store. With his next album The Tumbler he began to experiment with backup musicians such as jazz reedman Harold McNair and took on a more improvisational approach to his singing and his music. In the late '60s, Martyn met Beverly Kurtner, a singer from Coventry who later became his wife and musical partner. They released two albums in quick succession in 1970, Stormbringer and The Road to Ruin before Beverly retired to take care of their children.

Martyn's next two solo albums, Bless the Weather and Solid Air were classics and made his reputation in the music world. Featuring such brilliant and enduring songs such as "Solid Air" written for his friend Nick Drake, "May You Never" covered by Eric Clapton and "Head and Heart", Martyn began to build a cult following around the world.

In the mid '70s, Martyn lay down his trademark acoustic and went electric with a fusion of rock, jazz and world music. The brilliant One World, the tragic Grace and Danger and Glorious Fool featuring Eric Clapton and Phil Collins had songs that retained the power and sophistication of his acoustic albums. Following the development of world music and trip-hop, Martyn released the album The Church with One Bell in 1998 featuring a collection of diverse covers from Portishead's "Glory Box" to Billie Holliday's "Strange Fruit".

In 2001, Martyn released Glasgow Walker, his first album of original compositions in four years. The album contains such heartfelt classics as "Wildflower", "So Sweet" and "Can't Live Without", a duet with young singer/songwriter Kathryn Williams.

A man at the source of all that is good in contemporary music, John Martyn plays Vicar Street on the 17th.

Vicar Street
Buy Tickets

Time: 8pm
Ticket: €35.20

Tickets are available from Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.ie.

Vicar Street
58-59 Thomas Street,
Dublin 8.
Tel: +353 (0) 1 4546656

Vicar Street